COVER STORY, MAY 2007

THE BLEND TREND
Developers are mixing uses to maximize effect on people.
Anastasia Parsons

To make breaking ground truly a groundbreaking event, a development needs to appeal to many, fulfill a community need and make use of the formerly useless. No matter the reason for construction to begin, mixed-use properties across the western United States are producing the next evolution of this multifaceted development trend and providing interesting options for retailers, shoppers and homeowners alike.

The Heart of North Las Vegas

The $300 million Heart of North Las Vegas is a joint venture between Vestar Development and The Athena Group LLC.

It’s hard to think of any part of Las Vegas as being underserved in terms of retail and entertainment, but with the city’s recent employment boom and subsequent demand for housing, some areas are only now able to react to consumer demand for synergistic retail. Enter The Heart of North Las Vegas, a joint venture between The Athena Group LLC and Vestar Development Co.

The $300 million project will be a first for both firms — the first northern Las Vegas development for Vestar and the first Nevada project for Athena. “The reason we pursued this project is that it was large enough to have multi-use to create a community of housing, shopping, entertainment and retail,” says Louis Dubin, president and CEO of The Athena Group. “We, as a company, feel this [type of mixed-use] is more than just a national trend, that most people in most communities are looking for this type of lifestyle.”

When completed in late 2008, the 1.3 million square-foot development, which will feature approximately 125 high-end retailers and restaurants, and provide 800 housing units, will bring a sense of synergy to the more than 200,000 residents of northern Las Vegas, according to Jeff Axtell, project manager for Vestar. Research from both firms predicts that housing stock in this area is on a continuous climb due to Las Vegas’ progressive growth as a vacation destination — a potential 20,000 to 25,000 hotel rooms coming online within the next 3 to 4 years.

Additionally, Vestar and Athena report that the northern Las Vegas market is currently supporting about 8 to 9 square feet of retail space per person; a number significantly lower than the national average of 25.

“There’s a shortage overall for retail,” says Dubin. “The rooftops went up much faster than the infrastructure came in.”

A need he and Axtell hope to fulfill with their 160-acre project at the corner of North 5th Street and Craig Road (North 5th Street is the continuation of the Las Vegas Strip). The concept for the build is unique to Vestar. Known as the district concept, it includes two major components—an inner lifestyle section with shops, restaurants and at least one department store, and then a surrounding second tier of larger format, big box retail offerings. Also featured within this inner lifestyle component will be outdoor fireplaces, pop-jet fountains, a video wall, a performance stage, shaded pedestrian walkways and tailored landscaping.

Along with all the new retail, restaurants and residential space soon to be made available, households in the area will have the opportunity to tag the project with a name of their own. Vestar and Athena are sponsoring a naming contest open to all northern Las Vegas households. The contest winner is to receive a grand prize scholarship (including tuition, books and room and board) designed to cover 4 years at any college or university in the United States.

In addition to The Heart of North Las Vegas, Vestar is currently developing more than 6 million square feet of retail space in greater Phoenix, including the 1.3 million-square-foot Tempe Marketplace, and the 1 million-square-foot The District at Tustin Legacy lifestyle center in Tustin, California. The Athena Group, based out of New York City, is using its host of services to develop approximately 4,500 residential units, representing nearly $2 billion in development activity throughout the United States.

W Hollywood Hotel & Residences

The idea of iconic Hollywood glamour influencing modern style isn’t a new one, but when the W Hollywood Hotel & Residences opens its doors in 2009, Dallas-based developer Gatehouse Capital Corp. hopes to put its own spin on the concept. Located at one of Hollywood’s most recognizable addresses, the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street, the newest addition to the W Hotel Worldwide franchise will be a first for Los Angeles — the first mixed-use hotel/condominium residence project within the market that is.

“It’s certainly the most upscale project in Hollywood,” says Marty Collins, president and CEO for Gatehouse. “I think it raises the bar… it completely elevates the character of the neighborhood at every level.”

W Hotel developments are nothing new for Collins and his Gatehouse team. The developer is the largest of W Hotels and recently wrapped another landmark project for the chain, the W Dallas Victory Hotel & Residences in Texas. The project is the first hospitality/residential property for W. Additional partners for the W Hollywood include Norwalk, Connecticut-headquartered HEI Hospitality, one of the nation’s leading, privately held hotel investment companies; Legacy Partners, a developer of multifamily residential throughout the western United States; Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., an industry leader in hotel and leisure companies worldwide; and architects from the firms of HKS Architects Inc., based in Dallas, and Rios Clementi Hale Studios, a landscape architectural outfit out of Los Angeles.

The result of a 6-year planning process, W’s $600 million project, which breaks ground in the first half of this year, will feature 305 hotel rooms, 143 residences and approximately 52,000 square feet of retail space. Beyond the highly branded W hospitality element, Bliss Spa and Sweat Fitness have already signed on for space within the project. Also in contention for square footage are multiple signature, cutting-edge eateries and a nationally recognized, yet-to-be-named bar/nightclub.

Those taking up residence in W’s condominium component will enjoy private terraces, floor-to-ceiling views, contemporary kitchen appliances and European fixtures. Owners will have 24/7 access to W Hotels’ Whatever/Wheneverâ services, 24-hour room service and daily residence housekeeping. Six million dollars worth of art will also be integrated into the project as part of an overall interior aesthetic designed by both Portland, Oregon-based Architropolis and Santa Monica, California’s Daly, Genik Architects. Architropolis’ design credits include Whiskey Bar inside the Green Valley Ranch Resort in Las Vegas, while Daly, Genik Architects is known for its work with the ArtCenter College of Design.

In addition to these amenities, residents and guests of the mixed-use property will have improved access to Los Angeles public transportation as a result of Gatehouse and Legacy Partners’ collaboration with the Metro Joint Development Program, an initiative that encourages transit-oriented development around Los Angeles Metro station sites and along transit corridors.

The Fountains Lifestyle Center

The Fountains at Roseville

“You create a sense of place,” says Paul Bollinger, executive vice president for Inter Cal Real Estate Corp. “There’s so many shopping centers that if you’re not creating something unique, inviting and special, you’re just one of the many.” This philosophy is one he and his brother Peter, general partner for Inter Cal, have taken to heart in developing The Fountains Lifestyle Center in Roseville, California.

The Fountains will be the first of its kind not only in the city of Roseville, but also within its surrounding five-county area, which includes Sacramento. Certainly there is existing retail and office space serving this market, but The Fountains will be the first mixed-use development offering both within the same integrated space. The object for Bollinger is not to simply offer more availability within the area, but to develop this project as a main street concept with a third place influence.

A majority of retailers — such as already confirmed DSW Shore Warehouse, Z Gallerie, Chico’s, Coldwater Creek, Boudin Bakeries, Sur la Table, White House/Black Market, Soma, Lucy’s and Jos. A. Bank — will be facing inward toward a central, main vein for the development. Parts of this concept will be accessible by car for consumer convenience, however, other areas will be strictly pedestrian, and this is where the third place influence comes into play. A sense of environment will be instilled within the heart of the project. According to Bollinger, it will be an engaging expanse that will encourage shoppers to stop and more completely enjoy their experience with enhanced sidewalks and landscaping, seating areas, festival lighting, outdoor sculpture, and unique water features, including one that will be interactive for children. An entertainment space will also be included and will be available for concerts, theater groups, art shows, social gatherings and more.

Bollinger stresses, however, “It’s more than nice plants. It’s color, it’s sound, it’s just really a sense of brilliance,” for the center.

Inter Cal is to break ground on the 52 acres of previously undeveloped land this spring with completion slated for spring 2008. Three hundred thirty thousand square feet of retail space anchored by Whole Foods Market and Orvis will be included in the project, as well as 16,000 square feet of office space built out above the available retail space. Nationally available retailers will combine with local merchants, such as Bellybou and Le Petit Château, to create an eclectic mix for shoppers.

The Landmark

Since kicking off its development campaign, The Landmark, a Greenwood Village, Colorado, mixed-use project, has been setting benchmarks in the area’s real estate and retail markets. Take, for instance, the fact that within 90 days of opening the sale of the development’s luxury condominiums, 100 percent of the 122 units were sold or under contract. As a result of this achievement, a second condominium tower was planned and recently opened for sale, as well.

Situated along the Interstate 25 corridor, The Landmark is a result of a public/private partnership between the city of Greenwood Village and Denver-based Everest Development Company LLC. The $250 million development is more than its 300 sought-after residential units, however. Completed in 2006, the development also features 200,000 square feet of retail/entertainment space for residents and visitors alike.

Landmark Art Cinema — a member of the Landmark Theatre chain owned by Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team — occupies 28,000 square feet and features six screens, a complete bar, restaurant quality appetizers and espresso service. Also available at The Landmark: a three-story, 20,000-square-foot Comedy Works comedy club; the 7,000-square-foot flagship store for HW Homes (a furniture and design showroom); Little Ollie’s, a 3,800-square-foot Asian restaurant; Moda, a 1,600-square-foot European men’s fashion boutique; Sparrow Restaurant and Gourmet Grocer, taking 6,500 square feet; Ted’s Montana Grill, a 5,000-square-foot extension of the chain; Aspen Falls Spa, a 3,500-square-foot day and medical spa; a yoga and Pilates studio; and much more.

“The mix of restaurants, movie theater, comedy club, retail, service and residential development provide[s] a new destination for our city that enhances our tax base,” says Greenwood Village Community Development Director George Weaver. “The Landmark has demonstrated how the private and public sectors can partner to achieve high quality redevelopment that makes a meaningful contribution to our community.”

Alameda Landing

The challenge: 300 acres of space formerly used as a U.S. military base. The mission: to reposition this partially waterfront property for public use by the residents of Alameda, California, and surrounding areas. The result: Alameda Landing, a Catellus Development Group offering that will include up to 300,000 square feet of retail space, 400,000 square feet of office space, 300 units of single-family housing (25 percent of which will be classified as affordable), a 20,000-square-foot health spa and eight acres of waterfront promenade. The bonus: the project will be a LEED-minded (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) development and incorporate green transportation concepts.

Headquartered in Oakland, California, Catellus, a ProLogis Company, is no stranger to the redevelopment concept. Alameda Landing seems a natural progression for the organization, which has worked on the Mission Bay redevelopment project in San Francisco, as well as other mixed-use projects in the Bay area, according to David Tirman, Catellus senior vice president.

Due to the development’s positioning on the waterfront, the preservation of this and other parts of the acreage as green space became priority for the city of Alameda. To satisfy this need, a promenade is planned and will include bicycle and pedestrian paths, a small boat/kayak dock and launching area, a village green, a playground, ball fields, and a performance space that will double as a gathering pavilion. Views of the waterfront will also be preserved for select retail and restaurant spaces, creating destination shopping and dining.

This green thinking also extends beyond common spaces — it includes the development itself. Though not yet tagged with a LEED designation, Alameda Landing has been designed with this program’s stringent green building guidelines in mind. These criteria will be heavily integrated into the final Alameda Landing product. Additionally, one of Catellus’ signature concepts — green transportation — will be part and parcel to this development.

“Our development is going to push alternative means of transportation to encourage people to get out of their cars,” says Tirman.

Plans for a more pedestrian-friendly Fifth Street, an expanded Village Street and Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway, and new east/west arterials are already underway, and each should allow for increased public transportation access. A water taxi landing will also be constructed for water shuttles to Jack London Square.

The city is also hoping to benefit from the recapture of the $160 million retail sales leakage, as well as the economic benefits that come from additional office space, as reported by Catellus. Nationally recognized retailers in apparel, home improvement, furnishing and electronics will be courted, as well as unique and innovative retail not yet seen in the market to fill the 300,000 square feet.

Ocean Ranch Corporate Center

Something old, something new, something borrowed and something… Generally this rhyme brings to mind brides and grooms, flowers, and cake, but in the case of Oceanside, California, it’s more about all the right ingredients for the successful marriage of a city’s need for an all-encompassing mixed-use space with the right-fit developers with a history of translating municipality vision into reality.

Bringing it all together are Stirling Enterprises, based in Foot Hill Ranch, California, and the San Diego division of John Laing Homes. When the St. Cloud at Ocean Ranch residential component, which is adjacent to Ocean Ranch Corporate Center, was completed in March, the city of Oceanside was introduced to a 347-home community consisting of three neighborhoods and the St. Cloud Recreational Center — providing a pool, an outdoor amphitheatre and barbeque areas for community residents — in addition to the 400-acre office park, complete with a Residence Inn hospitality component and some expanded mixed-use retail space, launched in 2004.

“It’s become a beautiful, fully integrated environment,” says Dougall Agan, principal for Sterling Enterprises. “This community personifies the vitality of business and family growth when properly managed.”

A total of 1,200 acres was allotted by Oceanside and a private Swiss owner for the project, with a current total of nearly 450 acres in active development. Formerly used in a mining operation, the land is now repurposed for the economic benefit of the approximately 170,000-resident, beachfront community located just north of San Diego County. According to Stirling, a 10 percent increase in the city’s job base has resulted from this development, which translates to more than 4,000 new jobs from the likes of Biogen Idec., Coca-Cola, Ashworth Inc., Genentech Pharmaceuticals and Titleist & Footjoy Worldwide.


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