HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA-DJM Capital Partners of San Jose has redeveloped the 40-year-old former Huntington Beach enclosed mall into a new open-air, dining, entertainment and shopping venue called the Bella Terra. The property, which the developer plans to unveil in a grand opening Sept. 8, is a Tuscan-themed village on Beach Boulevard at the San Diego Freeway.
Designed by Perkowitz+Ruth Architects, the 20-acre center features walkways, an amphitheater and fountains in one of the latest examples of the way in which former enclosed malls are being de-malled and converted to open air environments. The original mall had been developed on a 63-acre site adjacent to the San Diego Freeway at Edinger Drive and Beach Boulevard.
A venture of DJM and GMAC Institutional Advisors acquired the 777,000-sf Bella Terra from the L.A.-based J.H. Snyder Co. and the Ezralow Co. of Calabasas in August last year. GMAC said at the time that an affiliate would invest up to $40 million of equity in the deal and GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corp. would provide debt financing of up to $205 million for the property.
The Snyder venture had acquired the property in 2004 and had started a $170-million rehab of the mall before selling it to the current developers. The property is anchored by Kohl's, Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath & Beyond, Century Theaters, Circuit City, REI, Cost Plus, Mervyn's and Staples. Bella Terra will be served by a six-story, 1,540-space parking structure in addition to surface parking.
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