COVER STORY, FEBRUARY 2007

MORE FACETS FASCINATE
Mixed-use projects connect with people in many ways.
Brian A. Lee

How do you make a good development opportunity into a golden one? Developers in the Golden State are creating dynamic mixed-use properties that maximize space, boost appeal and strengthen the bonds between people and places. Western Real Estate Business took a look at the following projects:

HavenPark

Searching for “Orange County quality” in the Inland Empire, workers, employers and travelers now have a home. Or a haven.

HavenPark is located 1 mile away from Ontario International Airport.

HavenPark, The Hileman Company’s $60 million, master-planned, mixed-use project in Rancho Cucamonga, California, will feature 150,000 square feet of Class A office space in twin three-story buildings, a new select-service hotel concept, 22,000 square feet of casual dining and office support retail space, and a freestanding full-service restaurant.

“We’re less than 1 mile from the international airport in Ontario, and we think that’s consistently going to be the driver in the future that makes Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga and the Haven Avenue corridor we’re located on developed to the intensity and quality that you’ll see around the John Wayne Airport submarket in Orange County,” says Jack Hileman, founding partner and president of The Hileman Company LLC. “That became our model for the quality of development we’re doing.”

Co-Op Financial Services’ late-2006, $14 million lease of 75,000 square feet at HavenPark meant that the office component was 75 percent leased with 6 months to go before the development’s April 2007 completion. Co-Op joins Pacific Western National Bank, University of Redlands and American Home Mortgage Corporation as tenants at HavenPark.

The aloft hotel at HavenPark will be the first of its kind in California.

The 136-room aloft hotel — aloft is the newest brand from Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ W Hotels division — will begin construction this quarter and is slated for a first quarter 2008 opening. The first of its kind in California, the hotel will feature loft-like guest rooms, accessible technology, contemporary architecture and a vibrant atmosphere.

“We did not want to do a cookie-cutter hotel; we wanted to bring a hotel to the market that’s new and fresh in its design,” says Hileman.

HavenPark’s retail component broke ground in November 2006 and will also open for business in April. As of mid-January, the balance of the office space was about to be leased up.

“In this market, there really hasn’t been a true first-class, mixed-use project developed, one that integrates new construction with all of the amenities on site — a hotel, office buildings, retail and a sit-down, white-table-cloth, business-quality restaurant,” says Hileman. “We were the first project in the area to do that and I think that the market has responded very well to it.”

Market Lofts

Market Lofts will be home to Ralphs, downtown Los Angeles’ first grocery store in 50 years.

As home to a brand new Ralphs supermarket, downtown Los Angeles’ first grocery store in 50 years, Market Lofts will be adding more to the traditional mixed-use formula — live, work, play and shop. Developers Lee Homes and CIM Group will have upped the standard of urban loft living when the project opens in June 2007.

“The downtown L.A. area is sizzling with lofts,” says Jil Froman of Lee Homes. “Market Lofts’ convenient location in the South Park area of downtown and its position above unique retail will stand out to visitors and residents.”

The development will feature one- and two-bedroom for-sale lofts ranging from 695 to 1,588 square feet. Amenities include a residents-only entrance, a social room with gourmet kitchen, a screening room, a fitness gym, a pool and a spa. In addition to Ralphs, other retailers occupying the 56,000 square feet of ground-floor space are The UPS Store, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Quiznos Sub, Cold Stone Creamery and Robeks Juice.

PCL Construction Services is the contractor for Market Lofts. Lee Homes has already completed three other loft communities in downtown L.A.

555 Mission Rock

In March 2007, Urban Housing Group (UHG) will begin developing 555 Mission Rock, a $90 million project featuring 192 apartment units and ground-floor retail in San Francisco. Partnering with affiliates of AIG Global Real Estate, UHG acquired the 1.5-acre-land parcel, located in the city’s Mission Bay neighborhood, in October 2006. The eight-story project will consist of one- and two-bedroom units, townhouse offerings and approximately 10,000 square feet of retail space.

Residents of 555 Mission Rock will not lack for comfort and convenience. The developers are seeing to that by featuring broadband wiring, 9-foot ceilings and in-unit laundry facilities in the apartments as well as a 3,000-square-foot community building in a large courtyard, complete with fireplace and sun deck. Renters will have several mass-transit options with which to access San Francisco’s financial center and many attractions.

Financed by JPMorgan’s Real Estate & Lodging Investment Banking Group, 555 Mission Rock is slated to be completed in March 2009. Los Angeles-based UHG is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marcus & Millichap.


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