BETTING ON A MALL FOR SIMI : CITY TO SEEK TENANTS AT LAS VEGAS EVENT.

Byline: Terry Kanakri Daily News Staff Writer

In its latest effort to attract a mall to Simi Valley, the city is sending four people to a Las Vegas convention that will be attended by major players in the retail and shopping center industries.

City officials say having representatives at the International Council of Shopping Centers Spring Convention May 6-9 is crucial because the competition among communities attempting to lure new businesses is increasing.

``This is an opportunity for us to talk to the tenants in an environment where they are basically looking at all the sites and to get our mall in front of them,'' Mayor Greg Stratton said. ``It gives a credibility to the fact that this is not just a mall developer's pipe dream, but in fact, it has the support of the City Council and is wanted by the citizens.''

Mark Schoifet, spokesman of the shopping centers council, said the convention is expected to attract 22,000 people, including 600 representatives of commercial developers and major retailers, among them anchor stores.

Schoifet said attending the convention is a good way to make contacts.

``You have everybody - all the movers and shakers in the commercial real estate business under one roof for three solid days,'' he said. ``There's nothing that can replace sitting down face to face, looking at a blueprint and talking to representatives, whether it's city officials and representatives of a mall or development companies.''

With that in mind, the city plans to send Stratton, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Davis, City Manager Mike Sedell and Assistant City Manager Don Penman. It will cost the city about $2,000.

Plans for a regional mall in Simi Valley have been in place since 1987, when Homart Development Co. and Melvin Simon & Associates proposed building a 1.5 million square-foot mall and office complex.

The developers decided against renewing the purchase option on the mall land in 1992, citing adverse economic conditions.

The city recently hired Forest City Development to perform a feasibility study to determine what type of mall could succeed in the city. But the company, citing recent consolidations in the department store industry, including The Broadway with Federated Department Stores, told the city there were fewer anchor stores to choose from, thus making it tougher to launch the project.

Council members later rejected a proposal for a ``box store'' center, which Forest City said would be easier to build, citing the need for a mall and residents' support for such a project.

In Las Vegas, city officials plan to tout Simi's mall project with several retail representatives.

``It's much more important to be meeting with these people across the table than it is to be sending them the letter,'' Penman said.

And that is especially important because of the tough competition, Penman said.

``It's very stiff because cities are vying for sales tax dollars, and developers and tenants know that, so they're typically in a very strong position,'' he said. ``If it can be shown to them that the policy level support is there for the project, that could make a difference.''