Fashion Island prefers Italian

Fashion Island is slated to get a $100-million makeover over the next two years featuring Italian-inspired fountains and 150,000 square feet of additional retail space, the Irvine Co. announced Thursday.

The renovations will give the 42-year-old shopping center more of an old-world feel, with replicas of old Italian street lights and brick paving stones.

The updated Fashion Island also will include patio seating and more small cafes tucked into corners at the center, to give the center a more European ambience.

The multimillion-dollar project was inspired in part by the Irvine Co.-owned Resort at Pelican Hill, said Keith Eyrich, president of the Irvine Co.’s retail properties.

With its Tuscan-inspired decor, Pelican Hill opened in the fall.

“With Pelican Hill, I think the Irvine Co. decided what direction they wanted to go with establishing a sense of place with Fashion Island,” Eyrich said.

Breaking with company protocol, the Irvine Co. released what it planned to spend on the renovations.

A privately held company, the Irvine Co. doesn’t typically release financial information and would not disclose to the public what it spent on the Resort at Pelican Hill.

“I think it just speaks to the fact that the Irvine Co. is committed to Fashion Island, and we’re here to stay,” said Jane Gillespie, a spokeswoman for Fashion Island.

Part of the remodeling project includes plans for a new hand-carved fountain between Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale’s that will feature a 45-foot-tall obelisk.

The renovation will be the shopping center’s first major face lift since 1989, when it added 70,000 feet of retail space for 60 new stores and transformed the modern architecture there to a more Spanish-inspired design.

The remodeling project, which includes several phases of construction, is slated to be completed in fall 2011.

Barricades have already gone up outside several stores in preparation for work to begin.

Several retailers have left Fashion Island this year when their leases expired or after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but Eyrich said the remodeling project has nothing to do with recent store closures.

The children’s and maternity boutique Babystyle at Fashion Island closed at the end of April, and the home furnishings store Shabby Chic closed earlier this month.

Both retailers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year.

The denim and casual wear clothier Chip & Pepper shuttered its West Coast flagship store at Fashion Island at the end of April to move to Los Angeles.

National retailers Pottery Barn and the Body Shop both closed their doors at Fashion Island in January when their leases expired.

Fashion Island expects several new retailers to take up residence at the center in the coming year.

A 140,000-square-foot Nordstrom is slated to open in April, and a 42,000-square-foot Dick’s Sporting Goods will open in early July.

The center also expects three Orange County exclusive stores, a 2,000-square-foot Michael Stars, a 2,400-square-foot True Religion and a 3,000-square-foot Seven for All Mankind to open this fall.

The West Coast flagship store for gourmet food merchant Dean and DeLuca also is expected to open in 2010.