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Andrew Edwards

The Niketown store at Triangle Square will shut down at the end of

the month, Nike Inc. announced Tuesday, citing too many vacancies at

the long-troubled mall as a chief reason.

A spokeswoman for the shopping center disputed that claim.

According to Nike’s statement, the store is scheduled to close on

Jan. 30. Though Niketown’s current lease agreement was not set to

expire until 2008, Nike spokeswoman Caitlyin Morris said the contract

allows the store to leave if Triangle Square’s occupancy remains

below 70% for 18 consecutive months.

A Triangle Square spokeswoman, who asked not to be named, said the

mall’s occupancy is closer to 75%. Those figures include Niketown,

all other stores at the mall and two restaurants that have signed

leases but have not yet opened.

Triangle Square, managed by the Los Angeles-based Charles Dunn

Real Estate Services, Inc., will try to negotiate a deal to keep

Niketown in Costa Mesa, the mall’s spokeswoman said.

Morris, however, said Nike is intent on closing down the store,

and that company officials are sure they can legally escape their

lease agreement.

“We’re confident in our position on that decision,” Morris said.

Nike has no plans to open any new stores in Newport-Mesa, Morris

said.

Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor called the news disappointing.

“I liked shopping there,” he said. “I think it clearly shows the

need that we have to do whatever we can to encourage the private

sector to remain and do business at Triangle Square.”

The news of Niketown’s departure is the latest in a consistent

stream of troubling business news for the center. Despite its prime

downtown location, officials have struggled to attract tenants since

Triangle Square’s opening in 1992.

Frequent management changes have also plagued the center, with

marketing directors changing six times in a four-year period ending

in 2001.

In the middle of 2003, center officials were touting coming

tenants and a bright future for the 191,000-square-foot mall.

The Niketown store has 39 employees, and Morris said all were

offered severance packages and chances to apply for other positions

with the company.

Niketown opened in 1994, and Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce

president Ed Fawcett recalled that before the store opened, he was

involved in technical wranglings between the store and the city over

whether the store’s sign was in fact a sign or an architectural

feature.

“It was one of the first things that I got embroiled with” he

said.

Sad to hear of the store’s imminent closure, Fawcett said the

departure of Niketown, one of Triangle Square’s most visible anchor

stores, could be a harsh blow to the shopping square.

Mansoor said there is little the city can do beyond maintain

infrastructure and public safety in the area.