Inside Laurus Corp.'s Big Plans for the Howard Hughes Promenade

The Laurus Corp. is taking on the Promenade at Howard Hughes Center. The investor purchased the retail center last year, and is now unveiling a $30 million redevelopment and a new tenant mix that will integrate the property back into the community and serve today's retail consumers. This is now one of a handful of retail redevelopment projects, including the $800 million redevelopment of the Century City mall. We sat down with Austin Khan, CIO of the Laurus Corp., to discuss the firm's plans for the project and why this was a good investment opportunity.

GlobeSt.com: What is your vision for the HHLA project?

Austin Khan: Our vision for HHLA is to create the premier entertainment, dining and retail destination for residents of Playa Vista, Marina del Rey and other surrounding west side LA communities. To accomplish this, the in-progress $30 million renovation program will enhance pedestrian accessibility, add thoughtfully designed public areas and bring in highly sought-after local, regional and national tenants.

GlobeSt.com: This project has undergone a lot of changes over the years. Why was it a good fit for the company, and why were you attracted to it?

Khan: HHLA was an excellent fit for Laurus and its investors due to the high value-add potential of the project. With the vacating Nordstrom Rack space, there was a once in a generation opportunity to transform this infill retail center with irreplaceable location. In order to execute the business plan, the center required a high degree of design sophistication and development management expertise, a perfect match for the firm's background and expertise. From a real estate fundamentals standpoint, retail vacancies in West LA have generally been less than five percent since 2014 with strong rent growth, and Playa Vista is expected to gain thousands of new households over the next few years with the substantial residential development in the area. In our opinion, this was a perfect time to invest in the area.

While the project has undergone changes in the past, many of these changes have been incremental and not designed to fully realize HHLA's potential. Under Laurus' guidance, HHLA is undergoing a true transformation, creating new access points and better traffic flow from end-to-end, seamlessly connecting pedestrian traffic from the Howard Hughes Center office towers, improving frontage and freeway visibility and ultimately bringing a new variety of popular retailers and restaurant concepts currently not found in the Playa Vista area.

GlobeSt.com: What is your long-term business plan on the project?

Khan: Our long-term business plan is to feature an exciting mix of local, regional and national tenants that serve the needs and interests of the Playa Vista community.

GlobeSt.com: The retail market is quickly changing as a result of ecommerce, and we have seen major renovations at shopping centers. How do you think HHLA fit into the new retail landscape?

Khan: HHLA fits incredibly well into the new retail landscape and the new design and target tenant mix reflects the evolving tastes of consumers. The renovation program supports the additional of several small-to-medium size tenants rather than relying on big-box stores, which we believe consumers will avoid in favor of e-commerce channels.