COVER STORY, NOVEMBER 2005

MIXED & MULTIPLE PURPOSES
Mixed-use projects maximize the consumer attraction.
Brian A. Lee

With the renewed interest in in-town living, rapidly disappearing open land, ever-increasing energy concerns and the unwavering desire for convenience, it's little wonder that the mixed-use and multifamily development sectors have a great deal of momentum right now. Bringing together living space with retail, dining, entertainment and sometimes work options in an aesthetically packaged property holds tremendous appeal to the many consumers who don't treasure alone-time with their automobiles each and every day. Western Real Estate Business took an editorial tour of a handful of projects to see how developers are producing interest out of integration.            

Colony Court at Ontario

The city of Ontario, California, in the high-growth Inland Empire has a lot of things going for it, including the LA-Ontario International Airport and proven retail demand in the form of Ontario Mills, a regional center that draws more than 22 million visitors annually. The joint venture of Watt Genton Associates, an affiliate of Watt Commercial Properties, and AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corp. looks to add more, acquiring 60 acres on which to build Colony Court at Ontario, a $250 million mixed-use development that will comprise 350,000 square feet of commercial space, 265 detached condos or cottage lots, and 300 condos and apartment homes.

Positioned as the eastern gateway to New Model Colony, an 8,200-acre master-planned community in Ontario, California, the $250 million Colony Court at Ontario will comprise 350,000 square feet of commercial space, 265 detached condos or cottage lots, and 300 condos and apartment homes.

Groundbreaking for Colony Court at Ontario will take place in spring 2007 with completion slated for summer 2008. The first phase of development will include a 150,000-square-foot neighborhood center providing grocery, service and other retail offerings to residents. A centrally located village, clustered around a four-acre public park and promenade, will feature approximately 100 loft-style apartments over 100,000 square feet of shops, restaurants and office space in addition to 275 single-family cottages. Phase two of the project will be another mixed-use village with 200 apartments over 100,000 square feet of retail and restaurants.

Watt Genton, the general partner, is in charge of planning, design and construction of Colony Court, located just west of the new Galena interchange on Interstate 15. AIG is the financial partner while KTGY Group Inc. and Urban Arena are handling the architectural work.

Piemonte at Ontario Center

That's not all that will be developed in Ontario. Now the city will have, what is being called, the Inland Empire's first truly urbanized mixed-use/entertainment-style venue.

In first quarter 2006, Panattoni Development will break ground on the 1 million-square-foot Piemonte at Ontario Center, which will comprise 309,280 square feet of retail space and 54,800 square feet of restaurants and services; 806 for-sale residences; 769 multifamily rental units (now under construction and owned by Sares-Regis Group and Fairfield); 400,000 square feet of Class-A corporate office space; a 45,000-square-foot health club/fitness center; and a 200-plus room high-end business/headquarters hotel and restaurant.

The focal point of Piemonte at Ontario Center will be an 8,500-seat sports and entertainment arena, which the city itself will develop. The arena will house minor league hockey and ABA professional basketball teams and host family-oriented entertainment and concerts. The first phase of the project will consist of a 120,000-square-foot, five-story office property; the nine-story hotel; and residential space over retail offerings.

When completed in 5 years, Piemonte at Ontario Center will offer a pedestrian-oriented blend of business, entertainment, dining and living space. The announcement of the events center and mixed-use district came on the heels of the city of Ontario's sale of adjacent land to Mathis Brothers Furniture for the development of a 360,000-square-foot showroom and warehouse. City officials estimate that the total development value of the mixed-use project, arena and furniture development transaction is approximately $655 million.

801 South Grand & Sky Lofts

CIM Group and The Lee Group are at it again in Los Angeles, this time blending old (office) and new (luxury condos) into a dynamic downtown mixed-use project with a view. When it seems most office properties are being converted entirely to residential, the creators of the nearby $500 million South Village development are providing the best of both worlds.

801 South Grand in Los Angeles

“When the 801 S. Grand building was being marketed for sale [in 2003], it became known that the tenant for most of the upper floors was vacating,” says Jonathan Lonner, director of development for The Lee Group. “The building is easily divisible with separate elevator banks that allowed CIM to partner with the Lee Group and turn the upper floors into luxury condominiums.”

The 132 live/work condominium units at Sky Lofts will feature flexible, open floor plans and range in size from approximately 1,066 to 2,094 square feet. Condos will range in price from the mid-$600,000s to more than $1.4 million. Residents will enjoy sweeping views of the downtown Los Angeles skyline as well as the tower's proximity to their workplaces and the city's many attractions. The 22-story property has a newly constructed private residential entrance, a lobby with large lounge area, a gym and a nine-person theatre for private screenings. Residents will also have convenient access to the 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail/restaurant space.

Vallagio Inverness

In September, Metropolitan Homes broke ground on the largest transit-oriented development in Colorado — Vallagio Inverness. Located in Denver at Dry Creek and Interstate 25 adjacent to Inverness Golf Course, the $200 million mixed-use development will consist of 469 residences with commercial and retail space, all connected conveniently to the city by light rail.

“This development originated out of the rezoning of office park land to mixed-use, high-density use,” says Peter Kudla, Metropolitan Homes' founder and chief executive officer. “It was a county reaction to a goal of transit-oriented development for Arapahoe County.”

Vallagio Inverness' residential offerings consist of 240 condos, priced from the upper $200,000s to the low $400,000s; 84 lofts, priced from around $250,000 to the low $300,000s; 111 row townhomes in the mid-$400,000s to upper $500,000s; and 34 golf villas, which range from the mid-$600,000s to the upper $700,000s. These residences, the 18,000 square feet of commercial space and the 22,000 square feet of retail — which comprises a bank, coffeehouse, wine shop and fine food stores — are connected by pedestrian bridge to the Dry Creek light rail station.

Residents will begin moving into the high-density, low-maintenance community at the end of summer 2006. The Vallagio Inverness' completion is slated for December 2008. Kephart Architects is handling the residential architecture, Meeks & Partners the commercial/mixed-use design, and Mulhern MRE Inc. is the engineering planning and design partner. 

Urban Village

Las Vegas' population growth has been a constant for quite a while, but the condominium craze is a more recent trend in southern Nevada. With Urban Village, a master-planned community coming to the South Strip, developer Diversified Real Estate Group (DRG) is catering to both in a very unique way.

Located at the corner of Pyle and Las Vegas Boulevard, the $1 billion Urban Village will feature five distinct neighborhoods totaling 2,400 condo residences on 50 acres. Residents will have their choice of one-, two- and three-bedroom homes ranging in size from 1,000 to 3,000 square feet. The development consists of brownstones, hi-rise units, live-work setups, flats, and both finished and unfinished lofts that range from the high $100,000s to $1 million. DRG's luxurious design will stretch from the condos themselves to the terraces and balconies overlooking elaborate courtyards and gardens and to the cobblestone streets and gas-lamp lit promenades.

Urban Village residents will also enjoy a café, bookstore and flower shop as well as service retail offerings such as a salon, dry-cleaning and restaurants. A 17,000-square-foot fitness center will be centrally located on the property.

©2005 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.