Santa Monica Place Reopens Today Near Third Street Promenade

August 6, 2010 at 8:34 AM | by juliana | Comments (0)

Way back in January 2008, Santa Monica Place, the mall at the end of the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Calif.--near the world famous Santa Monica Pier--closed for an extensive renovation. And we mean, extensive.

Much of the old mall, designed by Frank Gehry in 1980, was demolished and in its place, a 500,000sq.ft. three-story, open air shopping "destination" was erected.

Today that mall reopens as a spectacular high-end retail experience anchored by a stunning new Bloomingdale's. And not only does this new shopping mecca look pretty and modern but it's also eco-friendly and hopes to earn a LEED Silver certification.

We were able to pop into Bloomie's yesterday for a sneak peek (and a taste of their Forty Carrots frozen yogurt) but we'll be heading back there again today to check out the other stores such as Barneys Co-op, CB2 and the rooftop food court. More stores such as Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Tory Burch and even Nordstroms will be unveiled in the coming weeks.

For visitors to Santa Monica, a stroll along the pier and the Promenade is a must but you may want to save some duckets for this incredible new "unmall" mall. But whenever you get there, we have one simple tip: Breathe deeply when trying to park. The new mall did not add more parking spaces in the mix so parking will be tough, especially at 1pm on a Saturday afternoon in the summer. You may want to consider biking it, walking it or taking the bus.

Or you could always valet it. Mall customers pay $12, restaurant patrons pay $8 and the general public, i.e. people who want to go to the beach have to cough up $20.

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