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IRVINE, CA-Hopkins Real Estate Group, which is under way with anumber of repositionings and redevelopments of Southern Californiashopping centers, is considering a similar strategy for the OrangeCounty-based company's newly acquired Palm Springs Mall. Hopkins,which acquired the 315,000-sf asset recently from Furst CommercialReal Estate for $34 million, plans to renovate the landmark retailproperty and "is looking at several mixed-use options," saysStephen 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, PalmSprings International Airport and Downtown Palm Springs."Thecentralized location in Palm Springs allows us to upgrade thecenter and cater to the community that has grown up around it"Hopkins says. He adds that the property represents one of thelatest examples of how "in-fill opportunities are surfacing inareas of California that have been overtaken by suburbanresidential growth."