Mind That Heavy Machinery, Shoppers

For those of you who are getting antsy about when the construction at South Coast Plaza will be over, take a few deep breaths.

It won’t be soon.

Much of commotion is at a former Crystal Court section, where a new Crate & Barrel home furnishing store is under construction. The store should open the first week of November, said Debra Gunn Downing, the center’s marketing director. Borders Books, Music and Cafe, which will slide into the adjacent space, also will open this fall.

The center’s owner has not yet announced who will fill up the rest of the space previously occupied by Robinsons-May. “Daily, leasing is out there showing it,” Downing said.

At the opposite end of the shopping plaza, Macy’s is still selling off marked-down merchandise. That 189,000-square-foot store will eventually be converted to a three-story Macy’s home store, the first in Orange County. It won’t be complete for a year.

Across the street, excavation is under way between the main Macy’s store and Nordstrom, the beginning of a major project to build a 611-foot pedestrian bridge to sweep over Bear Street and link the two sections of South Coast Plaza. The bridge won’t be ready until next spring, Downing said, but construction will be halted during the holiday season to lessen the confusion.

And more construction has just begun.

Last week workers began overhauling the Robinson’s-May in the larger section of South Coast Plaza. The store, which remains open, will be pushed out about 100 feet on the south side and enlarged by about 48,000 square feet. That project will also continue until spring.

Patience.