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South Coast Plaza marks 45 years

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When South Coast Plaza opened in March 1967, the indoor center boasting air conditioning and door-to-door shopping was revolutionary for its time.

“The idea was to use the land to build a retail shopping complex,” Debra Gunn Downing, executive director of marketing, said of the plan that transformed lima bean fields owned by the Segerstrom family into South Coast Plaza. “But, the vision was there from the beginning: that it could become a very important shopping center not only around California, but also nationwide.”

The Costa Mesa center opened with 70 stores, with the May Co.and Sears as the first two anchor stores. Bullock’s, Woolworth’s and Joseph Magnin department stores followed later.

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Forty-five years later, the center is experiencing its highest lease occupancy at 270 stores and is considered a global player on the high-end shopping scene, Gunn Downing said.

“It is considered to be a marker of success for top retailers,” said Gunn Downing. “It very prestigious to have a store here.”

High-end retailers Brunello Cucinelli, Longchamp, Lululemon Athletica, Omega, Madewell and Microsoft opened shops at the center last year.

This year for South Coast Plaza, Roger Vivier, the Parisian luxury shoe brand credited with inventing the stiletto heel, opens its West Coast flagship store March 30. Diane Von Furstenberg opens its first Orange County boutique in April, and Anthropologie will open a flagship store in August in the space formerly occupied by Borders.

The center features 2.3 million feet of retail and dining space, attracting about 22 million visitors annually, according to the March issue of Newsline, the center’s newsletter.

sarah.peters@latimes.com

Twitter: @speters01

South Coast Plaza milestones

1967: South Coast Plaza opened.

1972: Carousel Court was built, South Coast Plaza’s signature carousel.

1978: Nordstrom opened its first California location at South Coast Plaza.

1986: The Segerstroms expanded South Coast Plaza with the addition of the Macy’s Home Store/Crate & Barrel wing.

2007: Bloomingdale’s opened its largest Southern California location, with a 300,000-square-foot flagship store at South Coast Plaza.

Source: South Coast Plaza

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