Two OC developers soon will begin work on retail projects near the Ontario Mills mall in Ontario.
GME Development in Newport Beach plans to build a 125,000-square-foot home furnishings mall dubbed Ontario Home Center on 13 acres at the southwest corner of Milliken at Inland Empire Boulevard.
GME expects to begin grading within seven months, and hopes to attract furniture retailers such as Levitz Furniture Inc., Krause’s Custom Crafted Furniture, Thomasville Furniture and Lamps Plus, said Walter Pagel, the retail associate in the Newport Beach office of Grubb & Ellis Co. who is marketing the property.
A Tommy’s hamburger restaurant is also slated for the site, Pagel added.
But Ontario Home Center will have to compete for merchants with The Ontario Center, across Inland Empire Boulevard north of the GME project. The Sares-Regis Group, Irvine, has entered into a joint venture with Lewis Group of Cos., Upland, to build the 225,000-square-foot center on roughly 20 acres. The Ontario Center will be anchored by a Sam’s Club.
