The 1.2 million-square-foot The District at Tustin Legacy is part of Tustin Legacy, a 1,585-acre redevelopment of the former Marine Corp Air Station in Orange County, Calif.

With more than 25 years of experience in the shopping center industry, Vestar Development Company has learned a thing or two about shopping center development. The wisdom and skill Vestar has developed over time is evident in the success of its retail properties, located across California and Arizona. “We look at what we liked and what we didn’t like from past projects and considered that when developing new projects,” says Jeffrey Axtell, project director with Vestar. “When you look at our projects, you can see a real progression.”

One of Vestar’s greatest strengths is the consistency it shows in developing community-oriented, environmentally sensitive shopping centers. While each center is innovative and unique, several constants remain across the board. “We like to do centers that are about 50 to 100 acres — that is our sweet spot,” says Axtell. “They seem to be the best fit; it also makes an easy transition from project to project.”

In addition to a relatively standard size, Vestar also likes to attract a certain type of retailer to its centers. The company usually brings in tenants such as Target, Wal-Mart, The Home Depot, Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse and other promotional retailers. “Also, whenever we can, we like to add in entertainment components,” adds Axtell.

Over the years, Vestar has learned just how valuable an entertainment component can be in bringing customers. A theater can increase the drawing power of a center dramatically. In Los Angeles, for example, a center without a theater might draw from 3 miles, whereas a center with a theater can draw from 7 to 10-plus miles, says Axtell. The theater at Vestar’s Long Beach Town Center is a prime example — it usually ranks as one of the top 10 performing theaters in the country each week. “With a lifestyle/entertainment component and restaurants you cover the whole gamut. You can draw the widest range, the most varied people,” he adds.

Completed in 1989, Scottsdale Pavilions was one of the company’s first big power centers in Arizona, which also served as a model for later projects. Scottsdale Pavilions is a 1.2 million-square-foot center located at Pima and Indian Bend roads in Scottsdale. The center’s tenants, including Target, The Home Depot, Best Buy and United Artists, are typical of the tenants that Vestar likes to have as anchors. After that project, the company continued to improve upon its developmental model, building the 600,000-square-foot Cerritos Towne Center in 1994 and the 1 million-square-foot Long Beach Town Center in 1998.

Soon after came Desert Ridge Marketplace in Phoenix, currently one of the most successful power/ lifestyle/entertainment centers in the country. “Desert Ridge is the new prototype,” says Axtell. The 1.2 million-square-foot project features a pedestrian-friendly village area and tenants such as Target Greatland, Barnes & Noble, Kohl’s, DSW Shoes, Tower Records, Old Navy and an AMC 18 Theater. More than 18 million people visited the center last year.

The success of Desert Ridge prompted Vestar to follow a similar design for one of its newest projects, The District at Tustin Legacy in Orange County, California. “We are patterning it after [Desert Ridge], with the entertainment/lifestyle core in the center of the project and the destination retailers around the edges,” says Axtell. “With retail on both sides, you have people going back and forth across the central core,” he adds. The District at Tustin Legacy is a prime example of Vestar’s ability to take the most successful elements of previous projects and incorporate them into new ones. “We are using the format from Desert Ridge, but also going after new tenants,” says Axtell.

The District at Tustin Legacy is part of Tustin Legacy, a redevelopment of the former Marine Corp Air Station. The development includes more than 7.5 million square feet of office, commercial and retail space, as well as space for approximately 4,600 homes. After the air station closed in 1991, the city of Tustin wanted to find an adaptive re-use for the 1,585 acres. The city divided the base into portions, selling parts to colleges, home builders, office developers and others. Vestar was chosen as the developer of a retail portion of the project. The District at Tustin Legacy will encompass 1.2 million square feet and will be located at the corner of Barranca Parkway and Jamboree Road in Tustin. And, although there are several other retail centers in the area — including the Irvine Spectrum, Tustin Marketplace and the Block at Orange — Axtell is confident that The District will be successful.

“The density is so great here that we found there would be less than a 10 percent overlap or crossover from Tustin Marketplace (3 miles north of the project),” says Axtell. “The city was comfortable that what we do here wouldn’t hurt the Marketplace because we will draw from all of Orange County.”

Vestar also has a number of other projects that are under development or that will soon break ground. Stockton Town Center is a 700,000-square-foot project in the northern California town of Stockton.

“Stockton will be more of a traditional power center, with large format stores and several promotional retailers,” says Axtell. Vestar chose to develop in Stockton because the city has become a suburb of the Bay area, with a population exceeding 300,000. Axtell says that Stockton was once a one-store town, with most retailers located in the center of the city. Now, with the growth the area has experienced, many retailers have recognized the advantages of having an additional location. Stockton Town Center is being designed to provide just that — an easily accessible center located to the south of the city’s core. The company recently broke ground on the project and hopes to complete it by fall.

The company is also currently developing three projects in Arizona. The 825,000-square-foot Happy Valley Towne Center will be located at the corner of Interstate 17 and Happy Valley Road in Phoenix. Wal-Mart Supercenter, Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse, Barnes & Noble, Circuit City, and Linens & Things will anchor the center, which is scheduled to open in spring 2005.

Crossroads Towne Center is a 1.3 million-square-foot project that is being developed at Loop 202 and Gilbert Road in Gilbert. The project includes Super Target, Barnes & Noble, Ross Dress For Less, Linens n’ Things, Staples and a movie theater. It is scheduled to open in March 2005.

In Tempe, Vestar is developing Tempe Marketplace, a 1.3 million-square-foot power/lifestyle/entertainment center located at the intersection of Loop 202 and Loop 101. The center will include 17 anchor tenants, a movie theater, 100,000 square feet of specialty retail space and 15 restaurant pads.

In addition to these developments, Vestar also has several other projects in the works. The company also manages a portfolio of more than 14 million square feet of office, retail and industrial space. All of this activity will help Vestar keep its reputation as one of the most successful development companies in the West.


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