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Shopping Centers Today -> September 2003
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PARTNERS BRINGING LIFESTYLE RETAIL TO SIMI VALLEY
BY DEBRA HAZEL
Believe it or not, there’s still an area of Greater Los Angeles that lacks regional mall retail: Simi Valley.
For decades the residents of this northern suburb, part of Ventura County, have had to shop at Northridge Mall or The Oaks at Thousand Oaks, both some 25 minutes away in the San Fernando Valley. Soon, though, Simi Valley Town Center will bring 800,000 square feet of lifestyle retail to a rapidly growing community.
The project was originally intended as a 1 million-square-foot enclosed mall. But the industry recession of the early 1990s caused delays from which Simi Valley Town Center re-emerged as an upscale open-air center.
“The trade area had grown tremendously, and the market wanted it,” said Albert A. Corti, CLS, a principal of the San Diego-based Corti Gilchrist Partnership, a co-developer of the center. As senior executives of The Hahn Co., Corti and current partner John Gilchrist Jr. developed the 1.1 million-square-foot Oaks in 1978, among other area centers. “With the new lifestyle trend and department stores getting smaller, an open-air center was perfect.”
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The project will be built into a hill on 50 acres north of state Highway 118, between First Street and Erringer Road. Macy’s and Robinsons-May will anchor the 650,000-square-foot first phase, which will open in 2005, and they will be joined by a third anchor when the second phase opens. Up to five specialty anchors, six restaurants, a 10-space food court and approximately 120 higher-end small shops are also planned. The retail center is one element of a $300 million complex that will also include 500 apartment units, a 225,000-square-foot home improvement center, a 140-room hotel and 150,000 square feet of office space.
Corti Gilchrist began work on Simi Valley Town Center in 1996. Wayne Finley, another former Hahn executive who is now principal of Finley Group, joined the project later as development manager. Last year Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises became the majority financial partner.
“We knew the market, that it was one of the few areas in Los Angeles that did not have a regional mall experience,” said James A. Ratner, chairman and CEO of Forest City Commercial Group, a division of Forest City Enterprises. “But this will be one that is smaller, more discreet and tailored to that community.”
About 263,000 people live in the center’s primary trade area, which boasts average annual household income of $96,000. By 2008 the population could grow to 285,000, with household income rising to about $115,000.
Forest City will manage the center. The developers predict rents will likely average in the low $30s per square foot, with sales of about $309 per square foot at opening, rising to $525 per square foot in 2008.
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