Hopkins Mulls Mixed-Use Retail Center

IRVINE, CA-Hopkins Real Estate Group, which is under way with a number of repositionings and redevelopments of Southern California shopping centers, is considering a similar strategy for the Orange County-based company's newly acquired Palm Springs Mall. Hopkins, which acquired the 315,000-sf asset recently from Furst Commercial Real Estate for $34 million, plans to renovate the landmark retail property and "is looking at several mixed-use options," says Stephen Hopkins, president and CEO of the company.

Situated on 26 acres on Tahquitz Canyon Way at Farrell Drive, the mall is close to the Palm Springs Convention Center, Palm Springs International Airport and Downtown Palm Springs."The centralized location in Palm Springs allows us to upgrade the center and cater to the community that has grown up around it" Hopkins says. He adds that the property represents one of the latest examples of how "in-fill opportunities are surfacing in areas of California that have been overtaken by suburban residential growth."

The mall is anchored by Gottschalks, Vons, Ross, True Value and Rite-Aid, with a total of 35 tenants. One facet of the plan to reposition the property will be to capitalize on "tenant relationships we have in other retail properties in California," says Larry Weese, director of acquisitions for Hopkins.

The Palm Springs Mall represents the latest in a series of Southern California repositionings for Hopkins, whose projects include neighborhood and community shopping centers, urban infill and redevelopment, public-private partnerships and new centers in planned communities such as Valencia.

For example, it is involved in repositionings of the aging Whittwood Town Center in Whittier and the Carson Mall in Carson. Along with LNR Property Corp., Hopkins has nearly completed its vision for residential and shopping elements at the 48-year-old, 793,000-sf Whittier property, which occupies 65 acres. In addition to major tenants including Target, Mervyn's, Vons and Sears, plans call for 120 upscale townhomes, restaurants, a health club, a food court and pedestrian pathways to connect retail districts.

In partnership with Shamrock Capital, Hopkins is midway to completing the de-malling of the shopping venue, now renamed SouthBay Pavilion, consisting of 937,680 sf of retail on 71 acres. Anchored by Sears, JCPenney, Target and IKEA, the project will be an urban village created in cooperation with the City of Carson. Some 75,000 sf of new retail and restaurants are under construction, with entitlement work under way for 300 units of housing as well.

Hopkins' other developments have included the de-malling of the Redlands Mall in Redlands, now known as the Village at Redlands, along with construction and redevelopments of centers throughout California over the years. Among these are projects in the Inland Empire, Valencia, San Clemente and a host of other California locations.