It's official. Herberger's will open at Southdale Center in Edina this November, giving the struggling mall its biggest break in years.
The mall's owner, Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group Inc., finally announced the deal Thursday after months of speculation. It offered few details but hinted that there could be more announcements in upcoming months.
"I think this is going to be an exciting year for Southdale and for the community," said Laurie Van Dalen, Southdale Center's general manager.
Simon is also getting to work on the mall's interior, creating a new shopping corridor on the mall's first level that will allow shoppers to look straight to J.C. Penney from the center court, Van Dalen said. It's building a new food court near J.C. Penney too, that will have indoor and outdoor seating and six food tenants. That's expected to open by the holidays.
She declined to put a dollar value on the renovations, but said "it's a significant amount of money." The mall's previous food court, tucked in the corner on the top level, will close.
The new Herberger's store will occupy about 135,000 square feet, taking up most of the empty anchor hole created when Mervyn's left the mall more than five years ago. It will be the sixth Herberger's store in the Twin Cities.
Executives at Bon-Ton Stores Inc., the York, Pa.-based owner of Herberger's, couldn't immediately be reached for comment. But the company issued a statement saying it has signed a letter of intent with Simon Property Group, and that the new Southdale store will "feature a premier merchandise assortment."
"Minneapolis continues to be an excellent market for us, and we look forward to further expansion of the Herberger's brand in the area," the statement said.
