RETAIL : ‘Grand Re-Opening’ Begins Friday at Westminster Mall

The fierce battle for shoppers’ dollars continues this week with the “grand re-opening” of Westminster Mall, which has just about finished a more than $10-million renovation.

After a two-year face lift, Orange County’s third-highest-grossing mall is planning three days of promotional shows and displays to show off its new look beginning Friday evening. “The center is 15 years old, so it definitely needed an upgrade,” mall spokeswoman Jane Reid said.

The most dramatic difference is in the mall’s new glass, free-standing Jewel Court area, located in the center of the mall where the food area used to be. The remodeled 25,000-square-foot area now features a glass-enclosed elevator highlighted by a neon lighting system and surrounded by a new fountain and splash pool. Eleven shops are also opening in the Jewel Court area, including Charlotte Russe, the Bombay Co., Hudson Goodman Jewelers, Imaginarium, Sunshade Optique and Gloria Jean’s Coffee Bean.

New retailers have been added throughout the mall as well. Newcomers on the lower level include Units, Socks du Jour, J. Burton Jewelers, Prints Plus, Cat’s Meow and Hot Topic.

The mall’s owners, Corporate Property Investors, also have added an upscale food court--called Cafe 405--which transformed a formerly vacant space into a 20,000-square-foot center serving sushi, barbecue snacks and assorted finger foods.

In total, the renovation will add 25,000 square feet of gross leaseable area, giving Westminster Mall a total of 1,052,000 square feet.

The final phase of the remodeling, redoing entrances and the mall’s sign, is scheduled for completion next spring.

But mall officials are hoping the sprucing-up will begin to pay off before then. The mall is projecting sales per square foot of $235 by the end of 1989, compared with $202 per square foot last year, said Reid.