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Shopping Centers Today -> September 2001
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MACERICH’S PACIFIC VIEW ADDS NEW TENANTS
The redeveloped Pacific View mall in Buenaventura, Calif., added several new tenants this summer and plans to add more. A 20,000-square-foot Old Navy opened in May, California Pizza Kitchen opened in June, and, as of press time, Casual Corner and Petite Sophisticate were expected to have opened last month. The Macerich Co.-owned center, which reopened in November 1999, is a 1.1 million-square-foot super-regional mall in southern California. Currently under way, Phase 1 of a major MacyÕs renovation will add 26,000 square feet to the department store, with the exterior portion expected to be completed by this Christmas season. The entire renovation should be done by fall 2003, the company said. The center is also anchored by a new Robinsons-May, Sears and a J.C. Penney, which was relocated from the Esplanade Shopping Center in neighboring Oxnard, Calif.Mall occupancy is now at 92.5%, according to company officials, and is expected to exceed 97% in the fourth quarter. Pacific View originally opened as the Buenaventura Mall in 1965 as a single-level enclosed mall. Renovations began in 1997, and Macerich added a partial second level, over the center court, creating a total of 430,000 square feet of new gross leasable area.
Before redevelopment, center sales were averaging around $300 per square foot. Now they are running closer to $380 per square foot, according to company officials.WOHL TO REVIVE COSTA MESA BLOCK
Irvine, Calif.-based Wohl Investment Co. is rehabilitating a retail center that occupies an entire city block along the primary shopping corridor of Costa Mesa, Calif.The $12 million project began in late June and will use the existing 60,000 square feet of space bounded by Santa Ana and Westminster Avenues. Formerly known as Hillgren Square, the site is a mixed-use property comprised of a variety of shops, including a gourmet butcher shop, a pet store and restaurants. Once completed, the project will include local and regional clothing retailers, and be renamed the 17th Street Promenade.
All exterior and common areas of the property will be remodeled. Designed by Architectural Team Three of Irvine, Calif., the center will have a contemporary Carolinas style. Several rooflines will be capped with copper-clad steeples to create a look of East Coast architecture. The roof treatment is expected to be the key element to the renovated centerÕs design.
Wohl, which buys and rehabilitates underperforming retail, industrial and office properties in the five-county Los Angeles area, expects the renovations to be completed by October. Peter Desforges, a spokesman for Wohl, said the project would be financed by a loan from Freemont Investment & Loan of Anaheim, Calif.LIFESTYLE CENTER PLANNED FOR NEW CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY
Pacific Development Group and Colonies Crossroads have formed a joint venture that will develop a lifestyle center along with a new community being planned in Upland, Calif.Located at the intersection of the new Interstate 210 and Campus Avenue, the lifestyle center, Colonies Crossroads, will be developed as part of The Colonies at San Antonio, a 434-acre master-planned community comprised of more than 1 million square feet of retail space, 1,000 single-family homes and 60 acres of open space.
Plans for the lifestyle center call for upscale specialty retail and entertainment components, a promotional center featuring a general merchandiser, junior department store, a home-improvement and design store, and restaurants.TOURISM GROUP WORKS TO FOSTER VIEW OF CALIF. AS SHOPPING MECCA
Visiting California should be more than a trip to the beach: The Shop California Advisory Committee, a division of the California Travel & Tourism Commission (CTTC), is trying to ensure that visitors think of the state as a place to shop, literally by getting out the vote. Created in 1998 by the California Tourism Marketing Act, the CTTC is funded by businesses that directly benefit from travel and tourism as well as by the state government; as a result, the stateÕs tourism budget increased by 75%. The Act is coming up for renewal in October, and Shop California is encouraging local retail businesses to vote. The referendum is voted on only by those affected by tourism: restaurants, retailers, hotels, attractions, etc. Participating companies must have more than $1 million in gross sales, with at least 8% coming from travel and tourism; retail represented 16% of all assessed businesses and 7% of total raised funds. About 800 retailers qualify to receive ballots, which will be mailed out the week of Sept. 17, and must be returned by Oct. 21. Results will be announced by the end of November.
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