MALL REVIVES MACY'S PLAN TOWN CENTER'S TALKS WITH DEPARTMENT STORE MAKING PROGRESS.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer

VALENCIA - Negotiations to bring a Macy's department store to the Valencia Town Center are back on track after delays prompted by the economic uncertainty that followed the Sept. 11 attacks.

Charles Gill, the mall's general manager, said Monday that it would be at least two years before Macy's opens at the Santa Clarita Valley's only major mall, but added that negotiations are going well.

``We've been talking for a long time, but as was typical with almost everyone after 9-11, Macy's put expansion plans on hold,'' Gill said. ``Now we're getting back on the horizon. They're definitely interested, we're just trying to establish how big and when, and who pays for what.''

Mike Haviland, the city of Santa Clarita's economic development manager said reports on the negotiations have been positive and that Macy's would be a good addition to the local retail scene.

``The residents here want that kind of more upscale shopping,'' Haviland said. ``We hear it over and over.''

Likely to help draw Macy's and other retailers to the mall is a tax-sharing agreement approved in July by the Santa Clarita City Council. Under the terms of that deal, the city would return a share of sales tax revenue generated by any expansion to the mall owner, The Newhall Land and Farming Company, to use as incentives to entice retailers. Though Macy's won't open a store here this year, Jean Coggan, a company spokeswoman, said the Cincinnati-based retailer has plans for four new stores in the West, including Temecula, Capitola near Santa Cruz, Westminster and Scottsdale, Ariz.

Gill said the mall also is in discussions with Seattle-based Nordstrom, but that the chain has pared its expansion plans to focus on stabilizing sales at existing stores.

Nordstrom had considered opening in Valencia in 1998, demanding a $20 million cash incentive. Newhall Land asked the city to approve a revenue-sharing agreement but, amid public outrage, the City Council never took up the issue.

Meanwhile, a yearlong remodeling of the mall is under way. The former Edwards Theatres structure is being gutted and the food court will be relocated there. The carousel will be moved from outside the west end of the mall indoors to the Sears Court, Gill said. And J.C. Penney and some smaller stores are remodeling.

On Town Center Drive, Rio Lobos restaurant is scheduled to open today, while Vie de France will open March 26, Cafe Melisse on April 1 and Soup Plantation in the fall, Gill said.