The South Coast Metro is a district in Orange County, California within the cities of Santa Ana and Costa Mesa . The area is a dense mix of residential, office, and retail developments that spreads out from the South Coast Plaza mall. It forms part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wayne Airport edge city , a concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment outside a traditional central business district . The edge city's area is defined to include John Wayne Airport , the Irvine Business Complex (IBC), The District and The Market Place shopping centers, and the University of California, Irvine campus. This larger definition extends into Newport Beach , Irvine , and Tustin .
37-521: South Coast Metro straddles the city limits of Santa Ana and Costa Mesa, and is a dense mix of residential, office, and retail developments that spread out from South Coast Plaza and forms an urban-retail village that is distinct from the surrounding suburban development. The cultural elements include the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and South Coast Repertory theater company. C. J. Segerstrom and Sons,
74-412: A Tiffany's that opened in fall 1988. The Crystal Court standalone wing never performed as well as the original center, its separation due both to land restrictions and the fact that May Co. and The Broadway routinely refused to allow each other to build stores at their existing centers, which explains the proximity of so many competing malls throughout Southern California. In 1991, the I. Magnin location
111-569: A 40,000-square-foot (3,700 m ) showroom in 2002. Since 2007, South Coast Plaza has held "Fashion Plates", an annual 10-day Restaurant Week-like promotion of its high-end restaurants at discounted rates. In 2014, Taiwan-based chain Din Tai Fung opened a location in the Sears Wing. In 2016, Italian designer brand, WEEKEND MaxMara , opened its freestanding store in California. In July 2017,
148-536: A commercial real estate and retail management organization established in 1898, spearheaded commercial development in Orange County, California. Henry Segerstrom , as managing partner of the family-owned company, transformed the agricultural area into a lively, international destination. In March 1967, Henry T. Segerstrom, along with his cousin Hal T. Segerstrom, Jr., opened a shopping center called South Coast Plaza in one of
185-415: A newly built store across the street in the new Plaza Pasadena mall. In 1950, the company merged with Sacramento -based Hale Brothers to form Broadway-Hale Stores . In the same year it purchased the year-old Westchester branch of Milliron's and converted it to a Broadway. The store, designed by legendary retail architect Victor Gruen , was a considered a model of ultra-modern retail architecture at
222-597: Is $ 411 per square foot ($ 4,420/m ). The mall is anchored by three Macy's stores, Nordstrom , Bloomingdale's , and Saks Fifth Avenue . South Coast Plaza is the largest shopping mall in California and the 4th largest in the United States . In March 1967, members of the Segerstrom family, most notably, Harold (Hal) T. Segerstrom, Jr. and cousin, Henry Segerstrom opened a shopping center called "South Coast Plaza" in one of
259-742: Is a regional shopping mall in Costa Mesa, California . The largest shopping center on the West Coast of the United States , its pre-COVID sales of over $ 1.5 billion annually were the highest in the United States. Its 275 retailers represent the highest concentration of design fashion retail in the U.S., with the second highest sales-volume in California at $ 800 per square foot ($ 8,600/m )—second only to Westfield Valley Fair in San Jose-Santa Clara, at $ 809 per square foot ($ 8,710/m ). The national average
296-538: Is still privately held by the Segerstrom family (and the second largest family-owned center in the United States behind the Mall of America ), and so is one of the few shopping centers in the United States that have not been purchased by a Real estate investment trust /REIT. Sandra (Sandy) Segerstrom Daniels a Managing Partner of C. J. Segerstrom & Sons, founded the Festival of Children Foundation in 2002. The foundation hosts
333-490: The Federated Department Stores / Broadway Stores merger, Bloomingdale's was in negotiations to build a location at South Coast Plaza, but other anchor tenants would not give permission for its construction. When Federated merged all the stores into its Macy's West division in 1996, it opted to not convert Broadway's Crystal Court location to Bloomingdale's. Another $ 100,000,000 renovation and reconfiguring of
370-889: The Sears store was sold to the mall owners. On October 15, 2018, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of a plan to close 142 stores nationwide. The Sears anchor was closed permanently on January 1, 2019, making it the last original anchor store to close in the mall. In 2019, Furla opened a new store at South Coast Plaza. This was the company’s first store to open in California. In August 2020, South Coast Plaza reopened after an extended closure due to COVID-19 with additional safety measures, including social distancing requirements and more frequent cleaning of this. In 2021, new stores that opened included Thom Browne , Ganni , Untuckit , Louis Vuitton California Dream , Psycho Bunny , Loewe , Sock Harbor, and Nectar Bath Treats. In late 2023, Balmain opened its flagship store in
407-673: The Antonello Espresso Cafe. In February 2024, Palm Angels opened a location in the former Sears Wing, now known as the Din Tai Fung Wing. The center is adjacent to Interstate 405 in an area called South Coast Metro , which includes portions of the cities of Costa Mesa and Santa Ana . The Broadway The Broadway was a mid-level department store chain headquartered in Los Angeles, California . Founded in 1896 by English-born Arthur Letts Sr., and named after what
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#1732844384979444-643: The Downtown flagship store evolved in size as follows: In 1931, The Broadway bought the B. H. Dyas Hollywood store which became the Broadway-Hollywood . In 1940, The Broadway built a landmark three-story store in Pasadena , at the corner of Colorado and Los Robles on the site of the old famous Maryland Hotel. The striking Streamline Moderne building had a 117-foot tower with a marquee facing both streets, and parking for 400 cars. It would be abandoned in 1980 for
481-490: The Fall. These two stores were anchors at nearby Fashion Island , but were willing to cannibalize sales at that location due to the strong drawing power of South Coast Plaza. This signified South Coast Plaza's elevation from a regional shopping center to a national shopping destination. The expansion continued in fall 1987 with an enlargement of Bullock's and the redevelopment of the former Nordstrom as additional center space, including
518-720: The Nordstrom store is considered a seminal event as it was the first Nordstrom store outside of the Pacific Northwest and marked the West Coast and later the nationwide expansion of its chain. In 1986, the center began opening its largest expansion, with Nordstrom replacing its store with a new location twice the size of the original in May, and the addition of a free-standing wing across Bear Street, identified as "Crystal Court" and anchored by The Broadway and J. W. Robinson's , which opened in
555-538: The South Coast Metro moniker is not recognized by the USPS or other government entities as a distinct region. While there is no separate ZIP code for South Coast Metro, a freeway sign for the area is on the southbound Costa Mesa Freeway at MacArthur Boulevard. 33°42′0″N 117°53′0″W / 33.70000°N 117.88333°W / 33.70000; -117.88333 South Coast Plaza South Coast Plaza
592-476: The annual Festival of Children at South Coast Plaza each September. Festival of Children coincides with the foundation's efforts to recognize September as National Child Awareness Month. South Coast Plaza has always had a strong design element in its building. One of the most striking additions to the mall was the angular 1973 Bullock's wing designed by Welton Becket and the 1977 I. Magnin wing designed by Frank Gehry . In 1982, Henry Segerstrom commissioned
629-426: The center came in 2000, with Robinsons-May closing its Crystal Court location and expanding the original May Co. store. The separate Crystal Court name was dropped and the free-standing wing, now called the west wing, was joined to the original center by a 600-foot (180 m)-long pedestrian bridge across Bear Street. The west side was reoriented toward home furnishings, anchored by the former Broadway store, which
666-601: The center was well overdue for a remodeling and brought in Bentley Management Group as the project manager and Gruen Associates as the architect. Howard S. Wright was selected as the general contractor and construction began in summer 2006 on a $ 30 million remodeling project to update the center. South Coast Plaza underwent an intense makeover, with Italian ivory marble replacing the original burgundy tile floors, and travertine to surround new water and fountain features. Modern and contemporary oil-rubbed bronze replaced
703-569: The dated brass side railings and all door/elevator hardware including a glass elevator. Construction began in the Bloomingdale's wing, and was completed in time for the 40th anniversary of South Coast Plaza, in the Fall of 2007, just one year later. This is the largest remodel for the center since the construction of the Bridge of Gardens connecting the main building with the Crystal Court in 1999, and
740-580: The escalator atrium leading to the center's third floor is loosely modeled after the Grand Gallery of the Pyramid of Khufu . The original Mid-Century modern exteriors of Sears and May Company were redesigned shortly thereafter. In 2000, the pedestrian bridge, known as Bridge of Gardens, and accompanying Garden Terrace were completed by landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson . There are also carousels placed in wide rest areas. In 2006, Anton Segerstrom decided that
777-473: The exterior/interior remodel of the West building. South Coast Plaza continuously brings in approximately 24 million visitors annually. The shopping center has about 2.8 million square feet (260 thousand square meters) of gross leasable area and over 270 stores, making it one of the largest shopping centers in the United States . Its stores generate revenue of nearly 1.5 billion dollars per year, making it
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#1732844384979814-554: The family's lima bean fields in rapidly growing Orange County . Originally anchored by a May Company that had opened in late 1966 and Sears , the initial phase of the center was designed by Victor Gruen . It was built the same year as The Irvine Company 's nearby Fashion Island in Newport Beach . The success of the center brought rapid expansion: an additional wing with Bullock's in 1973, I. Magnin in 1977, Nordstrom in 1978, and Saks Fifth Avenue in 1979. The opening of
851-458: The family's lima bean fields in rapidly growing Orange County. Two high-rise residential towers, dubbed Skyline at Macarthur Place, were built in 2016 in the northeast corner of South Coast Metro by developer Skyline OC. The 25-story towers were marketed as high-end luxury condominiums , and became the tallest buildings in Orange County by number of floors. South Coast Metro's boundaries are generally defined as: Used often in real estate listings,
888-769: The highest-grossing center in the United States. In 2004, South Coast Plaza received the Federal Trademark as "The Ultimate Shopping Resort". A number of luxury brands have chosen South Coast Plaza as one of their few (and for some brands, their only) store locations. Zara made its debut in the California market opening their first California store in South Coast Plaza in 2004. In 2005, French luxury design house Chloé opted to open their second United States boutique at South Coast Plaza. Watch Manufacturer Rolex opened their flagship U.S. location at South Coast Plaza. Purveyor of modern furniture Room & Board also opened
925-447: The majority of locations were converted to the Macy's nameplate. Several stores in affluent areas where Macy's already had locations, South Coast Plaza , Sherman Oaks Fashion Square , Century City Shopping Center , Beverly Center , and Fashion Island Newport Beach, were closed, refurbished and reopened as Bloomingdale's . Federated sold many of the remaining stores to Sears . This is
962-448: The mall. In November, Paris-based brand Balenciaga also unveiled its flagship location in the mall, with the new store occupying over 9,500 square feet of space across two stories. In early 2024, it was announced that over thirty new brands, including Alaia , Amiri, Mejuri, and Santa Maria Novella, would open locations in the mall. A new Giorgio Armani boutique was also announced alongside plans for an Armani/Caffè location to replace
999-598: The new Hallett & Pirtle Building designed by Frederick Rice Dorn , who would later design the Marsh-Strong building and The Broadway Hollywood . Williams had a 30-foot storefront along Broadway, occupying only part of the building's ground floor. Other tenants included Pearson Draperies, the La Veta restaurant, medical offices, apartments, and later on the Hotel Savoy. In February, 1896, Williams went bankrupt and his store
1036-459: The sculptor, Isamu Noguchi, to design a small plaza at one end of the South-Coast facility. The result, "California Scenario" was an international prizewinner and is enjoyed by visitors and workers from the surrounding office buildings alike. The 1986–1987 expansion introduced postmodern architecture to the mall with a recurring pyramid motif . Chandeliers took the shape of inverted pyramids, and
1073-691: The time, with rooftop parking and striking, angular design designed to attract passing motorists. The Broadway bought out competitors in Los Angeles (B.H. Dyas, Milliron's , and Coulter's ), and expanded into new markets through acquisitions of small local chains: Marston's in San Diego and Korricks in Phoenix . In later years the Broadway opened stores in Nevada ( Las Vegas ), New Mexico , and Colorado . In 1979, it
1110-492: Was able to pay off all of his creditors in a short period of time after acquiring the assets for the failed store by the quick sale of the same assets and by watching his expenses. In a short period of time, the business was doing so well, that it had to expand into adjacent store fronts. Between 1900 and 1910, the population of Los Angeles more than tripled. Bullock's , in 1907, and Hamburger's (later May Co. ), in 1908, had both opened stores occupying entire city blocks. It
1147-622: Was advertised, had 242 feet (74 m) of storefront along Broadway and 166 feet (51 m) along Fourth Street. It was 9 stories high and covered 11 acres (4.5 ha), stretching from Broadway all the way west to Hill Street, which also had an entrance. On November 10, 1924, The Broadway added another building, 80 feet (24 m) wide and 123 feet (37 m) deep, immediately west of the main building along Fourth Street, thus adding 119,790 square feet (11,129 m ) of floor space over ten above-ground and three below-ground floors. It added six passenger and three freight elevators. In summary,
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1184-456: Was clear to Letts that The Broadway needed a new, much larger building. In 1912 The Broadway announced plans for a new nine-story building with nearly 11 acres of floor space to be built at the same location (320 W. Fourth St., southwest corner of Broadway, now the Junipero Serra state office building). The building was completed in 1915. The new "New and Greater Broadway store", as it
1221-476: Was closed by I. Magnin's new owner, Federated Department Stores and reopened as the first standalone Bullock's Men's store , also owned by Federated. May Co. and Robinson's merged in 1993 to form Robinsons-May , retaining both locations as separate full-line stores, while the two Bullock's locations and Broadway store were all renamed Macy's in early 1996, with again like Robinsons-May, separate stores being maintained on either side of Bear Street. In 1995, prior to
1258-486: Was liquidated. Arthur Letts bought the (by then "The Broadway Department Store") name, assets, fixtures, and lease for $ 8,377. On February 24th of that year, The Broadway started operating under Letts. The previous owners had a good location in a recently constructed building at the southwest corner of Broadway and Fourth Streets, but had all of its assets seized by their creditors for failure to pay its bills after just four short months of operations. In contrast, Letts
1295-768: Was once the city's main shopping street , the Broadway became a dominant retailer in Southern California and the Southwest. Its fortunes eventually declined, and Federated Department Stores (now Macy's, Inc. ) bought the chain in 1995. In 1996, Broadway stores were either closed or converted into Macy's and Bloomingdales , some of which were sold and converted to Sears , including the Stonewood Center and Whittwood Town Center locations. In 1895, J. A. Williams formed J. A. Williams & Co., built and opened his J. A. Williams & Co. Dry Goods Store on August 29, 1895 in
1332-555: Was refurbished as Macy's Home and Furniture. The former J. W. Robinson's store was redeveloped as center space at the time, housing primarily Crate & Barrel , Borders Books and Music , and Sport Chalet . In March 2006, the Robinsons-May store, historically the first store at South Coast Plaza as the May Company , was closed as part of its merger with Macy's and re-opened as Bloomingdale's in May 2007. South Coast Plaza
1369-449: Was split into two divisions: The Broadway Southern California, based in Los Angeles; and Broadway Southwest, headquartered in Phoenix, for the stores outside California. The Broadway's parent Carter Hawley Hale Stores ran into financial difficulties which resulted from poor management decisions and hostile takeover attempts. In 1996 the chain was acquired by Federated Department Stores and
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