Developers ready to revamp outdated Huntington Beach Mall
A $150 million redevelopment of Huntington Beach Mall is under way in Orange County, Calif. The Ezralow Co., J. H. Snyder Co. and the Huntington Beach Redevelopment Agency, all based in southern California, have teamed up to overhaul the outdated mall. Originally developed in the mid-1960s by The Hahn Co., Huntington Beach Mall was the first enclosed shopping center in Southern California.
Located on a 63-acre site on Huntington Beach Boulevard and adjacent to the 405 Freeway, the 1 million sq. ft. mall will be transformed into an open-air lifestyle and entertainment center with an Italian village design, and will be renamed The Center at Beach. Construction is expected to begin by mid-2002, with the reopening slated for mid-2003.
Barnes & Noble, Burlington Coat Factory, Circuit City, Mervyn's and Staples are among the tenants that will remain open during the redevelopment, while others have vacated the property. Ezralow, which purchased the mall in 1999, has received signed letters of intent from tenants for an estimated 70% of the space. J. H. Snyder will be responsible for redesign, construction, marketing and leasing of the center.
Sears, which purchased a 13-acre site at the center, plans to build a 150,000 sq. ft. Great Indoors store that is scheduled for completion in time for the reopening of the center. In addition, Century Theaters will develop a new 80,000 sq. ft. cineplex with stadium seating as part of the mall's revitalization.
The Mall at Wellington Green makes debut in Sunshine State
The Oct. 5 opening of its fourth and final mall in 2001 marks the completion of the busiest development year in the 51-year history of Taubman Centers Inc., Bloomington Hills, Mich. The Mall at Wellington Green is an enclosed, 1.3 million sq. ft. shopping center, which is part of the new 466-acre Wellington Green mixed-use community in Palm Beach County, Fla.
Located at the intersection of Forest Hill Boulevard and U.S. 441/SR7 in Wellington, Fla., the $150 million mall is anchored by Burdines, Dillard's, JCPenney and Lord & Taylor. Nordstrom will join the anchor lineup in the fall of 2003 as part of the mall's second phase of development.
Approximately 100 stores have opened at the mall, including retailers American Eagle Outfitters, Ann Taylor, Aveda, Bang & Olufsen, bebe, Bosi, Brighton Collectibles, Charlotte Russe, Coach, Guess, Helzberg Diamonds, Johnston & Murphy, Strasburg Children, Talbots and Tommy Hilfiger. The first phase of The Mall at Wellington Green will eventually include 140 tenants. The second phase, opening with Nordstrom, will add 20 additional retailers for a total of 160 tenants.
Taubman's busy year began with the March opening of Dolphin Mall in Miami. The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano, Texas, opened in August, followed by International Plaza in Tampa, Fla., in September. The four centers total 5.5 million sq. ft. and were built at a combined cost of $700 million.
Lend Lease Real Estate sells half of San Diego mall to Simon
New York-based Lend Lease Real Estate Investments, on behalf of its Prime Property Fund, has sold a 50% stake of ownership in Fashion Valley Mall in San Diego to Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group Inc. Simon also has assumed management responsibilities for the shopping center. Lend Lease's Prime Property Fund had held an ownership stake in Fashion Valley Mall since 1985.
Opened in 1969, Fashion Valley is located in the Mission Valley area of San Diego. The 1.7 million sq. ft. open-air, super-regional mall is anchored by JCPenney, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Robinsons-May and Saks Fifth Avenue. The mall is 99% leased and produces small shop sales of more than $575 per sq. ft. Total sales generated by the mall exceed $650 million annually.
Concurrent with the Oct. 1 closing of the transaction, the Simon/Lend Lease partnership secured a $200 million, seven-year mortgage with a fixed rate of 6.5% from New York-based Lehman Brothers.
Mills Corp. expands development activity into international market
Making its development debut in Europe, The Mills Corp. of Arlington, Va., has begun construction on its first international project, Madrid Xanadu. Located in Arroyomolinos, a section of Madrid, Spain, the 1.2 million sq. ft. retail and entertainment venue will feature 20 anchor stores, more than 200 specialty retailers and various dining and entertainment attractions. The $300 million center is slated to open in the spring of 2003.
El Corte Ingles, a major department store in Spain, will occupy 400,000 sq. ft. with a Hipercor, an upscale hypermarket. In addition, an indoor Snow Dome theme park will provide family attractions, including snowboarding, skiing, sledding and other alpine recreation activities.
Other tenants listed on the roster include C & A (The Netherlands); Benetton (Italy); Bershka, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Pull & Bear, Stradivarious (La Coruna, Spain); Cortefiel, Douglas, Springfield, Hennes & Moritz (Sweden); Women's Secret (Madrid); Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Miss Self ridge, Top Man, Top Shop, Wallis (London); Forum (Bilbao, Spain); and Zara (Spain).