Western Realco Thinks Big in Ontario; Vista Revamps Whittier Landmark
COMMERCIAL
Newport Beach-based Craig Realty Group has paid $31.5 million for Phoenix’s Prime Outlets at New River shopping center. Craig Realty bought the center from St. Louis-based developer and construction firm Fru Con Development Corp.
The acquisition of the 326,000-square-foot center adds to Craig Realty’s outlet mall portfolio. The company also owns the Carlsbad Company Stores, the Cabazon Outlets near Palm Springs and the Woodburn Company Stores near Portland, Ore. And Craig Realty recently took on management of Lake Elsinore Outlets and is developing the Promenade in San Clemente.
“Our ultimate goal for Outlets at New River is to attract many new upscale, name-brand retailers, similar to what is represented in both our Carlsbad Company Stores and Cabazon Outlet developments,” said Steven L. Craig, managing partner for Craig Realty.
Currently, the Outlets at New River counts more than 100 stores, including anchors Polo/Ralph Lauren, Nike, Ann Taylor Loft, Harold’s, Gap and Mikasa.
The outlet is 93% occupied. Negotiations are under way to add new tenants, according to Craig.
The Orange County arm of Wells Fargo Bank provided the financing on the deal.
Western Realco Develops Park
Newport Beach’s Western Realco, in partnership with Times Square Real Estate Investors, is developing a $37 million, 1.1-million-square-foot industrial park in Ontario.
Airport Mission Business Park, a speculative project planned for 57 acres, calls for three buildings: a massive 857,000-square-foot distribution center, a 168,000-square-foot building and a 102,000-square-foot facility.
The two smaller buildings are for lease or sale, while the distribution center, deemed a “mega DC,” by Gary Edwards, vice president of Western Realco, is just for lease.
“It’s common today for larger distribution buildings to be in the 400,000- to 800,000-square-foot range, compared to about 200,000-square-foot a decade ago. Obviously, we’re at the top of the range with our new project,” Edwards said.
According to Edwards, the construction of a larger building instead of several smaller ones is the trend for companies looking to keep operating costs more efficient.
Construction is under way on the 1.1-million-square-foot project with an estimated completion date in the first quarter. Whittier-based Oltmans Construction Co. is the general contractor on the project.
Peter McWilliams and Ruben Goodsell of Colliers Seeley’s Ontario office are marketing the buildings. Tustin-based Bastien and Associates designed the buildings.
Legal Aid
Partners from Irvine-based Allen Matkins Leck Gamble & Mallory LLP represented Catellus Development Corp. in its 12-year lease of more than a million square feet of space to cereal maker Kellogg Co. at Catellus’ new Upper Midwest Distribution Center at Internationale Centre South in Minooka, Ill., near Chicago.
Gary McKitterick and Drew Emmel, partners at Allen Matkins, and Mark Foster, an associate with the firm, represented San Francisco-based Catellus. Professional Real Estate Services Inc. represented Kellogg in the deal.
RESIDENTIAL
Vista Develops Restored Landmark
Irvine-based Vista Communities Inc. has played a key role in the redevelopment of the Hoover Hotel, an upscale Whittier building built in 1930.
In its new guise, the six-story structure will be known as Seasons at the Hoover, an affordable housing complex for seniors aged 62 and older.
The redevelopment began in 1997 when Charles Fry, president of Vista Communities, purchased the property for an undisclosed amount. At the time, the property had become a rundown apartment building with a “seedy nightclub operation on the ground floor,” according to Fry.
The renovation costs totaled $3.8 million and came from various sources, including the cities of Whittier and Industry, and Historic Preservation credits.
Santa Monica-based Killefer Flammang Purtill Architects designed the restoration project.
Project officials call the hotel the largest and best remaining commercial example of Spanish Revival architecture in the uptown area of the city.
“Restoration was a primary design consideration from the outset,” said architect Wade Killefer.
The restored fa & #231;ade of the hotel will add to the area, considering its neighbor across the street is a restored art deco movie house, according to Killefer.
Long Beach-based LINC will manage the building, which is set to become an official landmark as certified by the National Register of Historic Places, Fry said.
