COMMUNITY COMMENTARY:Fashion Island evolves to serve its customers

When Fashion Island opened, it was big news.

The Daily Pilot published a 20-page special report on how we transformed a cow pasture into the largest shopping center west of St. Louis. One headline declared, “A Whole New Concept in Shopping Complex Design.” Former Newport Beach Mayor Paul J. Gruber called it “one of the most outstanding accomplishments” in the history of Southern California.

That was 1967.

Now, as Fashion Island marks its 40th anniversary, our new concept is no longer new — but it is still flourishing. Dozens of imitators have sprung up across the country, attempting to emulate the center’s bougain- villea-draped paseos, exclusive mix of shopping and fine dining, and unique outdoor experience.

Most shopping centers don’t survive 40 years, much less thrive the way Fashion Island has. Retail is dynamic and constantly evolving. The economy shifts. Technology advances. New concepts, like an Apple store, emerge and excite customers while outdated ones, like record and CD stores, slowly fade away. Global trade brings new products and choices. As president of The Irvine Company Retail Properties, one of my team’s biggest highlights — and most daunting challenges — is determining how best to anticipate the change that drives the retail world and transform it into opportunity.

The status quo not only becomes boring, it ultimately is death for a shopping center. Consider that three of Fashion Island’s original anchors — J.W. Robinsons, Buffum’s and Broadway-Hale — are no longer in business. Only four of Fashion Island’s original shops are still at the center.

Over the years, we learned that some businesses fit better at smaller, more intimate and accessible neighborhood shopping centers. Remember the J.C. Penney tire store? It’s hard to imagine bringing your car or truck to Fashion Island for repairs these days, but the for- mer tire store is a fine example of how the center’s mix of stores and services have continually evolved to meet the community’s changing expectations.

The challenge of change is constant and extends beyond merchandising. Fashion Island will always feature a sophisticated and relaxed outdoor atmosphere. But buildings age. Paint cracks. Opportunities to enhance Fashion Island abound, and we seize them at every opportunity.

In the 1980s, when J.C. Penney left, we experimented with grouping fast-casual restaurants together around comfortable indoor gathering space, and we called the improved building Atrium Court. The effort continues today as we build a new underground parking structure and replace a 30-year-old department store building with an attractive outdoor piazza.

Of course, Fashion Island wouldn’t be the unofficial town center of Newport Beach and an Orange County icon without you, our customers. More than 13 million people visit each year. It has been an honor to serve as host to such important community functions over the past four decades. Thank you for embracing us.

Here’s to the next 40 years. As has been the case since 1967, change is in the air. By embracing it, rather than resisting, we will ensure that Fashion Island remains fresh, interesting, relevant, one of the best shopping centers anywhere — and, as Mayor Gruber said so many years ago, one of the region’s most outstanding accomplishments.