Two big retail projects are planned for San Clemente with a new shopping center in the works and the expansion of another under way.
Plans for the new shopping center call for 650,000 square feet of retail space as part of the proposed Marblehead Coastal project. Marblehead includes homes and shops on 250 acres on the west side of the Santa Ana (I-5) Freeway near Avenida Pico.
The project has faced a number of obstacles, including opposition from some residents and environmental concerns raised by the California Coastal Commission. Developer The Lusk Co. of Irvine recently revised plans for the project and resubmitted them to the city and the coastal commission for approvals.
SDC Partners Ltd. and Craig Realty Group, both of Newport Beach, bought 60 acres from Lusk to jointly develop the retail commercial portion of the project, dubbed Marblehead Coastal Promenade. The developers hope to land designer company stores, restaurants and possibly a movie theater and other entertainment sites. Prospective tenants haven’t been named.
Marblehead Coastal Promenade is set have the same mission-style feel as Craig Realty’s other property, the Carlsbad Company Stores, according to developers.
Concerns about Marblehead’s impact on the site’s canyon location have held up the project.
Lusk recently cut the number of homes in project from 430 to 355 to address residents’ concerns and issues raised by the coastal commission.
“The coastal commission was concerned about the preservation of the canyon,” said Dave Lund, San Clemente’s director of economic development and public works.
The City Council has given an initial nod to the revised plan, which must get final approval from the city and the coastal commission.
The state agency is expected to vote on it in the first quarter, according to Lund.
If the project gets the green light, Marblehead Coastal Promenade is set to become the city’s largest sales tax generator, bringing in an estimated $2.5 million when completed, according to Lund.
The project includes a new $18 million freeway interchange at Avenida Vista Hermosa, which is being funded by the city.
The freeway ramps are under construction and are set to be done by May.
Meanwhile, new retail tenants are going in at Plaza Pacifica, a partially completed retail center on Avenida Pico near the master,planned golf course community of Talega.
The shopping center, owned by Rancho San Clemente Partners, is anchored by a Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse and a Wal-Mart.
Plans for a 24,000-square-foot Michael’s store, set to open in June, recently were approved, according to Jim Costanzo, partner of development consultant Pacific Development Group.
Plus, work has begun on a 58,000-square-foot Albertson’s store, due to open in February, he said.
Day Construction and DMK Construction are the contractors on the project.
Two more spaces are planned at Plaza Pacifica: a 16,500-square-foot space next to Michael’s and a 23,000-square-foot center adjacent to Albertson’s.
Prospective tenants for the Michael’s center include Radio Shack, Sally Beauty, Bath & Body Works, Pay Less Shoes and Pacific Dental, ac-cording to Costanzo.
Potential tenants near Albertson’s include Happy Nails, Baja Fresh and Togo’s, Costanzo said.
Plaza Pacifica also has room for more than 20,000-square-feet of additional retail businesses.
Prospective tenants have not been disclosed, Costanzo said.
The shopping center is scheduled for completion by the middle of next year.
It will offer about 423,000 square feet of retail space
It is also estimated to bring the city about $900,000 of additional sales tax revenue, according to Lund. n
