Forget the ritzy entertainment-based malls of the 1990s. It’s the discount chains that are key tenants of a shopping center under development at the former Tustin Marine base.
Phoenix’s Vestar Development Co. plans to mix large discount stores,including Target, Costco and Lowe’s,with a 14-screen AMC Entertainment Inc. theater at the base.
The tenants have committed to Vestar’s proposed 1-million-square-foot shopping center at the corner of Jamboree Road and Barranca Parkway, according to Jeffrey Axtell, project director with Vestar.
Other tenants include Whole Foods, Borders Books & Music, DSW, T.J. Maxx/Homegoods, Petsmart, Office Depot and Tilly’s.
The company plans to sign eateries and smaller shops later.
“You need to give people as many reasons as possible to come and as many reasons as possible to stay,” Axtell said.
Demolition began in May on some of the base’s buildings. Vestar plans to start grading in October and finish construction a year later on the 88-acre site.
Vestar is developing the mall, called The District at Tustin Legacy, with financial backing from Kimco Realty Corp., a New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based real estate investment trust.
The 1990s model of roofless entertainment malls anchored by movie megaplexes is getting a makeover here. Mall developers have found theaters, eateries and boutique shops may be key tenants, but not enough.
Newport Beach’s The Irvine Company is adding big retailers Target, Old Navy and Nordstrom to its Irvine Spectrum Center.
Block at Orange owner Mills Corp. also has added shops there, balancing its entertainment focus with more shopping.
“The Targets of the world, the Costcos of the world, these big retailers tend to be the engine,” said Reza Etedali, chief executive with Reza Investment Group Inc. of Irvine. “When you are totally dependent on theaters, you depend on which movies are hot and which movies are not at any given time.”
Competition for the mall could come from a couple of centers. Minneapolis-based Target Corp. has other stores nearby, including one at the Irvine Co.’s Market Place in Tustin and Irvine, and another on Barranca.
The Market Place is a couple of miles east of the base on Jamboree. It also has a Lowe’s and T.J. Maxx.
The stores coming to the District are expansions, not relocations, Axtell said.
One big plus for Vestar: Thousands of new houses are set to be built at the former base. The site is expected to be home to 10,000 residents when the homes are completed, Axtell said.
Whole Foods, which will occupy a 65,000-square-foot building, is set to feature a kitchen with prepared foods. AMC is taking 72,000 square feet. Target is set to occupy 135,000 square feet and Lowe’s 138,000.
Costco is set to be the largest tenant with a 160,000-square-foot building.
