By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

JAMES FARRALLY/Acorn Newspapers SKY HIGH WORKERS-Chris Herrera, right, and Lee Wiedel connect steel beams to form the frame of Building 300 at the Simi Valley Town Center construction site in Simi Valley last week. It's the first mall building being constructed at the site, which will eventually include Macy's and Robinsons-May. The 750,000-square-foot facility is being built by Forest City Enterprises, head- quartered in Cleveland, Ohio. The mall is expected to open in October, just in time for the holidays.

Steel rose out of the hills last week to form what will become the Simi Valley Town Center mall—the first regional mall to be built in Ventura County in 25 years.

For decades, city officials have tried to entice mall developers and larger retailers to Simi Valley but were told the city wasn’t big enough. Now the area has a population of about 120,000 and residents with high-income levels—attractive lures to anchor stores such as Macy’s and Robinsons-May, who signed on early as Town Center tenants. The mall is expected to open in the fall.

For a few of the retailers (marked with a •) who will open in Town Center, the store represents their first presence in Ventura County. Councilmember Steve Sojka said that was by design.

Instead of a cookie-cutter shopping center, the Town Center mall will be home to some unique tenants. The plan makes good business sense and will draw residents of Thousand Oaks and Porter Ranch, said Sojka, a business owner.

Below is a listing of some the mall’s tenants:

Clothing and shoe stores

Abercrombie & Fitch

•American Eagle Outfitters

•Coldwater Creek

Express

•Finish Line

Gymboree

•Hollister Co.

•Jos. A. Bank Clothiers

Journeys

•lucy’s

•New York & Co.

•No Fear

Pacific Sunwear

Victoria’s Secret

Eateries

Haagen-Dazs

Islands

Jamba Juice

Johnny Carino’s

Quizno’s

Red Robin

Starbucks Coffee

Other stores

Academy Optical

Bath & Body Works

Best Buy

The Body Shop

Brookstone

EB Games

Fashion Nail and Day Spa

Fragrenza

Hallmark

Lenscrafters

Lowe’s

Picture People

Zales

Despite rumors that the Cheesecake Factory will open a restaurant in the mall, a spokeswoman for the Calabasas-based company said they have no plans to do so this year.

City officials and the developer plan to announce additional tenants in the coming months.