RANCHO CUCAMONGA >> A building at Victoria Gardens has been demolished to make way for another along South Main Street, mall officials said.

Construction will continue through summer 2018 in a space near the Apple Store.

The outdoor mall has already signed a tenant for the space: Zara, a clothing and accessories retailer with headquarters in Spain.

The Rancho Cucamonga store, expected to open in 2018, will be Zara’s first in the Inland Empire. Its nearest locations are in Arcadia and Pasadena.

Online reviews are mixed, with shoppers loving the clothes if not the shopping experience.

The fashion retailer has more than a dozen locations in Los Angeles and Orange counties, and a distribution center in Redlands. The company has about 2,100 stores worldwide across 88 countries, with flagship locations on Fifth Avenue in New York City and Oxford Street in London.

“I think it’s great to see a retailer that is located throughout the world, and (here), mostly in Los Angeles and Orange counties,” said real estate expert Brad Umansky, president of the Rancho Cucamonga-based commercial real estate firm Progressive Real Estate Partners. “I think (Zara at Victoria Gardens) is going to appeal to young women in their teens and 20s, and it definitely will bring an appeal and increased foot traffic to that part of Victoria Gardens.”

Zara’s need for a second story prompted the demolition, according to officials with Cleveland-based Forest City Realty Trust, which owns Victoria Gardens. An email said it was not the first time the mall knocked down a building to accommodate a new tenant.

Pandora and Loft, which occupied the building now demolished, were relocated, according to mall officials.

Neither a representative for Zara nor the mall could be immediately reached for an interview.

The announcement of Zara comes as malls nationwide have been allotting more of their space for dining and entertainment as online shopping cuts into traditional brick-and-mortar retail sales. Victoria Gardens saw the opening in May of the 19,000-square-foot Punch Bowl Social restaurant and bar. In March, a cafeteria-style restaurant called Jacks Urban Eats opened.

“It’s great to see Forest City making a commitment to reinvest in (Victoria Gardens, which is) relatively new, and I think this is very indicative of the way the retail industry is going to end up being, which is, there are fewer quality tenants out there, and when you have an opportunity to secure a quality retailer, you’re going to need to reinvest in your property,” Umansky said. “Those who do are going to be successful in the long run. Those who don’t are definitely going to be facing more challenges.”