Work will begin this summer on an outdoor-oriented redevelopment of the vacant Kaufmann's department store.

The two-story structure will be partially demolished in late June to make way for 160,000 square feet of buildings and outdoor space resembling Easton Town Center. No tenants have been announced, but Polaris officials previously said such a conversion would make it easier to attract restaurants and entertainment-oriented tenants to the mall.

"This is going to be a complementary mix to what is already at Polaris," Jill Clark, director of marketing for mall owner Glimcher Realty Trust, said yesterday.

The project is expected to be completed near the end of 2008, she said. The 200,000-square-foot Kaufmann's closed last year after its corporate parent, May Department Stores, was acquired by rival Federated Department Stores, owner of Macy's.

Polaris Fashion Place opened in 2001 with seven anchor stores: Kaufmann's, Lazarus (now Macy's), Lord & Taylor, JCPenney, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sears and the Great Indoors. Von Maur replaced Lord & Taylor in 2005.

Consumer tastes have shifted away from enclosed malls toward lifestyle centers in recent years. Easton is one of the best-known lifestyle centers in the country.

"It's definitely a trend in the industry," said Malachy Kavanagh, spokesman for the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Only three enclosed malls will open this year in the United States, he said.

Restaurants and bookstores are among the businesses attracted to the outdoor centers because of increased visibility, parking and seating options.

"They want to be seen from the road and an enclosed mall doesn't allow for that," Kavanagh said.

jsheban@dispatch.com