Famed New York retailer Bloomingdale’s will open its first Hawaii store in the fall of 2015, replacing Sears at Ala Moana Center.

Hawaii’s first so-called "Bloomie’s" will move into a three-level, 167,000-square-foot space after a $572.4 million redevelopment by mall owner General Growth Properties. The luxury department store is expected to employ 250 people.

The project will double the retail space and includes adding an anchor tenant as well as midsize and smaller retailers, reconfiguring Center­stage and upgrading the surrounding street-level shops.

"We are making this store decision now because of the great opportunity to be part of the redevelopment of Ala Moana, one of the very best shopping centers in the United States," said Bloomingdale’s spokesman Jim Sluzewski. "It will allow Bloomingdale’s to serve new customers — both Hawaii residents and visitors from around the world."

The luxury retailer has no plans to open other stores in the islands, he said.

Bloomingdale’s parent company is Macy’s Inc., whose eponymous store replaced longtime isle retailer Liberty House at the center in 2001.

General Growth is forcing Sears to close more than six months earlier than scheduled to demolish the 340,000-square-foot anchor store in July. Sears said it will lay off 327 workers when it shutters its Ala Moana store next month.

The project will expand the Sears space to 650,000 square feet, which will include Bloomingdale’s and other large retailers and restaurants, as well as 200,000 square feet of smaller tenants. It also is giving the entire mall a face-lift, including the food court, customer amenities, landscaping and pedestrian access from Ala Moana Boulevard. Construction will begin in 2014.

Sales at Ala Moana exceed $1,400 per square foot with 42 million shopper visits annually, and "adding Bloomingdale’s to its stellar department store and retailer lineup only furthers Ala Moana’s status as a premier retail destination," Sandeep Mathrani, CEO of General Growth Properties, said in a statement.

Ala Moana will be Bloomingdale’s 38th store in the United States, carrying designer and luxury goods including women’s, men’s and children’s apparel, shoes, accessories and beauty items as well as home goods. The retailer joins Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Macy’s, and an extensive list of luxury tenants.

"It is a beautiful open-air shopping center that is a recognized destination not only for local customers from the Hawaiian islands, but also for visitors from the U.S. mainland, Asia and worldwide," Michael Gould, chairman and CEO of Bloomingdale’s, said in a statement. "In Hawaii, we will offer global customers the unique Bloomingdale’s sense of contemporary style, as well as the attentive service that sets us apart."

Sears is a charter tenant that opened in 1959 with the center, now the world’s largest open-air shopping mall.

"Ala Moana’s realigning themselves to provide the type of retailer that these Asian markets coming into Hawaii want," said Hono­lulu retail analyst Stephany Sofos. "They see that the Asian market is going to be a very important market for consumer sales so they’re gearing themselves up to provide for that quality of consumer. What does that mean for the local market? It’s going to be a fun place to visit. "

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Star-Advertiser reporter Erika Engle contributed to this report.