Ala Moana Center, in the midst of its fifth major expansion since it opened nearly 50 years ago as the largest mall in the United States, finally may be running out of space to grow.

When the new mauka wing housing a three-story Nordstrom, 800 parking spaces and up to 15 retailers opens in March 2008, the venerable mall will have grown to more than 2 million square feet ? roughly triple the size when the first shoppers walked its corridors in 1959.

And that will leave little room for another major growth spurt.

"I don't know where we would put anything else," said Sharon James, regional marketing vice president for Ala Moana owner General Growth Properties Inc. "That's not to say that it can't be done. But we don't have anything planned."

Ala Moana, which lost its distinction as the largest American mall years ago, most likely will continue its reign as the state's largest shopping complex and be the most potent draw for resident and tourist shoppers whose shopping habits largely have adapted as the mall has evolved over the last half century.

When it opened in 1959, Ala Moana featured national and local retailer staples including Sears, Woolworth's, Hartfields, McInerny, Watumull's, Foodland and Shirokiya.

Subsequent expansion phases included a diamondhead wing anchored by J.C. Penney and Liberty House in 1966, the food court addition in 1987, a partial third level of luxury retailers in 1989 and Neiman Marcus and more third-level retail in 1999.

'IT'S A BIG-MONEY THING'

Kama'aina shoppers at the mall yesterday said the mall's changes mostly have been positive, though some miss the atmosphere of yesteryear.

"I remember McInerny, Ritz ... Farrell's, Keiki Land ... all the old-school stores," said David Lee of Honolulu. "I don't think it's for the local people anymore.

"It's a big-money thing," added Lee, 40. "I'd rather go to Pearlridge. I just come here for the crack seed" at Crack Seed Center, an original Ala Moana tenant.

Hawai'i Kai resident Kevin M. Loo, a 41-year-old musician who said he was singing on Ala Moana's Center Stage when he was 5 years old, believes the mall has done an excellent job mixing stores and restaurants with value to high-end merchandise from local and national tenants.

"Long-term, it's excellent," he said, looking forward to Nordstrom and more stores opening. "They're going to make it like the biggest malls in the Mainland."

Charlotte Nakamura, a 62-year-old retiree from Honolulu, remembers when Sears was the mall's only department store anchor. "There's been so much changes," she said. "I feel overwhelmed sometimes with all these high-end shops."

CUSTOMER MIX SPLIT

Ala Moana's customer base has fluctuated with the economy, starting with local residents, welcoming more tourists during Hawai'i's visitor industry boom, keying on high-spending Japanese visitors in the late 1980s, and refocusing on kama'aina over the past decade. Today, the customer mix is about evenly split between residents and visitors.

Owners of the Cathedral Gift Shop have seen all the change brought on by Ala Moana since the mall opened on reclaimed swamp land, and shifted the epicenter of O'ahu's retail district from downtown Honolulu to the fancy new shopping center with 87 stores and parking for 7,000 cars.

Bryan Siu, Cathedral Gift's president and general manager, said his mother, who owned and ran the store originally located downtown on Fort Street, saw the benefit of operating at the mall where Cathedral Gift has been since 1963.

"My mom fell in love with the concept that the customer could have free parking," he said. "Change is necessary."

Siu said adding Nordstrom will help keep the mall, and Cathedral Gift, competitive. "How can a premier mall not have that level of store?" he said. "It'll be fabulous for the shopping center."

THE NORDSTROM EFFECT

Ala Moana's James predicted Nordstrom, a major department store without another location in Hawai'i, will be a huge new draw.

"I think any time you add an anchor to a center, it's pretty significant," she said. "You're actually adding a new dynamic."

James expects the 200,000-square-foot Nordstrom store will broaden the mall's appeal more than any tenant since Neiman Marcus. But there have been about 50 new shops added to the mall in the past two years that have helped refine the mall's character.

Most of the newest stores filled space vacated when J.C. Penney pulled out of Hawai'i in 2003. The 220,000 square feet of Penney space was transformed into 140,000 square feet of usable space for tenants including Barnes & Noble, Romano's Macaroni Grill, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Hollister and Maui Divers Jewelry.

A few more tenants are expected to open in the former Penney area this year, including a nightclub called Pearl and a combination 350-seat restaurant and fish market named after Tokyo's famous Tsukiji Fish Market.

SALES BOOST EXPECTED

Tenants for the planned wing connecting the existing mall with Nordstrom fronting Kapi'olani Boulevard have not been determined. But James said they will probably appeal to Nordstrom's typical customer.

The mauka wing under construction is likely to boost Ala Moana's average sales per square foot. The average, at about $1,200, is among the three highest for any mall in the country. Total annual sales at Ala Moana are more than $1 billion.

'I THINK IT'S DONE'

Donald Graham, who managed the center as it was being developed by Dillingham Corp., said he's not surprised by how big the mall has grown.

"We always hoped that it would be bigger," he said. "I've enjoyed seeing it happen."

Graham believes that after the Nordstrom wing is finished, Ala Moana's owner will direct future retail growth to nearby Victoria Centers, which General Growth bought in 2002.

"General Growth is a growth company," Graham said. "But I don't see how they can (expand Ala Moana any further). They're packed now. I think it's done."