Riverside Square begins multi-million dollar renovation.

JMB Retail Properties Co., the development, management and leasing company for Riverside Square in Hackensack, New Jersey, has announced the beginning of a comprehensive multimillion dollar renovation project for the enclosed 630,000 square-foot shopping center.

In conjunction with the renovation, anchor tenants Bloomingdale's and Saks Fifth Avenue have amended their operating agreements to provide a 15-year extension of their operating covenants.

The project began March and is expected to be completed within nine months, to coincide with the beginning of the 1994 holiday shopping season. This will be the first renovation project at the shopping center since it opened in 1977.

As a result of the renovation project, Bloomingdale's and a number of other current tenants plan to remodel their own stores in order to complement the changes being made to the common areas, with some also planning to increase their space. Saks Fifth Avenue recently completed a major renovation of its store. Leases with several new tenants are presently under negotiation. The shopping center currently has 89 stores.

The renovation will create five separate galleries and six court areas for distinct sections with the center. Clusters of cushioned seating in plush fabrics will be situated in the galleries and court areas to provide comfortable resting spots and conversation niches for shoppers. Floor openings will also be redesigned to enhance the traffic flow through the upper levels of the center. In addition, an elevator will be installed at the shopping center's north end, the first to access all levels.

Flooring, ceilings, lighting and skylights will be remodeled to accentuate the spaciousness of the shopping center's new design. The existing brick flooring will be replaced with light gray natural marble with floor medallions located under upper floor openings. Arched upper level ceilings, new skylights and accent lighting will create a greater sense of brightness throughout the center. Cherry wood and bronze metal detailing and appointments will enhance the polished appearance of the galleries and court areas.

Cooper Carry & Associates Inc. of Atlanta, Georgia is the architectural firm for the Riverside Square renovation project. The contractor is Torcon of Westfield, New Jersey.

JMB Retail Properties Co. is the retail development, property management and leasing affiliate of Urban Shopping Centers, Inc. apublicly traded real estate investment trust. JMB Retail Properties currently manages 92 shopping centers containing more than 53 million squarefeet of retail space which ranks the company as the nation's fourth largest retail property manager. The company has also developed and leased over 25 million square-feet of new retail space over the past 20 years, including some of the most prestigious shopping centers in the U.S., such as Copley Place in Boston, Water Tower Place and 900 North Michigan in Chicago, and Oakbrook Center in Oak Brook, Illinois.