Several new or expanded stores are opening up at Walt Whitman Shops, part of the major overhaul of the Huntington Station mall.
The 70,000-foot expansion is expected to be completed in the fall.
New to the mall lineup are Soma Intimates, which specializes in intimate apparel. The new 2,947 square-foot Soma boutique opened Jan. 31 in the Macy’s wing, next to White House | Black Market.
Also new is Tumi, which offers luxury travel, business and lifestyle accessories, which opened Jan. 24 on 1,333 square feet in the Bloomingdales wing, near Free People and Brighton Collectibles.
Expanding are:
Godiva, the Belgium chocolatier, which went from 687 square feet to 1,057 square feet and opened earlier this month near Simon Guest Services and Tourneau.
Bebe, a fashion retailer, will reopen in the Macy's wing, next to Abercrombie & Fitch and Francesca’s Collections. It is expanding from 4,044 square feet to a 4,621 square-foot location.
Also expanding and reopening soon are: Sunglass Hut, which will more than double in size, to an 885-square foot spot near Simon Guest Services and Tourneau. Brookstone will soon move into a 2,938 square-foot location near Microsoft and Victoria’s Secret.
“This year will be an incredible leap toward completing the big picture at Walt Whitman Shops, offering shoppers everything they could ask for in a thoroughly revitalized and exciting retail environment,” commented Deborah Weber, general manager for Walt Whitman Shops.
The mall added 11 new retailers in 2012: Anthropologie, The Art of Shaving, Free People, Hanna Andersson, Henri Bendel, Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, Microsoft, Swarovski, True Religion, Vera Bradley and White House | Black Market.
The mall also will have:
- A new center interior featuring installation of accent lighting, new seating areas, new color scheme for walls and flooring, a new Center Court, renovation of customer restrooms, along with the addition of a family restroom, and new skylights. The new restrooms were completed in November while interior work is underway and expected to be finished by late summer.
- A pedestrian-friendly exterior streetscape with new landscaping, upgraded site lighting, reconfiguration of parking with 150 additional spots and reorientation of driveways with the addition of traffic lights. Other than some final paving, changes to the parking areas on the Route 110 side are complete. Work on the remaining exterior improvements is just getting underway as well.
- Bus stop relocation to the south side of the property parking lot, adjacent to Panera Bread, with eight bus shelters and clearly defined route information for riders along with a new, modern transfer facility that began operating in April.
