OFFICIALS HEAD OFF TO VEGAS FOR MALL SIMI LEADERS HOPE TO WOO DEVELOPER.Byline: Joseph Giordono Staff Writer SIMI VALLEY Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. - Simi Valley officials are hoping - once again - that they can sell big-time developers on the merits on the merits adj. referring to a judgment, decision or ruling of a court based upon the facts presented in evidence and the law applied to that evidence. A judge decides a case "on the merits" when he/she bases the decision on the fundamental issues and considers of bringing an upscale mall to the city. Nothing less than high-end retailers such as Macy's and Nordstrom will do, they said, and they believe their chances are better than ever as they arrive today at the annual mall developers' convention in Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. . ``I think we are closer now than we have ever been,'' City Councilman Glen Becerra said. ``This is a giant puzzle, and the pieces must fit together perfectly for this to come off. ``This is going to be at least a $100 million project, and nobody is just going to hand out a check.'' For the fifth consecutive year, the city is pinning its hopes on Simi SIMI Sea Ice Mechanics Initiative SIMI Search for Intelligent Monkeys on the Internet SIMI Students Islamic Movement in India SIMI Society of Irish Motor Industry SIMI Smallholder Irrigation Markets Initiative Valley's reputation of growth, affluence and safety. Officials plan to focus their pitch on the city's 100,000-plus population, its $71,000 mean income, its freeway accessibility and its ranking as safest city for its size in recent national crime statistics. Not a bad sell, said a retail analyst for Deloitte and Touche, who, while unfamiliar with the details of the city's pitch, said Simi Valley appears to have as good a chance as others vying for a large center. ``It is a growing area, it is an affluent area, and there really is not much competition there as far as some larger, upper-class department stores This is a list of department stores. In the case of department store groups the location of the flagship store is given. This list does not include large specialist stores, which sometimes resemble department stores. ,'' said Bret Gordon, an analyst with the international consulting firm Noun 1. consulting firm - a firm of experts providing professional advice to an organization for a fee consulting company business firm, firm, house - the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments; "he worked for a . ``I think it could happen for them soon.'' Billed as the nation's most important gathering of retailers and mall developers, the International Council of Shopping Centers The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) is an international trade association of the shopping center industry. The organization, founded in 1957, has 65,000 members worldwide, which include shopping center owners, developers and managers, as well as other individuals, Convention is host to untold numbers of courtships between industry figures and cities such as Simi Valley. Organizers of the Las Vegas convention tout the gathering as the largest of its kind in the world. More than 700 retailers and other companies associated with shopping centers will be represented. ``It is kind of a madhouse. We already have major meetings scheduled, but we will also be grabbing everyone we can,'' said Becerra, who will make the trip with Mayor Bill Davis For the artist, animator, creative director, see . For the baseball player, see .
The city is spending $5,400 to send the six officials on the trip. Over five years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time city has spent about $25,000 to attend. But officials said that figure pales in comparison to the amount of revenue that a large regional mall would generate for the area. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Gordon of Deloitte and Touche, a regional mall could generate tens of millions of dollars in new jobs and sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. revenue for the city. A mall in Simi Valley would be especially beneficial to young people, Gordon said, because they are the ones who tend to work at retail jobs in mall stores. Gabler said the city continues to eye a 129-acre site just north of the Ronald Reagan Freeway at First Street as the most desirable spot for such an important development. The city co-owns the parcel with the Kam Sang Co., whose representatives did not return calls seeking comment. City officials acknowledge that the existence of large malls in Thousand Oaks and the West San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. have hurt their chances in the past, but hope that the city's growth and prosperity will sway prospective partners. The soonest they could hope to bring a mall to the city would be by 2003 or 2004, they said. Gabler said city officials will also use the convention as an opportunity to meet with out-of-town owners of the city's existing shopping centers. Becerra said that similar meetings last year have not resulted in exactly what the city expected. Verbal agreements on the direction of existing malls such as Mountaingate Plaza have dissolved, he said, but the meeting gives officials a chance to renew those discussions. But officials said they are well aware that amid the many retailers and shopping mall companies at the convention will be representatives of cities from across the county with precisely the same mission as Simi Valley's contingent. ``There is definitely healthy competition between cities, but we will make the best pitch that we can,'' Becerra said. ``And if we do not get a high-end mall, I would prefer to look at the mountains anyway. I'm sure the residents of Simi feel the same way.'' |
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