Macerich's Santa Monica Place To Be New Home Of Zimmer Children's Museum By ShareWell

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan. 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Macerich (NYSE: MAC), one of the nation's leading owners, operators and developers of retail properties in top markets, and Zimmer Children's Museum by ShareWell, today announced the popular Los Angeles children's destination will move to Santa Monica Place.

Set to open in late 2018, the museum's new, larger location is expected to draw 250,000 visitors annually and will occupy more than 20,000 square feet at Santa Monica Place, located in Downtown Santa Monica, adjacent to Third Street Promenade and near the iconic Santa Monica Pier. The Zimmer Children's Museum offers a progressive array of classes and public programs each week in arts, music and movement, cross-cultural exchange, school readiness, early childhood education and languages. The museum's new location will feature a new, expanded experience and a curated museum shop. 

"This innovative use of space at our high-performing, award-winning Santa Monica Place is part of how we are redefining what a sophisticated retail property brings to the community," said Art Coppola, Chairman and CEO, Macerich. "Adding compelling new experiences to our top properties is a focus we're delivering on at Macerich. The Zimmer Children's Museum by ShareWell is a fantastic fit for Santa Monica Place, and enhances the cultural dimensions of this one-of-a-kind destination."

Bringing the Zimmer Children's Museum to Downtown Santa Monica offers significant partnership and creative programming opportunities for Santa Monica Place retailers and key organizations in this culturally vibrant community.

"Our Board leaders have been preparing for this move for many years," said Andy Kaplan, ShareWell Board Chair. "Our efforts to serve children, youth and families are directly linked to visibility and accessibility, both of which are abundantly available at Santa Monica Place. We are very excited about joining the Macerich family and opening our world-class children's museum in the heart of the City of Santa Monica."

The museum will be contracting expert exhibit designers and award-winning architects to design the new space, with initial renderings to be issued soon.

Esther Netter, CEO of Zimmer Children's Museum by ShareWell, added, "At ShareWell, through our children's museum and youth leadership initiative, we build community and encourage kids and youth to find their voices in making a difference. Partnering with Macerich is a step forward for our children's museum as a cultural institution."  

Located steps away from the Pacific Ocean, the unique, all-outdoor Santa Monica Place is home to Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., Tory Burch, DVF, Hugo Boss, BARNEYS NEW YORK, Nike, dozens more shops and an inspired collection of restaurants and entertainment experiences including True Food Kitchen, The Cheesecake Factory, Sonoma Wine Garden, ArcLight Cinemas and more. Santa Monica Place also is home to a growing set of engaging, digitally native brands, such as b8ta, Ministry of Supply, Monica + Andy, Peloton and others. 

About Zimmer Children's Museum by ShareWell

The Zimmer Children's Museum provides interactive exhibits and arts-based programming for children that promote creativity, diversity and social responsibility. The Zimmer Children's Museum and youTHink ? a youth development program for underserved teens ? are part of ShareWell, an organization that guides children and youth to recognize possibility within their communities and beyond, and to take meaningful, collaborative and collective action to create a better future.

About Macerich

Macerich, an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust, which focuses on the acquisition, leasing, management, development and redevelopment of regional malls throughout the United States.

Macerich currently owns 53 million square feet of real estate consisting primarily of interests in 48 regional shopping centers. Macerich specializes in successful retail properties in many of the country's most attractive, densely populated markets with significant presence in the Pacific Rim, Arizona, Chicago and the Metro New York to Washington, D.C. corridor.

A recognized leader in sustainability, Macerich has earned NAREIT's prestigious "Leader in the Light" award every year from 2014-2017. For the third straight year in 2017 Macerich achieved the #1 GRESB ranking in the North American Retail Sector, among many other environmental accomplishments. Additional information about Macerich can be obtained from the Company's website at www.macerich.com

SOURCE Macerich