Projects

Redevelopment of Existing Mall

Whittwood Mall was originally built in the late 1950’s as an open-air shopping center and was later converted into an enclosed mall in 1979. When Hopkins Real Estate Group, in partnership with LNR Property Corporation, acquired Whittwood Mall in 2002, the property was a functionally obsolete mall and neighborhood center located on a major thoroughfare. In an effort to sell the property, the owner had been in and out of escrow with three different buyers. A local broker, with whom Hopkins Real Estate Group had an established relationship, sourced the opportunity.

The Company demolished the mall interior and added approximately 40,000 square feet of new GLA to create an open-air town center with new retailers, specialty shops and restaurants connected by plazas, green spaces and a walking path. Whittwood Town Center features anchor tenants such as Sears, JC Penney, Target, Vons, CVS Pharmacy, 24-Hour Fitness, CostPlus, Kohl’s, PetSmart and over fifty stores and restaurants. The project also included a mixed-use residential component with 126 upscale for-sale townhome units. This project was sold to Morgan Stanley in 2007.

Redevelopment of Existing K-Mart Center

Imperial Promenade is a recently completed Target-anchored community center located in the affluent submarket of Westridge in the city of La Habra, California. Imperial Promenade is the redevelopment of an existing shopping center which was acquired by Hopkins Real Estate Group in 2005. The center is 213,564-square-feet and offers a wide variety of shopping, service and restaurant tenants. In addition, Imperial Promenade features an outdoor seating area and a fountain component, thus creating an inviting shopping environment. The project was developed in partnership with Arnel Capital Partners.

At the time of acquisition, the property was a single-tenant, 175,000-square-foot former KMart building that had been vacant for three years. Hopkins Real Estate Group approached Target with the relocation opportunity from an older, under-sized store just east of the site, and created a plan to redevelop the existing K-Mart building to a dual tenant space. Target preferred Imperial Promenade’s location and the synergies of an additional anchor tenant and opened for business in the third quarter of 2008 (electronics retailer, Circuit City, opened shortly after Target, but due to their bankruptcy, this location was recently closed; however, there are a number of retailers interested in this site).

Upscale San Clemente Development

Talega Village Center is a 102,282-square-foot grocery-anchored center located at the southwest corner of Vista Hermosa and Avenida Talega in San Clemente’s upscale masterplanned community of Talega. Hopkins Real Estate Group acquired this site in an off-market transaction in 2004 through an existing relationship with a local investment broker. Talega Village Center is a Spanish Colonial designed shopping center featuring an upscale mix of high-quality tenants including Ralph’s Fresh Fare, Wells Fargo Bank, Peet’s Coffee and Panera Bread. The project was developed in partnership with Rockwood Capital.

Riverside County Development

The Vernola Marketplace site was originally acquired in 2005 after an aggressive RFQ process. In 2007, Hopkins Real Estate Group began the ground-up development of the site, a 383,271- square-foot power center situated at the southeast corner of Limonite Avenue adjacent to Interstate 15 in Mira Loma/Riverside, California. The project features an impressive and dynamic tenant roster including Lowe’s Home Improvement (ground lease), Bed Bath & Beyond, BevMo, Petco, Michael’s Arts & Crafts, and Ross Dress for Less. The project was developed in partnership with Rockwood Capital.

Vernola Marketplace is located in Riverside County, part of the Inland Empire – the 14th largest metropolitan area in the United States and one of the fastest growing regions. Vernola Marketplace offers exceptional visibility, tenant signage and access due to its location adjacent to Interstate 15 with traffic counts exceeding 200,000 cars per day. In addition to the visibility and access from Interstate 15, the shopping center is located along a major local arterial, Limonite Avenue, offering an average daily traffic count of 40,000 cars per day.

Southbay Pavilion Redevelopment

Built in 1973 and renovated in 1992, SouthBay Pavilion was an outdated, underperforming mall when Hopkins Real Estate Group and its partner, Shamrock Holdings, purchased the property in 2003.

At the time of the purchase, the 32-year-old regional mall consisted of 937,680-square-feet and was anchored by Sears, JC Penny and IKEA. Hopkins Real Estate Group demolished the south wing of the interior mall to make way for a 146,000-square-foot Target store, which was not only a major milestone for the mall’s redevelopment, but also for the City of Carson. A complete remodel on the interior mall was completed in the fall of 2007, which included new amenities such as the Pavilion Children’s Play, newly remodeled restrooms and upgraded the food court.
The mall historically had trouble in successfully attracting strong national and regional retailers, but Hopkins Real Estate Group was able to reposition the assets and attract major brand-name retailers and restaurants such has Old Navy, 24 Hour Fitness, Chase Bank, The Children’s Place, Chili’s, Five Guys Famous Burgers & Fries, Jamba Juice, Panera Bread and Panda Express.

By being able to successfully implement an aggressive business plan which included a major remodel, redevelopment and repositioning of the asset, the asset experienced an increase in sales of 31% which equated to a significant growth of net operating income and thus the asset was successfully sold in July 2009.