Empire Commercial Starts 100,000-SF Center

FONTANA, CA-Development firm Empire Commercial Real Estate of Ontario has partnered with Stater Bros. for the third time to begin construction on a new retail center called Sierra Crossroads that the grocery chain will anchor. The 100,000-sf, $19.5-million project is taking shape at 11225 Sierra Ave. between the I-10 and I-60 freeways in South Fontana. It is adjacent to a planned 200-acre business park and a community of 800 homes. The developers describe Sierra Crossroads as a "highly amenitized center that will cater to the growing community of South Fontana."

Along with its tenant mix of specialty coffee and cuisine shops and restaurants, the center will feature outdoor plazas, shade trees and architectural detail "designed to create an inviting place for the community to gather," Empire Commercial says. Phase I of the center is approximately 85% preleased and is expected to be open fully leased by the fourth quarter of 2005. Tenants will include Jack-in-the-Box, Starbucks, Wells Fargo, Subway and others, according to Scott Grady, project director with Empire Commercial.The new project is Empire Commercial's fourth retail project to commence construction since the company's launch in 2002. It opened its first upscale retail center, the Village at Eagle Glen, in Corona, in June of 2003, followed by Lakeside Plaza in Moreno Valley in the first quarter of 2004. The company is developing other upscale neighborhood shopping centers in Moreno Valley, North Fontana and Prescott, AZ.Since its launch in early 2002, Empire Commercial Real Estate has grown its portfolio from 300,000 sf to nearly 2.5 million sf, primarily through development. Besides retail centers, its portfolio includes office, self-storage and multifamily properties.