Bloomingdale's may debut in Sherman Oaks: mall owner had applied to expand Broadway store.

Mall owner had applied to expand Broadway store

Sherman Oaks Fashion Square may be the site of L.A. County's first Bloomingdale's department store.

Federated Department Stores Inc. and the owners of the mall received approval Dec. 15 to expand the mall's Broadway space so it can be replaced with a Bloomingdale's outlet.

Federated, parent of the Bloomingdale's and Macy's chains, and the mall's owners, City Freeholds (USA) Inc., received approval to add 42,000 square feet to the store. Federated acquired L.A.-based Broadway Stores Inc., which operated 83 department stores under the names Broadway, Emporium and Weinstock's, in October.

Cincinnati-based Federated declined to comment and has not disclosed where it will place Bloomingdale's outlets in the Southland. Officials at Sherman Oaks-based City Freeholds were unavailable for comment.

City Freeholds received approval in November 1994 from the Los Angeles City Council for a zoning change that would enable Fashion Square Sherman Oaks to expand by 150,000 square feet. At that time, the mall's owners planned to add a third anchor tenant, said Howard Gantman, spokesman for City Councilman Mike Feuer, who represents the district, where the mall is located.

The mall currently has two anchors - Broadway and Bullock's - and is located on Riverside Drive between Hazeltine and Woodman avenues. Federated has announced it plans to turn the Bullock's into a Macy's outlet.

However, last month Federated and City Freeholds submitted an application for a conditional use permit to instead add onto the Broadway space. City Zoning Administrator Dan Green held a public hearing Dec. 15 regarding approval of the permit, Green said.

Approval granted

Green gave oral approval at the hearing for the permit, but plans to issue a written report stating approval within a couple of weeks, he said.

Once written approval is issued, interested parties have 15 days to file an appeal, Green said.

However, the expansion plans did not run into much opposition at the Dec. 15 hearing, he said. If no appeal is filed within 15 days after that, the approval is final, he said.

The Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association is supportive of the plan to open a Bloomingdale's in the mall, said member Jim Young.

However, association members want to make sure there is enough traffic mitigation and other measures taken to preserve the surrounding neighborhood, Young said.

Expansion plans call for adding square footage to each of the space's three floors.

Green said he would also require that parking spaces be added to accommodate the anticipated increased customer traffic.

Furthermore, the zoning change L.A. City Council approved in November 1994 also included 39 conditions the mall must meet if it did expand. The mall would have to adhere to those with the expansion of the Broadway site. Green said. They include improving the mall's landscaping and disguising the trash receptacles, among other things.

The mall's owners would still be allowed to seek approval to add another 108,000 square feet at a later date, Green said.