TEMECULA -- Plans for the 126,000-square-foot expansion of The Promenade mall were unveiled Tuesday before the City Council to familiarize residents with the project -- as well as to make sure the developers are on track with the vision of the city.

"Tonight's presentation was for the benefit of the citizens," Temecula Mayor Chuck Washington said. "But before this item goes to the planning commission, we wanted to make sure the developer was aware of any concerns the council had."

The Temecula Planning Commission is scheduled to review the expansion project Feb. 21. The project would then return to the City Council for final approval in March. No action was taken at the public hearing Tuesday.

If the project is completed as planned, the size of The Promenade mall would total nearly 1.2 million square feet.

Forest City Enterprises, a Cleveland-based mall owner, is the developer of the project. Kenneth Lee, Forest City's vice president for West Coast developments, said he hopes the expansion is completed in time for the 2008 Christmas shopping season. While he said the price tag of the expansion would be in the "multimillion dollar" range, he could not release a specific figure.

"We appreciate the feedback so we know we're going in the right direction," Lee said of the presentation to the council. "This is the time to do it right and we want to do it now."

The proposed expansion would branch off from the main part of the mall between the Macy's department store and the free-standing Edwards Cinema building. There would a "Main Street" constructed with two-story shops on both sides of a two-way road that would extend from the mall building south to the drive circling the mall.

"It creates more openness," said Washington of the Main Street effect. "I think closed malls are a thing of the past. What the (developer) is trying to create is that small town feel with an upscale nature."

Connecting the expansion with the existing indoor mall was a concern for City Councilwoman Maryann Edwards.

"How are you going to pull the mall in with the rest of it?" Edwards asked the developers after the meeting. "I'm not saying it can't be done, but that will be key."

The proposed expansion would be built on land used for mall parking. To accommodate the displaced parking areas, two new garages would be built, including one five stories tall with 943 parking spots.

Raymond Johnson of Temecula, who spoke at the public hearing, said that, while the expansion appeared to be a good idea, there were potential problems including traffic flow and the behemoth parking structure that would tower over the buildings on the main street.

"The major difference between the 'Main streets' that most people identify with and this 'Main Street', is that they don't have a five-story parking structure behind it," Johnson said. "It really seems out of scale."

Public Works Director Bill Hughes said the city's engineering and traffic departments will review the traffic circulation of the mall and the potential effects of the expansion.

- Contact staff writer Nicole Sack at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or nsack@californian.com.