Irvine-based Shopoff Realty Investments sold the final parcel of the 14-acre Sunrise Village retail center in Fullerton.
The nearly half-acre lot was offloaded for $2.5 million, bringing Shopoff Realty’s total disposition for the center to $58.8 million. Shopoff Realty, which is helmed by company president and CEO William Shopoff, bought the entire retail center in 2021 for $27.5 million.
The center has since been demolished and is being redeveloped into a mixed-use project with housing and retail.
Lennar Homes purchased a portion of the center and plans to build 113 houses on nearly 10 acres, including 49 detached residences and 64 townhomes. Construction of the homes, part of Lennar’s The Pines at Fullerton, is underway with completion expected in 2026.
Other parcels went to investors. One included a Del Taco and three adjacent pads, sold in 2023 and left intact. Two more were sold in June with those groups planning “a long-term hold and development of the portions of the site that were vacant land,” Shopoff told the Business Journal in an email.
“Our partners were Artemis Real Estate and one of the funds managed by our firm.”
Future of Sunrise Village
Altering Sunrise Village from a retail center to a mixed-use property required constant negotiations with Fullerton officials. Shopoff said his company typically engages with city staff, elected officials and members of the community on what they feel is the “highest and best use” for any of its properties.
“In this case, we had strong support from a faction of the community, however there was resistance from some of the community,” he said.
After this back-and-forth, the company opted to keep some retail. In the case of a corner parcel with a Del Taco, two more retail pads were added.
“We had always intended to sell off the hard corner with Del Taco and some other in-line retailers, but we ended up adding two additional retail pads, along with retaining one of the smaller retail buildings,” Shopoff said. That allowed a long-term tenant to expand.
A local veterinary practice was also relocated to a smaller building. “We completely renovated the building and provided a long-term lease, allowing the community to have access to the veterinarian,” he said.
For housing, Shopoff worked with Hoffman Company to run a sales process for homebuilders. “After a couple of rounds of offers, we ultimately selected Lennar,” Shopoff said.
The company is largely done with Sunrise Village but will monitor the buildout. “We remain interested in the final build,” he said.
Shopoff, who got his entrepreneurial start at age 12 with a lawn mowing and pool cleaning business, won a Business Journal Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award in 2023. He was the keynote speaker at this year’s event in March.
Coachella Valley Exit
Outside OC, Shopoff Realty made another exit this month.
A week after the Fullerton deal, the real estate firm announced that it sold Date Palm Interiors within the Desert Princess Community of Cathedral City, near Palm Springs, for $8 million. The fee-simple land interest includes ground leases for 159 houses.
Shopoff Realty described Date Palm Interiors as “offering resort-style living and strong demand for long-term housing.” It sits within a city that has “emerged as a key area for business expansion,” the company said.
Date Palm Interiors is part of Shopoff’s Westkin portfolio, which the company bought in November 2017 for $23 million.
