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COVER STORY, NOVEMBER 2006
INTEGRATION STATION
New mixed-use projects across the West are bringing people and property types together.
Brian A. Lee
Developers are creating dynamic mixed-use properties all over the West, from the East Bay and eastern Washington to Southern California and Southern Nevada. The projects come by way of different partnerships and feature different components and designs, but they never ignore the key goals of convenience and integration.
Paxton Walk
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Located in northwest Las Vegas, Paxton Walk will consist of nearly 2 million gross square feet of condominiums and townhomes, retail shops, restaurants, and offices. Construction of Paxton Walk’s first of four phases is scheduled to begin in late 2006.
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Las Vegas has always attracted lots of people but not necessarily for its community feel. Paxton Walk, a 31-acre mixed-use development in northwest Las Vegas, is set to change all of that.
“What sets Paxton Walk apart is the stunning architecture, endless amenities and sense of community,” says Deirdre Waitt, president of Blue Marble Development, the project’s developer . “The community of Paxton Walk will be a central point of connection for leisure activities between friends, family and neighbors with gathering places such as the town center, clubhouses and the main Olympic-sized pool with cabanas.”
Located at Centennial Parkway and Tenaya Way near the 215 Beltway and 95 interchange, Paxton Walk will consist of nearly 2 million gross square feet of mixed-use offerings, consisting of 782 condominiums and townhomes and 96,000 square feet of retail shops, restaurants and offices. Residences will range from the $200,000s to $500,000s in price.
Construction of Paxton Walk’s first of four phases is scheduled to begin in late 2006. The project architect is Newman Garrison Gilmour.
“The vibrant landscaping and timeless [English-style] architecture is designed in such a way to promote outdoor activities and easy accessibility to all nearby amenities, with the farthest resident only a quarter of a mile away from Paxton Square,” says Waitt. “Another unique design feature is the concept of wrap buildings, in which the parking structures are built in the middle of the condominium buildings and hidden from view so homeowners are only steps away from their front door and homes face outward to maximize views and community beauty.”
Paxton Square town center, the heart of the development, will feature commercial space surrounding a charming 27,000-square-foot courtyard, accentuated by landscaping, pedestrian pathways and alfresco dining. Above the storefronts and offices will be additional residential space.
Paxton Walk will include more than six acres of open space, including 11 courtyards, three pools, fountains and meditation gardens, two clubhouses, and two fitness centers with massage and facial rooms. The 9,000-square-foot main clubhouse will feature a theater, a billiards room and an innovative cabana room.
Blue Marble Development began assembling the land for Paxton Walk 8 years ago. The mixed-use development will take approximately 4 years to complete.
The Rose Garden
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The Rose Garden in Danville, California
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Good things come to those who wait, and Danville, California, shoppers, workers and residents will find those things in The Rose Garden. The $45 million lifestyle/mixed-use center development, the first of its kind in this Northern California city, will feature 45,000 square feet of quality retail offerings, 9,000 square feet of office space and 56 apartments when completed next year.
“The Rose Garden is a true example of how developers and cities are working together to create not just a shopping center, but a vibrant community gathering place in which to live, work and shop,” says Brad Blake, chief executive officer of Danville-based Blake Hunt Ventures, project partner with The Castle Companies.
The special mixed-use opportunity began to develop when Navlet’s Garden Center decided to redevelop the site 20 years ago. After approaching Blake Hunt Ventures, going through “more than 100 different site plans” with the developer and then reaching an agreement with the city in 2005, the project was born. The first phase of the Rose Garden, consisting mostly of the 2-acre garden center, broke ground in early September, with completion scheduled for February 2007. Work on the retail, office and residential components will start in March and be completed in October 2007.
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The $45 million Rose Garden in Danville, California, will feature 45,000 square feet of lifestyle retail offerings, 9,000 square feet of office space and 56 apartments when completed in October 2007.
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“This will be the first mixed-use project in Danville that combines retail, office and residential,” says Blake, whose hometown company targets retail-anchored, mixed-use, infill projects in the San Francisco Bay area. “It will bring a mix of high-quality regional and national specialty retailers to Danville.”
Danville’s premier destination for shopping, dining, working and living will be located off Interstate 680 at Sycamore Valley Road and Camino Ramon. The Rose Garden will serve a trade area that includes the affluent communities of Blackhawk, Diablo, Alamo and San Ramon, which boast a population of more than 124,000 with an average household income exceeding $183,000. Besides the full-scale Navlet’s Garden Center, the development will also be anchored by a 17,000-square-foot Burke Willams Day Spa.
Hollman Bologna and BVC Architects are the project architects, and Lafayette, California-based Main Street Property Services is handling the retail leasing.
Ontario Gateway
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10-story office tower at Ontario Gateway
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With so much growth in Ontario, California, it makes sense that developers deliver multifaceted projects to the market to appeal to residents and cater to the expanding needs of the emerging metropolis. That’s exactly what Monrovia, California-based The Bates Company is doing with Ontario Gateway, which will feature a 10-story, 250,000-square-foot Class A office tower and three-story parking structure, a 250-plus room Embassy Suites, a 200-plus room Springhill Suites, 100,000-square-feet of medical office buildings, and a more than 200-bed hospital.
“It’s a great location [with] the variety of uses at the site and the quality of construction and design,” says Chris Atkinson, vice president of The Bates Company. “It will bring to the market top quality hotels, a much-needed hospital into the Ontario area and Class A office buildings.”
More on Ontario Gateway’s great location: the 40-acre parcel is located at the high-profile Haven Avenue exit at Interstate 10, by which more than 500,000 cars travel per day, and just one mile from LA-Ontario International Airport. The project is located adjacent to a proposed 8-acre Mercedes Benz auto dealership. Ontario is located 35 miles east of Los Angeles in the fast-growing western part of the Inland Empire.
According to Atkinson, demolition and infrastructure construction of the Ontario Gateway site should begin in February 2007. About 65 percent of the property is being sold off to the developers of the hotels, hospital and car dealership. The Bates Company is slated to complete the office tower, medical office buildings and parking facility in late 2008.
The River District
The River District, a massive joint-venture effort by Centennial Properties and Greenstone Corporation, will soon be flowing in eastern Washington. Located in the town of Liberty Lake, the 900-acre, mixed-use, master-planned neighborhood will offer a great deal for those residents and consumers looking for a charming balance of modern, comfortable convenience and natural inspiration.
“The River District introduces a completely new design approach to the Inland Northwest that is progressive and follows national trends to introduce New Urbanism land-use concepts,” says Jim Frank, president of Greenstone Corporation. “The district will integrate a range of homes, retail services, commercial services and recreational offerings along the Spokane River while complementing the strategic community development vision and comprehensive plan of the growing community of Liberty Lake.”
Located north of Interstate 90 between downtown Spokane, Washington, and the Idaho state line, the River District is estimated to cost $1 billion over the next 20 years. Residential offerings will range from single-family homes and townhouses to urban lofts, condominiums and apartments. The development of around 400 home sites is currently underway. Telido Station, the retail/commercial portion of the project, named after the historic train stop nearby, is now being marketed; the major shopping center will bring new regional and national retailers to Liberty Lake. These two components comprise Phase I of the River District, which is slated for completion in 2008.
“A town center in the River District will feature a mix of public plazas and open spaces, independent specialty stores and restaurants, and residential lofts and condominiums along the Spokane River,” says Frank.
The River District will be both a recreational destination and an economic and community development engine. The development’s design will improve access to the Spokane River, and a network of trails will connect parks, green space, businesses and neighborhoods. While the New Urbanism model will make the master-planned neighborhood a better place to live and work through diversity, connectivity and community, architectural styles will reflect both modern and local historical features. Bernardo Wills of Spokane is handling the design work.
Not only does the River District benefit from its developers’ strengths — Greenstone’s success in developing homes in the Inland Northwest and Centennial Properties’ experience with and expertise in retail and commercial properties — the development is situated in a Tax Increment Financing District and future Revenue Development Area, both of which are city/county or state economic growth initiatives used to fund infrastructure improvements.
“Residents from throughout the region will enjoy many positive impacts from The River District,” says Robert Smith, vice president and chief operating officer for Centennial Properties. “It’s a playground, a place to shop and live, and an economic development tool. Everyone stands to benefit.”
An Oasis in North State
Levenson Development will deliver a retail haven to Redding, California.
Levenson Development is no stranger to retail, entertainment and lifestyle centers, having worked on numerous developments in California. However, the company is entering unchartered territory as it begins the development process for Oasis Towne Center, a 900,000- to 1 million-square-foot retail center in Redding. Located at the interchange of Interstate 5 and Oasis Road, the project will answer the demand for high-quality retail offerings in North State, the area of California north of Sacramento.
According to Mark Miller, the executive vice president of Levenson and project manager for Oasis Towne Center, the scope of the development is unlike anything the Century City, California-based company has ever worked on. “By far, it’s the biggest project that we’ve done. It contains elements of all our different projects: some entertainment, some big box, some lifestyle.”
The $200 million, two-phase project will feature multiple restaurants, bookstores, high-quality, brand-name shops, entertainment venues and a 60,000-square-foot, 16-screen Cinemark Theatres. Levenson is currently in negotiations with other national and local retailers.
The upscale, open-air center will provide lots of shade from the California sun and feature a pedestrian-friendly design, enhanced elevations and lush landscaping. A number of rivers, creeks and streams meander throughout the property; these will be bordered by bike and pedestrian trails.
So why is Levenson choosing this time to develop land that it’s held for 25 years?
“[We] identified an unfilled market demand for high-quality retail and entertainment,” says Miller. “The tenant demand combined with city interest dictated it was time to build…There is no high-quality retail in the region, and this will be very high quality both in terms of design and amenities.”
Redding is the center of commerce, government and healthcare in the northern part of the state, according to Miller, and with the land’s location at an off ramp for Interstate 5 and near Shasta Lake, a large tourist draw for the area, the site was the perfect fit for Oasis Towne Center. However, Miller believes that the retail center’s bigger draw will come from the local population. “There are 200,000 people in the metro central area. [The center’s] a regional draw because there’s no other town really around Redding; there’s nothing else [in terms of retail] really in the area.”
Levenson will invest $30 million to improve the Oasis Road/Interstate 5 interchange and enhance the local roads around the retail site. The interchange construction is scheduled for a 2009/2010 completion.
Pasadena, California-based architect McKentley & Malag designed the project, Colliers is handling the leasing, and Redding-based Pace Engineering and Oakland, California-based TY Lin Engineering are providing engineering services.
Grading of the project is scheduled to begin in early 2007, with construction beginning mid-2007. Phase I completion is slated for 2008, with the entire project online for a late-2009/early-2010 completion.
— Brianne Gloski |
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