Westfield Inc

The owner of Westfield Century City, Westfield Topanga and more than a dozen other shopping centers in Southern California announced plans Thursday to cut shopping hours at nearly all of its 55 U.S. malls starting March 1. Most of Westfield Group's malls will open 30 minutes later and close 30 minutes earlier on weekdays, spokeswoman Katy Dickey said. About a third will close an hour earlier on Sundays; hours will generally stay the same on Saturdays.

Unlike some cash-strapped competitors in the shopping center business, Westfield has nearly $7 billion in the bank and can't wait to start knocking down buildings and digging dirt for an ambitious expansion of its Century City mall. The $800-million project entails relocating Bloomingdale's, adding retail and office space, razing one of the original twin "Gateway" buildings designed by Welton Becket and replacing it with a 49-story tower with 262 apartments or condos.

With a map in her hand and a furrow in her brow, Delia Siedle tried to get her bearings. She was in alien territory, unsettled by the noisy throngs around her and the bewildering array of places to go. Should she head for the Village, a few minutes' walk away? Or wander over to the Southern Terrace? The map gave directions, but no answers. "I find it all a bit overwhelming, really," Siedle said.

The sprawling Westfield shopping complex in Woodland Hills promises to become one of the largest in Southern California based on the latest plans from developers eager to build an outdoor village connecting the Topanga and Promenade malls. The project planned by the Westfield Group would add a third mall, a hotel and residences to Westfield's existing properties in the west San Fernando Valley for a combined 3.8 million square feet of retail, office and residential space.

Toronto-based real estate giant TrizecHahn Corp. said Monday that it will sell its interest in 20 U.S. shopping malls to two U.S. real estate investment trusts--including Los Angeles-based Westfield America Inc.--in a $2.54-billion deal. The sale of the shopping centers--which include Fox Hills Mall in Culver City and Horton Plaza in San Diego--to Westfield and Rouse Co. marks a major exit by Canada's largest real estate company from the U.S. retail sector.