Hopkins Wins Nod for New Retail Center

SAN CLEMENTE, CA-This city's planning commission has approved plans for a 103,000-sf shopping center to be developed by Irvine-based Hopkins Real Estate Group in the 3,500-acre master planned community of Talega. The neighborhood center is planned for a site at the southwest corner of Avenida Vista Hermosa and Avenida Talega.A 46,000-sf Ralphs Fresh Fare market will anchor the center. In addition, Hopkins says, the center will feature a collection of sit-down and quick-service restaurants, specialty retailers and service retail businesses.Now that it has won the approval of the planning commission, the project will go to the San Clemente City Council for approval in early May. HREG hopes to break ground on the center this summer, with tenants opening in the first quarter of 2007, according to Jeff Hopkins, development manager for HREG.Irvine-based KKE Architects is designing the center to tie in with the Spanish Colonial architectural themes that are prevalent throughout the Talega development. Leasing agent for the property is the Irvine office of Lee & Associates.HREG is developing Talega Village Center as a joint venture with Rockwood Capital, its partner on four other projects under development in Southern California. Rockwood Capital is an institutional private equity group that, in addition to retail projects, invests in hotel, residential and office properties.The company is based in San Francisco and Greenwich, CT. Talega is a master-planned community in San Clemente that is designed for more than 4,000 homes along with office developments, medical and professional buildings, retail centers and other projects.