California not only has recovered from the recession of the early '90s, but it also has bounced back higher than before.
According to the 1998 edition of California Economic Growth, published by the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy (CCSCE) in Palo Alto, Calif., the state gained 350,000 jobs in 1996 and 450,000 in 1997. Last year's 6.2 percent increase in the number of jobs outpaced the nation's rate of 4.6 percent. The report predicts 1998 should repeat last year's performance.
The state's population grew by 583,000 people last year, reaching 32.25 million, according to the California Department of Finance. The department attributes the bulk of growth to births and foreign immigrants, but it says more U.S. residents entered the state than left it, reversing a four-year pattern of emigration.
The average income was also up, by 7 percent, according to the summary of the state budget prepared for the governor. Growth of 6.3 percent is projected for this year and 6 percent for next year.
CCSCE director Stephen Levy says foreign trade, high technology, professional services, and tour-ism and entertainment led the re-covery and that California now boasts 21 percent of all high-tech jobs in the nation. While Silicon Valley accounts for the largest percentage of these positions, Orange County, San Diego and Sacramento also have significant numbers of high-tech employees.
Levy notes that the related field of computer services was the state's fastest-growing sector in 1995, 1996 and 1997. CCSCE estimates California gains more than 2,000 computer services jobs per month.
Growth in these sectors is significant because of their relatively high pay scale. Computer service professionals, for example, earn an average of more than $60,000 annually, ac-cording to Levy.
Moreover, these categories continue to grow. CCSCE reports Silicon Valley attracted a record $1 billion in venture capital in the second and third quarters of 1997 alone. Sales by its 150 leading companies reached $170 billion in 1996, up 80 percent from $95 billion in 1993. (Figures for 1997 had not been compiled when the report was prepared.)
All of this is good news for the retail industry. The combination of high employment and high wages obviously translates to more money spent on retail goods, dining and entertainment. The results of increased spending are readily apparent everywhere.
"I'm not sure the picture could be much brighter," says Dan Donahue, chairman of Donahue-Schriber Realty Group in Newport Beach. "We aren't seeing any places in California that aren't experiencing significant increases in sales. We've had two consistent years of in-creases in the 5 to 7 percent range, and those increases are continuing from one month to the next."
According to the state Department of Equalization, retail sales for the third quarter of 1997 (the most recent period for which figures are available) were up 6.3 percent over third quarter 1996. Sales of consumer goods totaled $54.82 billion. With dining, entertainment and taxable services (dry cleaning, hair styling, printing, etc.) thrown in, the total hit $86.61 billion.
Few observers expect the state's economy to nose-dive, but many anticipate a slowdown. Standard & Poor's DRI projects only a 3 percent increase in employment this year and 1.5 percent for the next two years. It says the rate of growth in the Real Gross State Product hit 4.6 percent last year but will drop to 3.6 percent this year and 2.3 percent next year.
Retailers are on the move Entertainment, dining and home improvement/home furnishing re-tailers have become the strongest forces in the market, as they have in many parts of the nation. Hardly a week goes by without the announcement of plans for at least one new megaplex movie theater, and about a dozen large entertainment complexes are in development, mostly from Los Angeles south.
Starbucks, World Wraps, Jamba Juice and other food-related chains seem to be popping up on every corner in every city from San Diego to Eureka. New chains, such as Chevron Corp.'s Foodini's, have major rollout plans in California and elsewhere. Chains that are merely new to the state, such as Papa John's and Pied Piper Pizza, are aiming to saturate the local landscape.
Home Depot plans to add 61 stores to its existing 97 California stores by 2001, while HomeBase of Irvine, Calif., Orchard Supply Hardware of San Jose, Calif., and Eagle Hardware of Renton, Wash., have more modest but nonetheless aggressive plans. Sleep Train wants to open 20 to 25 bed and mattress stores and six to eight Boxcar Bedding stores in Northern California, then head south for more opportunities.
Another retailer on the move is Rite Aid, which will spend more than $100 million to open as many as 100 stores in Northern California. The drugstore chain has even more ambitious plans for Southern California. AutoNation USA and AutoZone also have hit the state with a bang.
California continues to be a magnet for foreign immigrants, and the number of developers and retailers catering to various ethnic markets is growing rapidly. Excluding the sparsely populated mountain counties and the state's far north in general, there is hardly a place in California that does not have at least one sizable concentration of immigrants who identify with their original culture. Most major metropolitan areas have several concentrations.
The number of retailers catering to these markets is growing. For example, Hayward, Calif.-based Welcome Market Inc. has seven 99 Ranch Markets in Northern California, with plans for more. Tawa Supermarkets Inc. of Buena Park, Calif., operates more than a dozen 99 Ranch Markets in Southern California.
The stores, which resemble standard supermarkets, feature a large selection of items primarily for Asian customers such as lotus root and foot-long geoduck clams. Welcome Market and Tawa, which have the same owner, also have developed strip centers catering largely to Asian customers.
Northern California In the article "Metros with Moolah" in the December 1997 issue of American Demographics, author Shannon Dorch notes that five of the top 20 metropolitan areas in terms of income growth per capita are in Northern California. That's the highest concentration of any region in the nation.
According to the Bay Area Economic Forum, a research organization based in San Francisco, the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area added more than 100,000 non-farm jobs between March 1997 and March 1998, a 3.2 percent increase. The area added more than 100,000 jobs in each of the two preceding years as well, the Forum notes. Equally important, no submarket lost jobs.
More than half the jobs created came from the generally high-wage service sector, including advertising, business leasing, personnel, computer programming and information or communication services.
San Francisco Brokers have long complained the city has a severe shortage of retail space. Developments in the next few years could substantially change that view. Close to 1 million sq. ft. of new space, most of it already leased, will come on-line this year. Three major developments should add nearly 1.5 million sq. ft. near the turn of the century and a less certain fourth could add another 1.5 million sq. ft. on its own about the same time.
Can the market absorb so much new space and remain healthy? Brokers think so. Vacancy levels are at historic lows in all but a few neighborhoods, and rents are at historic highs, according to Grubb & Ellis. Tourism, including convention business, has been growing year by year, reaching 11.4 million out-of-region visitors last year and projected to reach nearly 13 million this year, according to the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau. An additional 4.6 million Bay Area residents visited the city for leisure-related purposes last year, the bureau reports.
Per-capita income also is rising. Dorch designates San Francisco the most affluent major city in America and says it should continue in this position for the next decade.
Rents have not risen significantly over the past year, according to various local brokers, but how could they? With monthly rents at $3 per sq. ft. in some neighborhood shopping districts and up to $300 per sq. ft. on Union Square, landlords would have a tough time squeezing tenants for more.
An interesting measure of the city's retail strength is the recent sale of the Union Square building housing Nike Town and several other retail tenants for a remarkable $750 per sq. ft.
Peninsula/Silicon Valley The region from San Francisco south through San Jose has become the state's economic powerhouse.
The annual economic output of the two counties encompassing the region exceeds that of most states. Silicon Valley added 53,000 jobs last year and 150,000 in the four years preceding, according to Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a coalition of some two dozen local governments. The median wage exceeded $60,000, among the highest levels in the nation.
The Peninsula added fewer jobs - 15,000 - but its median income was even higher at $68,600, according to the San Mateo County Economic Development Association in San Mateo.
The market reflects the prosperity. Nordstrom-anchored Valley Fair Shopping Center in San Jose, for example, reported sales of $560 per sq. ft. last year, according to Lend Lease (formerly ERE/Yarmouth).
Retailers understandably are eager to be in the market, but an extreme shortage of land for new development and tight community controls make entry difficult. According to Julie Taylor, an account executive with Epsteen & Associates in San Francisco, there are bidding wars for spaces and the majority of deals are done before stores become vacant. In some markets, she says, tenants are ponying up several thousand dollars in "key money" to secure locations.
Monthly rents reach $3 per sq. ft. in the top malls and some downtowns, according to Michael Berube of Berube Associates in San Mateo, while $1.25 per sq. ft. is about the lowest available anywhere in the market.
East Bay Most brokers consider the entire East Bay market understored, but according to Matt Holmes, vice president of Epsteen & Associates, rising rents and a shortage of development sites block new retailers, especially large-format retailers, from entering the market.
Holmes estimates vacancies in the I-580/I-680 corridors at approximately 5 percent. The shoreline cities from Fremont to Richmond tend to have higher vacancies, he says, though the best areas are very hard to get into. Monthly rents in the corridors range from $1.50 to $1.75 per sq. ft., going to $2 and above in downtown Walnut Creek and a few prime centers. Rents along the shore can go as low as $1 per sq. ft. in the poorer communities to well above $2 per sq. ft. for space along neighborhood streets in areas of Berkeley and Oakland.
Major new development is concentrated around Fremont, Emery-ville and the Tri-Valley cities of Dublin, Pleasanton and Livermore. According to Holmes, Fremont is just beginning to go upscale as Silicon Valley's gradual spread into southern Alameda County lifts income and education levels.
Sacramento/Central Valley Colliers International broker Larry Mesa calls the Sacramento market steady but not spectacular. Scott Negri, a partner with Commercial Retail Associates in Fresno, gives an identical assessment of his end of the Central Valley, while Diane Correia, a retail specialist with CB Richard Ellis in Stockton, says the north end of the valley is just beginning to come to life after several years of quiescence.
Grubb & Ellis reports that overall vacancies range between 7 percent and 8 percent in the Sacramento area, and between 8 percent and 10 percent in the valley, based on first-quarter figures. The brokerage pegs rents from a low of 90 cents per sq. ft. to $1.50 per sq. ft., with the top malls getting more. Negri reports the RiverPark project in north Fresno gets rents of $2.75 per sq. ft., the highest ever seen in the Central Valley and still something of an exception.
The future looks extremely bright for retail due to a population boom projected for the area in the next few years. High property costs are driving both businesses and residents from the San Francisco Bay Area to the inland cities. According to broker Brian Kraft, partner in Sacramento-based Szabo-Kraft, developers have approval for 50,000 new residential units in the North Natomas area of Sacramento alone. Home builders are just as busy in many other submarkets from Fresno to lower Placer and Sutter counties.
Southern California Probably more than anyplace else in the United States, Southern California is constantly reinventing itself. Extremely hard hit by the recession, the region has revived on a dramatically altered economic base. According to Levy, the many, many thousands of jobs lost in the aerospace and defense industry largely have not been replaced.
Instead, job growth has been concentrated in software, biotech, communications, trade, and, above all, tourism and entertainment. In five years, California's share of U.S. motion picture starts has risen from 50 percent to nearly 70 percent, Levy says, nearing a total of 600 in 1996. The entertainment industry added roughly 60,000 jobs in the past two years alone, the majority of them in the greater Los Angeles area, including Orange and Riverside counties. The $60,000 average salary for motion picture industry jobs is nearly twice the average for all industries and at least one-third higher than the average for aerospace and defense.
The Asian crisis created only a temporary setback for the region, which in Long Beach/Los Angeles boasts by far the largest port on the West Coast. According to the spring newsletter of the Federal Reserve Board 12th District, increases in sales to Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mexico more than offset decreases to other Asian countries. The state exported $100 billion in goods in 1996, approximately 60 percent of it through Southern California.
Los Angeles The state Department of Finance says Los Angeles added 132,400 people in 1997 for a total population of 9.6 million.
Hessam Nadji, national director of research for Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Co. in San Francisco, reports the Los Angeles basin added 62,800 jobs last year, dropping unemployment from a comparatively high 7 percent to a more respectable 5.8 percent. He says per-capita income rose 5.9 percent, while the population grew by less than 1 percent. Job growth continues, with the entertainment industry leading the way, according to Levy.
Tourism and entertainment have become the city's most important economic engines. According to CCSCE, 70 percent of all domestic film and television production is done in L.A. The number of new movie theaters going up all across the country is enough to tell you the entertainment industry is on a roll, and with that $60,000 average salary, the industry's success should please local retailers.
Retail sales rose 4.2 percent in 1997 and are projected to rise another 4.4 percent in 1998, according to Nadji. Rents rose 8 percent last year, according to Grubb & Ellis, and Nadji projects a full 10 percent jump this year because construction cannot keep pace with demand.
Orange County Orange County's population grew by 44,800 last year for a total of 2.72 million people, according to the state Department of Finance. Employment grew 3 percent, according to Nadji, with 36,000 new jobs added, while unemployment dropped to 2.5 percent. The median income, according to the Department of Finance, approaches $70,000.
As a result of the strong economy, Marcus & Millichap projects retail sales will rise 3 percent this year to $20 billion. Rents rose a whopping 10 percent last year, Nadji says, but the addition of more than 3 million sq. ft. of space in 1998 will likely hold further increases in check.
San Diego According to Grubb & Ellis, San Diego County absorbed 1.5 million sq. ft. of retail space in 1997. CB Richard Ellis calculates 2 million sq. ft. of new product will break ground in 1998 and early 1999. John Burnham & Co.pegs first-quarter vacancies at 6.3 percent, the lowest level since 1990.
The S an Diego County Assoc-iation of Governments calculates the current population at 2.72 million, up 9 percent since 1990. The association projects a population of 3 million by year 2000. Approximately one-third of the population is either Hispanic or Asian. SDCAG pegs the median income at $41,450 per year. The Federal Reserve Bank reports employment growth of 4 percent for 1997 and projects about the same for 1998.
Devaluation of the peso is having some impact on the market, reducing spending by Mexicans shopping north of the border while prompting more Americans to take advantage of bargains in Baja, Calif. But most analysts say the impact is minimal.
Inland Empire According to the state's Trade and Commerce Agency, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, generally referred to as the Inland Empire, form the largest Metro-politan Statistical Area in the nation and represent one-fifth of California's total land area. Nadji calls the region the employment and population leader of Southern California. He says population is forecast to grow 2.3 percent, or 70,000 people, this year.
Median income, however, is low compared to the rest of Southern California. The Inland Empire Association of Governments gives a figure of about $30,000. It should rise at a faster rate than in most other regions, however, because the largest segment of new residents consists of people employed in Los Angeles who move to the area for lower-cost housing. In addition, the governor's budget summary ranks the region as having the second-highest rate of job growth in the state.
Because of the population boom, retail sales should grow by 6.5 percent this year, Nadji projects. Developers broke ground on 2.3 million sq. ft. of retail last year and are keeping pace with that this year, he says.
While the region has few truly wealthy communities, it has several that are quite poor. The resulting rents vary wildly. Nadji says they can dip as low as 40 cents per sq. ft. in parts of San Bernardino and Moreno Valley, then max out at $1.50 per sq. ft. in Rancho Cucamonga and Corona. Rents are rising at a respectable 5 percent per year.
* San Diego-based BRE Brokerage Co./NAI is involved with several projects, including:
- Sweetwater Square Shopping Center, a 105,750 sq. ft. Super Saver-anchored center in National City, which is being redeveloped. The center will feature 30,000 sq. ft. of new tenants, as well as new storefronts, facade, signage and landscaping. The new tenants are scheduled to open Sept. 1.
- San Marcos Commerce Square, a 100,000 sq. ft. center in San Marcos, is under development. The center will be anchored by The Home Depot and Lazy Boy Furniture Galleries. Completion is set for March 1999.
- Construction on Rancho del Oro Gateway, a 103,000 sq. ft. Ralphs Grocery-anchored center in City of Oceanside, is under way. The center, which includes Blockbuster and Chief Auto Parts as tenants, will open Dec. 15. San Diego-based Utah Pacific Development Co. owns the center as well as Sweetwater Square and San Marcos Commerce Square. BRE Brokerage is handling the leasing for all three centers.
- Gaslamp Square, a 360,000 sq. ft. mixed-use center in downtown San Diego, will include a 4-star hotel and 90,000 sq. ft. of retail. The center, which is owned by Champion Development Co. and leased by Epstein & Associates, both of Los Angeles, is expected to be completed in first quarter 2000. BRE Brokerage handled the property transaction.
* The Mills Corp., Arlington, Va., continues work on The Block at Orange (formerly CityMills), an 800,000 sq. ft. open-air entertainment/retail center in Orange. Joining Mills in the development are Kan Am, a Munich-based investment advisory company, City of Orange and City of Orange Redevelopment Agency. Anchors include AMC Theatres, Vans Skate Park, Alcatraz Brewing Co., Graham Central Station and Virgin Megastore. Completion is set for late 1998.
In addition, The Mills Corp. is teaming with Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group and the San Francisco 49ers interest to build Candlestick Mills, a 1.4 million sq. ft. superregional and entertainment-oriented megamall connected to the new Candlestick Park Stadium in San Francisco. The project is expected to be completed in second quarter 2001.
* Expansion work continues on Valley Fair Shopping Center in Santa Clara. Approximately 115,000 sq. ft. of specialty retail and a new Nordstrom department store as well as three parking structures will be added to the 1.18 million sq. ft. center when the project is completed in April 2001. In addition to Nordstrom, Macy's also anchors the center with two separate stores, one catering to women and children, the other to men and home and furniture shoppers. San Diego-based TrizecHahn Corp. was responsible for beginning expansion work on Valley Fair, which was acquired last month by Los Angeles-based Westfield America Inc.
In addition, Westfield America is redeveloping Mission Valley West, a 202,000 sq. ft. retail center in San Diego, into a power center. The majority of tenants will open in October with some following in spring 1999. Commitments include Koo Koo Roo, Gateway Computer, Just For Feet, Old Navy Clothing Co., Borders, Goldsmith, Marshalls and The Gordon Biersch Brewing Co.
* Newport Beach, Calif.-based Donahue Schriber has several projects under development :
- Natomas Marketplace, a 566,880 sq. ft. power center in Natomas, will be anchored by Wal-Mart, PetsMart, Staples, The Home Depot, Michaels and Ross Dress for Less when it opens this fall.
- Raley's Marketplace, a 105,050 sq. ft. neighborhood center in Fairfield, will be anchored by Raley's Food & Drug when it opens this fall.
- Portola Village, a 93,579 sq. ft. neighborhood center in Livermore, will be anchored by Lucky's Supermarkets/Sav-On Drugs when it opens in spring 1999.
- Orchard Super Hardware will join existing anchors Bel Air Market and Payless Drugs at Laguna Crossroads, a 425,219 sq. ft. (upon completion) power center in Elk Grove. The store is set to open in October.
- Hemet Valley Mall, a 246,736 sq. ft. regional center in Hemet, is undergoing an interior remodel ing and expanding to include a Sears department store. Sears joins Harris Department Store and JCPenney as center anchors. The remodel and expansion will be complete in October.
- Montebello Town Center, a 664,000 sq. ft. regional center in Montebello, is undergoing an interior renovation. The center is anchored by Mervyn's, Robinsons-May and JCPenney. Completion is set for this winter.
- Cypress East, a 167,510 sq. ft. center in Cypress, is undergoing a renovation. Albertson's will be expanded and remodeled to become the chain's new prototype store. Mervyn's also anchors the project, which should be complete by summer 1999.
- Glendale Town Center, a 700,000 sq. ft. urban/entertainment center in Glendale, is being planned. No anchors have been announced. Completion is set for fall 1999.
- Riverlakes Village, a 119,226 sq. ft. neighborhood center in Bakersfield, is adding a 70,000 sq. ft. second phase in mid-1999. The center is anchored by Vons, Longs Drug Store and Blockbuster Video.
- Donahue Schriber also is developing two centers in joint venture partnerships: Creekside Town Center, a 420,000 sq. ft. lifestyle center in Roseville; and a 110,000 sq. ft. neighborhood center in Roseville. No anchors have been announced. The centers will be complete in fall 1999.
* The Richard E. Jacobs Group, Cleveland, Ohio, is redeveloping and expanding Vallco Fashion Park in Cupertino (San Jose). The 1.3 million sq. ft. center is gaining two new anchors, Macy's, opening this fall, and Dillard's, opening in fall 1999. JCPenney and Sears currently anchor the center. In addition, the center's food court and tenant mix are being updated.
* La Jolla, Calif.-based Wall Street Property Co. has two new centers under development:
- Ceres Marketplace, a 110,000 sq. ft. neighborhood center in Ceres, will be anchored by Raley's and Staples when it opens in October.
- Raley's at the Orchard, a 75,000 sq. ft. neighborhood center in Chico, will be anchored by Raley's and Blockbuster when it opens in March 1999.
* San Diego-based Cahan Properties Inc. is involved with several projects:
- Winchester Meadows, an 81,332 sq. ft. neighborhood center in Temecula, will be anchored by Ralphs Grocery, Chief Auto and Blockbuster when it opens in December. The center is owned by Canyon-Cahan Temecula LLC, San Diego.
- Chico Center, a 24,000 sq. ft. OfficeMax-anchored community center in Chico, will be opening this month. OfficeMax will eventually share the site with The Home Depot and PetsMart. The center is owned by Cahan/HEM Chico LLC, San Diego.
- Livermore Center, a 24,000 sq. ft. OfficeMax-anchored community center in Livermore, will be opening in summer 1999. OfficeMax will eventually share the site with The Home Depot.
* Vista, Calif.-based Pan Pacific Retail Properties Inc. has several renovation projects under way. Each center will receive new landscaping, a new paint scheme, new fascia and a new monument sign. The projects include:
-Fairmont Shopping Center, a 104,281 sq. ft. neighborhood center in Pacifica. The center, which is anchored by Lucky's Supermarkets and Rite Aid, is expected to be completed in October.
- Fashion Faire Place, a 95,255 sq. ft. community center in San Leandro. Completion of the project is set for October. Fashion Faire is anchored by Ross Dress for Less, Michaels and Pier 1 Imports.
- Westwood Village, a 102,375 sq. ft. neighborhood center in Redding. The center, anchored by Holiday Market and Rite Aid, will be complete by December.
- Creekside Center, an 80,911 sq. ft. neighborhood center in Hayward. Work at the Lucky's Supermarkets- and Longs Drug Store-anchored center is expected to be complete by December.
* The Krausz Cos. Inc., San Francisco, is renovating Puente Hills Mall in the City of Industry. The 1.2 million sq. ft. superregional center is being updated with new stores and a wing designated for entertainment retailers. Completion is set for spring 1999. Robinsons-May, Sears, AMC Theatres and Burlington Coat Factory (opening in October) anchor the mall.
* Phase II of Brea Union Plaza in Brea is under way. The power center, which is anchored by Nordstrom Rack, Sears Homelife and Staples, is adding 170,000 sq. ft. to the center. Phase II is set to open in summer 1999. It is a project of Santa Ana, Calif.-based ICI Development Co.
Also, ICI is redeveloping Harbor Center, a 340,000 sq. ft. power center in Costa Mesa. The center is anchored by Rite Aid, The Home Depot and Lucky's Supermarkets. Completion is set for summer 1999.
* Santa Monica, Calif.-based Caruso Affiliated Holdings has several projects in the works:
- The Commons at Calabasas, a 200,000 sq. ft. neighborhood retail/ entertainment center in Calabasas, will be anchored by Barnes & Noble, Edwards Theatres, Ralphs Grocery and Rite Aid when it opens this fall.
- The Grove at Farmers Market, a 640,000 sq. ft. regional, open-air center is being built on property that surrounds the Farmers Market in Los Angeles. Construction is set to begin in the fall and be complete by first quarter 2000. No anchors have been announced.
- Construction is set to begin in first quarter 1999 on Rancho Mirage Marketplace, a 165,000 sq. ft. neighborhood, retail/entertainment center in Rancho Mirage. Anchors have not been announced for the center, which is expected to be completed that fall.
* San Diego-based Burnham Pacific is developing Downtown Pleasant Hill, a 362,700 sq. ft. neighborhood center in Pleasant Hill. Lucky's Supermarkets, Ross Dress for Less, Borders, Mann Theaters, Cucina! Cucina! and Bed, Bath & Beyond will anchor the center, which is expected to open in fall 1999.
* The Irvine Co., Newport Beach, Calif., is developing Corona del Mar Plaza in Newport Beach. The primary stores of the 105,000 sq. ft. lifestyle center will begin opening in August, with the center's completion expected in November. Bristol Farms, Cowboy Seafood, Tommy Bahama, Zany Brainy and Sur La Table will anchor Corona del Mar. Irvine-based Hollis & Associates manages the center.
* Seacliff Village, a 125,000 sq. ft. community shopping center in Huntington Beach, is being redeveloped and expanded to 259,000 sq. ft. Anchors include Lucky's Supermarkets/Sav-On Drugs Combo Store and Orchard Supply Hard-ware. The project is set for completion by January 2000. Seacliff Village is owned by Shea Vickers Development LLC and managed by Shea Properties, both based in Walnut, Calif.
* Atlanta-based Cousins Properties Inc. has two projects in the works.
- The Shops at Palos Verdes, a 355,000 sq. ft. center in Rolling Hills Estates, will be repositioned and remerchandised into a 385,000 sq. ft. open-air, high-end, specialty retail center, renamed The Avenue of the Peninsula. Construction will commence in first quarter 1999 and reopening is set for November 1999. The center will be anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue and Regal Cinema and will include such tenants as Ann Taylor, Eddie Bauer, Gap, Talbots, The Nature Co. and Williams-Sonoma.
- Construction will begin on Mira Mesa MarketCenter, a 480,000 sq. ft. center in Mira Mesa, later this year. The center will be anchored by Albertson's, Barnes & Noble, Edwards Theatres, The Home Depot, Just For Feet, Longs Drug Store, Old Navy Clothing Co. and Ross when it opens in fourth quarter 1999.
* San Diego-based TrizecHahn Development has three projects in the works, including:
- Hollywood & Highland, a 640,000 sq. ft. urban entertainment/retail center in Hollywood, will feature an Academy Awards(r) theater, a 30,000 sq. ft. ballroom, Mann's Chinese Theatre, six other cinemas, live broadcasting studios, a four-star hotel, live music venues, world class restaurants and retailers. Completion is set for 2000.
- Plaza Pasadena, an urban retail center in Pasadena, will undergo a redevelopment that will turn the existing center inside out, creating a three-block complex that will feature entertainment, retail and restaurants in a family setting. Anchors have not been announced. Completion is set for fall 2000.
- Palm Desert Town Center, an 850,944 sq. ft. center in Palm Desert, is undergoing a renovation and expansion. The center, anchored by Macy's, Robinsons-May and JCPenney, is adding a Sears store, a Metropolitan Theatres complex and a new food court, as well as a two-level, themed restaurant. Macy's and JCPenney will both be expanded and updated, and the entire center will be renovated to include water fountains, skylights, porte cocheres and other elements to enhance the desert landscape. Completion is set for November 1999.
* Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Regent Properties Inc. has three projects under development. They include:
- Westwood Marketplace, a 120,000 sq. ft. retail/restaurant/ entertainment center in the heart of Westwood Village. Mann Theatres anchors the center, which is slated to open in late 1999.
- The Hollywood Marketplace, a 200,000 sq. ft. urban entertainment and retail village in Hollywood. The multi-phase project is expected to begin by the end of the year.
- Regent Properties and The City of Corona, Calif., have partnered in the redevelopment of Corona Main Place and Butterfield Stage Plaza on Main Street, the primary retail corridor for Corona and nearby Norco. The 293,100 sq. ft. Corona Main Place will include a Fender Music Museum, an existing 15-screen Edwards Theatres and a 50,000 sq. ft. garden office building once renovation and retenanting is complete. After renovation and retenanting, the 303,400 sq. ft. Butterfield Stage Plaza will include a theater/entertainment anchor, the existing Mervyn's and Millers Outpost stores as well as other restaurants and retail shops. Construction on both projects is scheduled to commence in spring 1999.
* Upland, Calif.-based Lewis Homes Enterprises is building Paradise Park, a 500,000 sq. ft. entertainment village located at the Fairplex in Pomona, Calif. Resort Theaters of America will open an 80,000 sq. ft., 22-screen theater at the development. Fairplex, home to the Los Angeles County Fair, in-cludes a number of attractions, including an NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) racetrack, an equestrian center, a convention center and hotel/ resort area. Paradise Park will add six themed areas reflective of the history and character of the fair. Each area will offer its own distinctive restaurant and retail tenants, in-cluding music and live-performance venues, as well as specialty retailers.
* San Diego-based LandGrant Development is awaiting federal approvals from both the U.S. and Mexican governments on the development of International Gateway of the Americas, located on the U.S. (San Diego) and Mexico (Tijuana) border. The development plan includes a pedestrian toll bridge plus a mix of retail, hotel, office, convention and visitor uses. Phase I of the project is expected to comprise 500,000 sq. ft. of entertainment/ retail, themed restaurants, factory outlet stores and discount retail.
* San Francisco-based Catellus Development Corp. is developing Mission Bay, an approximately 300,000 sq. ft. retail-entertainment center in San Franciso's Mission Bay area. The center will be adjacent to Pacific Bell Park, the new home of the Giants baseball team. Although no names have been announced, a multiplex theater, themed restaurants, live music and club venues, specialty and lifestyle retailers, and a gourmet food market are expected to be a part of the new development.
* The Festival Cos., Santa Monica, Calif., has several projects under way, including:
- Buena Park Mall, a 1.3 million sq. ft. center in Buena Park, is being redeveloped. Phase I, which will reposition the mall as a major regional retail and entertainment attraction, is slated for a spring 1999 completion. Phase II will feature a 150,000 sq. ft. entertainment center anchored by Edwards Theatres when it is completed in the first quarter.
- Escondido Pavilion, a 250,000 sq. ft. lifestyle center in Escondido, is in the predevelopment stage. Although no names have been announced, a bookstore, home furnishings and linens retailer, fashion retailers and restaurants are expected to be a part of the center. Completion is set for spring 2000.
- Janss Marketplace, a 660,000 sq. ft. lifestyle center in Thousand Oaks, is being redeveloped. Plans call for an additional 30,000 sq. ft. of specialty anchor space, freestanding restaurants and specialty shops.
* Los Angeles-based Pacific Theatres Realty Corp. has several projects in the works, including:
- Long Beach Towne Square, a 150,000 sq. ft. community center in Long Beach. The center is being built on the site of a former drive-in theater. Phase I includes a Ralphs Grocery and should be complete in November. The development will eventually include a drugstore, an auto parts store, fast-food restaurants and a variety of retail shops.
- Cinerama Dome Entertainment Center, a 245,000 sq. ft. mixed-use project in Hollywood. The tri-level project's centerpiece, the Cinerama Dome, was built in 1963. Completion of the project, which will include 63,000 sq. ft. of retail/ restaurant space, a 55,000 sq. ft. health club,26,500 sq. ft. of office space and a 100,000 sq. ft. Pacific Theatre (including Cinerama Dome), is set for late 1999.
- Westminster Gate-way Center, a 300,000 sq. ft. center in West-minster, will be an-chored by Wal-Mart and Eagle Hardware & Garden when it's completed at the end of this year.
Pacific Theatres is in the process of sec-uring approval for Los Altos Centre, also in Long Beach. The 388,000 sq. ft. center will be an-chored by Kmart, Eagle Hardware & Garden, Beach City Chevrolet and Cal Worthington Ford. Comple-tion is slated for fall 1999.
* Buellton, Calif.-based Hawkeye Investments LLC is working on several projects, including:
- Paso Robles Town Center, a 300,000 sq. ft. center in Paso Robles, is under construction. The center will be anchored by Target, OfficeMax and Ross Dress for Less. Target is already open. Completion for the remainder of the center is slated for second quarter 1999.
- Five Cities Center, a 350,000 sq. ft. center in Arroyo Grande, will be anchored by Lucky's Supermarkets/ Sav-On Drugs, Wal-Mart, Marshalls and OfficeMax when it opens in second quarter 1999.
- Riverwalk Promenade At Agoura Hills, a 309,000 sq. ft. center in Agoura Hills, is under joint development by Hawkeye and Baltimore-based Prime Retail. Anchors have not been announced. Completion is set for first quarter 2000.
- Ventura Town Center, a 300,000 sq. ft. center in Ventura, is under development. Anchors have not been announced. Construction will commence in spring 1999, with completion set for first quarter 2000.
- Camarillo Promenade, a 600,000 sq. ft. center in Camarillo, is under joint development by Hawkeye and Prime Retail. Anchors have not been announced. Construction will commence this fall, while completion is set for summer 1999. Both Camarillo Town Center II, a 250,000 sq. ft. center, and Camarillo Town Center III, a 225,000 sq. ft. mixed-use, office/ retail center, will follow this time line. Anchors have not been announced for either project.
- Orcutt Town Center, a 114,000 sq. ft. center in Santa Maria, is under development. The Vons-anchored center is set to open in fourth quarter 1999.
- Studio City Promenade, a 130,000 sq. ft. center in Studio City, is adding an OfficeMax store. Completion is set for spring 1999.
* Calabasas Hills, Calif.-based Westrust is planning to expand Stockdale Village, a 132,000 sq. ft. shopping center in Bakersfield. The center is anchored by Office Depot, Longs Drug Store, Union Bank and AMC Theatres. Westrust plans to develop a 45,000 sq. ft. Save Mart grocery store and 5,000 sq. ft. of additional store space. Completion is set for first quarter 1999.
* Phoenix-based Arizona Partners is redeveloping Desert Fashion Plaza, an approximately 350,000 sq. ft. mall in Palm Springs. The mall will be expanded and renamed Palm Springs Promenade. Plans include the removal of the center's roof and the creation of a village atmosphere. The main entrance to the mall will be replaced by an open-air plaza with outdoor dining areas, specialty shops, live theater, a nightclub and a year-round farmer's market. Metropolitan Theaters will join existing anchor Saks Fifth Avenue. Completion is set for November 1999.
* Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Wynmark is developing The Marketplace, a 500,000 sq. ft. retail center in Goleta at Camino Real, the developer's 83-acre project that also includes a recreational area. The center will feature an entertainment plaza and promenade with a mix of neighborhood-type retailers, rest-aurants and movie theaters, as well as a major retail area anchored by Costco, The Home Depot, Staples, Linens 'n Things and CompUSA. Both Pasadena, Calif.-based MCG Architects and Santa Barbara-based B3 Architects are involved in the project. Stores are expected to begin opening this fall. Planned future phases include multi-family residential space as well as additional commercial uses.
* San Diego and Marina del Rey, Calif.-based Timberlake Group International Inc. is developing Cities Pavillion, a 500,000 sq. ft. lifestyle center in Redlands. Phase I of the center will include a multiplex theater, a large bookstore, a record superstore, a high-profile sports retailer, two upscale restaurants and 98,000 sq. ft. of specialty space. Future phases will include more retail merchants and restaurants, a 160-room hotel, 40,000 sq. ft. of office and professional space, a health club and an indoor ice skating rink. Phase I occupancy is expected by late 1998 or early 1999.
* Cincinnati-based Madison Marquette is developing The Gardens on El Paseo, a $50 million, 200,000 sq. ft. retail center in Palm Desert. Comprised of seven freestanding buildings, the complex will be an-chored by Saks Fifth Avenue and be tenanted by 50 specialty stores and restaurants. The Gardens will be surrounded by urban gardens and courts and will include an open lawn for concerts and special events. Com-pletion is set for fall.
* GMS Realty LLC, Carlsbad, Calif., is renovating and expanding The Marketplace at San Ramon, a 170,000 sq. ft. center in San Ramon. A new 51,500 sq. ft. Nob Hill Foods will replace the former 28,000 sq. ft. Apple supermarket. The center'sexisting plaza area is undergoing an architectural re-design. Anchors at the center include McWhorter's Stationery and Any Mountain. Completion is set for late fall.
* Cathedral City, Calif.-based Cathedral City Associates has broken ground on Phase I of Pickfair, a master-planned redevelopment project in Cathedral City. Phase I includes The Mary Pickford Theaters (a 70,000 sq. ft. North America Cinemas cineplex) and 30,000 sq. ft. of retail. Completion is set for January 1999. By June 1999, the development will feature 20,000 sq. ft. of office space, 170,000 sq. ft. of retail and restaurant space, and a 100-room hotel.
* Long Beach, Calif.-based Perkowitz + Ruth have designed two projects that are under development:
- Long Beach Towne Center, a 1.1 million sq. ft. retail/entertainment center in Long Beach, is being developed by Phoenix-based Vestar Development Co. The center, which is designed as buildings clustered around a central courtyard, will be anchored by Sam's Club, Staples, Barnes & Noble, Ross Dress for Less, The Sports Authority, Old Navy Clothing Co. and Edwards Theatres. Tenants will begin opening this fall.
- Wrigley Market Place, a 618,552 sq. ft. center in Long Beach, is under development by Phoenix-based American Stores Properties Inc., Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the City of Long Beach Redevelopment Agency. Phase I will include Lucky's Super-markets, Sav-On Drugs and a parking structure. Phase II will include four freestanding buildings for restaurants and retail outlets, as well as two other structures. Phase I is set for a late 1998 completion; Phase II is expected to get under way in early 1999.
* Foothill Ranch Co., an affiliate of Laguna Hills, Calif.-based Hon Development, continues to develop Foothill Ranch Towne Centre & Marketplace in Foothill Ranch, a masterplanned community. The center is planned to reach 1.3 million sq. ft. once Phases II and IV are complete. Phase II comprises 140,000 sq. ft. of retail space and already features some tenants, including In-N-Out Burger and a car wash. Phase IV will include more than 250,000 sq. ft. of entertainment-oriented retailers, including a 22-screen Regal Cinema scheduled for completion in fourth quarter 1998. The theater joins Wal-Mart, HomeBase, Mervyn's, Target, PetsMart, Old Navy Clothing Co., The Good Guys, Kindercare, Staples and Sav-On Drugs at the center.
*Los Angeles-based J.H. Snyder Co. is developing Warner Marketplace, a 160,000 sq. ft. center in Warner Center. The Good Guys, Exposition, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Old Navy Clothing Co. and Borders will anchor the center when it opens in first quarter 1999.