The original Emporium department store building in San Fransco first opened its doors in 1896. Two centuries later, in Autumnn 2006, it will become the focal point of Westfield San Francisco Centre as the edifice is transformed to become a brand spanking new Bloomingdale’s. This nearly 500,000-square foot, multi-level vertical shopping center in the heart of the City, a few blocks from the world famous Union Square, will dominate Market Street, be worth every dollar of the $420 million project, and be part of the Bay Area’s largest mall.
The biggest challenged faced by RTKL Associates was integrating the existing San Francisco Centre with the adjacent former Emporium department store building, including the store’s dome, rotunda and facade. Westfield is developing, leasing and managing the project, which includes approximately 350,000 square feet of new specialty store, restaurant and office space, a state-of-the-art, nine-screen Century Theatres complex, combined with the largest Bloomingdale’s department store outside New York and the largest Nordstrom outside Seattle.
Upon completion in the Fall of 2006, the new Westfield San Francisco Centre will encompass approximately 1.5 million square feet. More importantly, it will emerge as a world-class, pre-eminent shopping destination for downtown San Francisco and one of the most important retail facilities on the West Coast.
Read more: Westfield San Francisco Centre.