The Biltmore Fashion Park is a luxury outdoor retail and dining plaza located in the Biltmore District of Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

, along the prestigious stretch of East Camelback Rd. The recently renovated and expanded mid-century plaza is the city of Phoenix's premiere address for high-end retail. The Biltmore Fashion Park, as well as the surrounding business and residential district, are named after the historic Arizona Biltmore Hotel

Arizona Biltmore Hotel

The Arizona Biltmore Hotel is a resort located in Phoenix near 24th Street and Camelback Road. It recently joined the Hilton Hotels' luxury collection The Waldorf-Astoria Collection and was also featured on the Travel Channel show Great Hotels....

, nearby.

Since 2002, it has been owned by Westcor

Westcor

Westcor is a subsidiary of The Macerich Company and owns 18 shopping malls and plazas in the Southwestern region of the United States. It was founded in 1964 by entrepreneur Bob Teske. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Westcor is Arizona's leading mall developer...

, a subsidiary of The Macerich Company. It is located in an upscale area of Phoenix, bordering the popular tourist sites of Scottsdale, Arizona

Scottsdale, Arizona

Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...

 and Paradise Valley

Paradise Valley, Arizona

Paradise Valley is a small, affluent town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2005 Census Bureau, the population of the town was 14,558. Despite the town's relatively small area and population compared to other municipalities in the Phoenix metropolitan area, Paradise...

.

History

Biltmore Fashion Park opened on 31 acres (125,452.7 m²) of land in what was once considered "the outskirts" of Phoenix, in 1963. Anchored at that time by San Francisco's upscale I. Magnin

I. Magnin

I. Magnin & Company was a San Francisco, California-based high fashion and specialty goods luxury department store. Over the course of its existence, it expanded across the West into Southern California and the adjoining states of Arizona, Oregon, and Washington...

 and The Broadway

The Broadway

The Broadway was a mid-level department store chain headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States of America. Founded in 1896 by English born Arthur Letts, Sr., who later went on to develop Holmby Hills, The Broadway became one of the dominant retailers in Southern California and the...

. It was the city's original luxury shopping and dining destination.

During the 1960s and 1970s, The Gittings Portrait Studio at the Biltmore photographed the likes of John Wayne

John Wayne

Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...

, Bob Hope

Bob Hope

Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...

, Princess Grace of Monaco, Barry Goldwater

Barry Goldwater

Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...

, Red Skelton

Red Skelton

Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton was an American comedian who is best known as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and went on to vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, TV, night clubs and casinos, all while pursuing...

, Sophia Loren

Sophia Loren

Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...

, and many other celebrities and well-known figures who frequented the Biltmore.

In the mid-1990s, the center was purchased by Taubman Centers

Taubman Centers

Taubman Centers is an owner of United States upscale regional malls and has headquarters in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The Taubman Asia subsidiary is headquartered in Hong Kong. It has the highest selling portfolio of malls in any mall company in the United States.Taubman was founded in 1950 by...

 for $115 million, helping Biltmore Fashion Park transform further into a premiere luxury shopping destination. During this period, the Biltmore underwent a transformation. Both original anchors changed hands, with Saks Fifth Avenue

Saks Fifth Avenue

Saks Fifth Avenue is a luxury American specialty store owned and operated by Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises , a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated. It competes in the high-end specialty store market in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, i.e. 'the 3 B's' Bergdorf, Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor...

 taking over I. Magnin's former space and Macy's

Macy's

Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...

 taking The Broadway's former space. The center also introduced a number of new luxury retailers, including Cartier

Cartier SA

Cartier S.A., commonly known as Cartier , is a French luxury jeweler and watch manufacturer. The corporation carries the name of the Cartier family of jewellers whose control ended in 1964 and who were known for numerous pieces including the "Bestiary" , the diamond necklace created for Bhupinder...

, Christofle

Christofle

Christofle is a manufacturer of fine silver flatware and home accessories based in France since 1830. They are renowned for their sterling, silverplate and stainless flatware. Among Christofle's product lines are silver picture frames, crystal vases and glassware, porcelain dinnerware and silver...

, Cole Haan

Cole Haan

Cole Haan is a fashion label that was founded in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in 1928.The name comes from founders Trafton Cole and Eddie Haan. Originally Cole Haan was a men's footwear label...

, Escada

Escada

Escada is an international luxury fashion group in women's designer clothing. The company has a presence in about 60 different countries. Its main sales markets are North America, western and eastern Europe and Asia. It filed bankruptcy in August 2009, and was acquired by Megha Mittal, in November...

, Gucci

Gucci

The House of Gucci, better known simply as Gucci , is an Italian fashion and leather goods label, part of the Gucci Group, which is owned by French company PPR...

, Landau

Landau

Landau or Landau in der Pfalz is an autonomous city surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town , a long-standing cultural centre, and a market and shopping town, surrounded by vineyards and wine-growing villages of the...

, Lanciani, Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton Malletier – commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV – is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes,...

, Max Nugus and Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren is an American fashion designer and business executive; best known for his Polo Ralph Lauren clothing brand.-Early life:...

. The Biltmore was also chosen as one of three sites nationwide for The Galleries of Neiman Marcus

Neiman Marcus

Neiman Marcus, formerly Neiman-Marcus, is a luxury specialty retail department store operated by the Neiman Marcus Group in the United States. The company is headquartered in the One Marcus Square building in Downtown Dallas, Texas, and competes with other department stores such as Saks Fifth...

; however, Neiman Marcus folded the concept two years later.

The Biltmore continued to remain as the dominant luxury collection in Phoenix, drawing the metropolitan area's at the time sole Allen Edmonds

Allen Edmonds

Allen Edmonds is a shoe manufacturing and retail company based in Port Washington, Wisconsin. The company was established in Belgium, Wisconsin in 1922. Allen Edmonds operates 32 retail stores in 17 states...

, Apple, Elizabeth Arden

Elizabeth Arden

Florence Nightingale Graham , who went by the business name Elizabeth Arden, was a Canadian-American businesswoman who built a cosmetics empire in the United States. At the peak of her career, she was one of the wealthiest women in the world.-Biography:Arden was born in 1884 at Woodbridge, Ontario,...

, Rangoni Firenze, Stuart Weitzman

Stuart Weitzman

Stuart A. Weitzman is the designer of the international, high-end shoe company, Stuart Weitzman.Stuart Weitzman's trademark use of unique materials , and his attention to detail, garnered him and his company a global following...

, and Waterworks

WaterWorks

WaterWorks is a water park owned by Cedar Fair, located at the back of Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia. When it debuted in 1992, it was originally named Hurricane Reef...

 stores. Tommy Bahama

Tommy Bahama

Tommy Bahama is the Seattle-based manufacturer of casual, men’s & women’s sportswear, denim, swimwear, accessories, footwear and a complete home furnishings collection. The brand is owned by Atlanta-based Oxford Industries. Tommy Bahama is available at Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Sak's Fifth Avenue,...

 also opened a flagship store at the center.

By the early 2000s, due to growing retail competition from other, newer high-end retail centers in nearby Scottsdale, Arizona

Scottsdale, Arizona

Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...

, the Biltmore Fashion Park was purchased by Westcor, and underwent a major renovation, with hopes of revitalizing the older, mid-century exterior of the center which some considered dated. With the plaza already considered a local Phoenix landmark, it was a controversial decision at the time.

The redevelopment's mission was to effectively sever a then-heated rivalry for the same prominent national retailers, between the Biltmore and the larger Scottsdale Fashion Square

Scottsdale Fashion Square

Scottsdale Fashion Square is the largest shopping mall in Arizona and the American Southwest, with approximately 2 million square feet of retail space, and is among the top 30 largest malls in the country. It is one of the top 10 most profitable malls in the country with over $740 sales per square...

 just a couple of miles away. In order to achieve this, Westcor initiated a relocation project of the more global brand names to the Fashion Square to allow more room for "home-grown" and "fashion forward" stores. Following Louis Vuitton's move to Fashion Square in 2002, Westcor also transplanted Betsey Johnson

Betsey Johnson

Betsey Johnson is an American fashion designer best known for her feminine and whimsical designs. Many of her designs are considered "over the top" and embellished...

, Gucci. The center is signing younger stores, including CALYPSO Christiane Celle, Patagonia

Patagonia (clothing)

Patagonia, Inc. is a Ventura, California-based clothing company, focusing mainly on outdoor clothing. The company is a member of several environmental movements. It was founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1972....

, Vera Bradley

Vera Bradley

Vera Bradley Designs, Inc. is an American design company best known for its soft, brightly patterned bags. The Fort Wayne, Indiana company produces a variety of products, including quilted cotton luggage, handbags and accessories. There are more than 3500 retailers of Vera Bradley and stand alone...

, and the first Roberto Botticelli in the United States. Despite these luxury movement, Saks Fifth Avenue

Saks Fifth Avenue

Saks Fifth Avenue is a luxury American specialty store owned and operated by Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises , a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated. It competes in the high-end specialty store market in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, i.e. 'the 3 B's' Bergdorf, Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor...

 has expanded its store due to high sales growth. The store has leased space to open Louis Vuitton, Fendi

Fendi

Fendi is an Italian high fashion house best known for its "baguette" handbags. It was launched in 1925 as a fur and leather shop in Rome, but today is a multinational luxury goods brand owned by LVMH...

, Chanel Cosmetics

Chanel

Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...

, and the first-ever La Prairie

Beiersdorf

Beiersdorf AG is a multinational corporation based in Hamburg, Germany, manufacturing personal care products. Its brands include Elastoplast, Eucerin , Labello, and Nivea....

 boutiques. It also significantly expanded its Prada

Prada

Prada S.p.A. is an Italian fashion label specializing in luxury goods for men and women , founded by Mario Prada.-Foundations:...

, Chanel and Gucci vendor shops.

Other retailers set to open include Theory and Intermix.

It is known for many upscale dining establishments. James Beard

James Beard

James Andrew Beard was an American chef and food writer. The central figure in the story of the establishment of a gourmet American food identity, Beard was an eccentric personality who brought French cooking to the American middle and upper classes in the 1950s...

 award-winner Christopher Gross of Christopher's Fermier Brasserie and Paola's Wine Bar top the list of Biltmore Fashion Park's 12 restaurants and eateries.

Major stores

• Borders
  Borders Group
  Borders Group, Inc. was an international book and music retailer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The company employed approximately 19,500 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders and Waldenbooks stores....
  
   (31,000 sq ft.)
• Macy's
  Macy's
  Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
  
   (213,000 sq ft.)
• Ralph Lauren
  Ralph Lauren
  Ralph Lauren is an American fashion designer and business executive; best known for his Polo Ralph Lauren clothing brand.-Early life:...
  
   (12,000 sq ft.)
• Saks Fifth Avenue
  Saks Fifth Avenue
  Saks Fifth Avenue is a luxury American specialty store owned and operated by Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises , a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated. It competes in the high-end specialty store market in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, i.e. 'the 3 B's' Bergdorf, Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor...
  
   (90,000 sq ft.)

Restaurants

• The Wine List
• California Pizza Kitchen
  California Pizza Kitchen
  California Pizza Kitchen , known within the food industry as CPK, is a casual dining restaurant chain that specializes in California-style pizza...
  
  
• The Capital Grille
  The Capital Grille
  The Capital Grille is a national chain of upscale steakhouses; it currently has locations in twenty states and the District of Columbia. It is owned by Darden Restaurants, based in Orlando, Florida, a multi-brand restaurant operator that owns other restaurant brands such as Olive Garden and Red...
  
  
• The Cheesecake Factory
  The Cheesecake Factory
  The Cheesecake Factory, Inc. is a restaurant company in the United States. The company operates 165 upscale, casual, full-service dining restaurants: 151 under The Cheesecake Factory mark, 13 under the Grand Lux Cafe mark and one under the RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen mark...
  
  
• Christopher's Fermier Brasserie
• Oceanaire
• Sam's Cafe, a Southwestern Grill
• Steamer's Genuine Seafood
• Three Dog Bakery

External links

• Biltmore Fashion Park
• http://www.AzBiltmore.com - AzBiltmore.com - Neighborhood Portal & Website of the Arizona Biltmore Estates