Beverly Center Set for Revamp
Los Angeles’ Beverly Center will be 25 years old in 2007, and navigating the shopping center will be a much easier task in the upcoming year.
On Nov. 1, the mall announced that the project to replace one of the center’s landmark five-story escalators was completed. The new escalator lines the exterior of the Beverly Boulevard side of the mall. Beverly Center General Manager Aj Jemison said the escalator, which first debuted in 1981, not only got new parts, it also got a new look.
It is fully encased in glass and has more than a dozen chandeliers. The first four floors feature decorative designs made with red tile. The fifth floor offers gold tile and a large foyer with a sweeping view of Los Angeles.
Jemison declined to state the cost of the escalator replacement. But she did say that the center, owned by Bloomfield, Mich.–based Taubman Centers Inc., will embark on a similar replacement of the five-story escalator on the La Cienega Boulevard side of the shopping center. Construction will start in January 2007 and end in October.
“[The shopping center] will look like a gorgeous 25-year-old woman with new makeup,” Jemison said.
It was announced that Fashion icon Gucci and car and apparel maker Ferrari signed leases to open boutiques at the shopping center. The shopping center did not reveal other information on the stores.
In other Beverly Center notes, the shopping center announced on Oct. 25 that it named Hilary Carr as its new marketing and sponsorship director. Carr formerly directed marketing campaigns and events for Florida-based Montecito Property Co. She also worked as a television producer/writer for companies such as Court TV.
Carr said she will use her television and marketing background to produce high-profile events at the shopping center. “We also want to make a point of how we are a big part of the community,” Carr said. —Andrew Asch
