Three department stores, 120 shops, movie theaters, 45,000 square feet of office space, a 540-seat playhouse, children's library. This sounds like the amenities of a small city, so why not arrange them in a traditional urban grid? That's what Forest City Enterprises did for Victoria Gardens, one of the largest and highest profile mixed-use projects to open in the U.S. To approximate the atmosphere of an old-fashioned downtown further, each of the buildings in Victoria Gardens is different from the next, and sports any in a range of historical styles. The four architectural firms were even advised to aspire for shapes that looked as if they were converted from previous uses. The mythology of American cities informed this master plan, and it provides the decentralized city of Rancho Cucamonga with a heart.
Project Name
Victoria Gardens
Location
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
Square Footage
2.45 million
Architects
Altoon + Porter Elkus/Manfredi Architects Field Paoli Architects KA Architects
Client
Forest City Commercial Development California Inc.
Credits
Key Project Personnel
Lewis Group of Cos.
Rancho Cucamonga Redevelopment Agency
Additional Design
Redmond Schwartz
Mark Design
SWA Group
MDS Consulting
Additional Support
ADK & A / Allan D. Kotin & Associates