The heart of the 35-acre plaza project will be a Main Street-oriented outdoor marketplace anchored by a 16-screen Signature Theatre complex, according to Susan Rorison, investment manager at Litchfield. Litchfield, a real estate advisory firm, represented mall owner Riverside Plaza Associates in the acquisition of the property and is leading the redevelopment effort. The 3,300-seat complex is scheduled to open in November 2004.

Other elements at the plaza will include sidewalk cafés such as Asian Grill, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Pick Up Stix, Quizno's and Coldstone Creamery as well as several small shop retailers. Each storefront will have its own facade to emphasize the streetscape concept. A palm grove will form the center of a promenade separating two large public plazas. These public spaces will serve as a gathering area for the theater and the shops lining Main Street. A Harris/Gottschalks Department store will anchor the community retail district, which includes a Vons Market, a Trader Joe's, a Washington Mutual bank branch and a Sav-On drugstore.

The new mall replaces the original regional center built in 1950, and later renovated in 1984. Riverside Plaza Associates acquired the property in 1998 and razed the mall last year to make room for the new development. Chicago-based Litchfield Advisors, a real estate advisory firm, represented the owner in the acquisition and is leading the redevelopment effort. The Kenney Company of Newport Beach, CA is the developer and the general contractor is Anaheim-based Lyle Parks, Jr. Locally based Pacific Retail Partners is leasing the center.

Litchfield Advisors is the operating entity for the Westminster Funds, a group of five private equity funds that own properties valued at more than $850 million.