Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/669097
W hen Decron Properties added an El Monte, Calif., power center to its portfolio in 1988, the Los Angeles–based real estate investment firm figured it had acquired a stable asset that would be relatively easy to manage. After all, the nearly 475,000-square- foot center had only nine tenants and was fully leased. For some time all went according to plan. Then, in the late 1990s, the shopping cen- ter lost one of its two anchors when the now-de- funct HomeBase chain closed most of its stores. Re-leasing the space to Home Depot or Lowe's was not an option — Home Depot already had a store nearby, and the place was too small for the Lowe's superstore format. So Decron came up with a novel solution: It leased to a neighboring Toyota-Lexus dealer- ship called Longo, which opened a collision repair and service center and thus brought a large captive audience to the shopping center. Many of the clients of this busy auto-service center, including out-of-towners whose cars get towed there after a fender bender, dine and shop at what is now called El Monte Shopping and Automotive Center while they wait for repairs. In 2003 the Longo dealership, which sells about 27,000 cars per year, also opened a Lexus showroom at the shopping center. The dealership's expansion into the center helped revive the property and draw new retail tenants that replaced "tired old uses," accord- ing to Decron CEO David Nagel. Jamba Juice, Staples and Union Bank are among those new tenants. The shopping center is situated on 30 acres off Interstate 10, in a densely populated market 15 miles east of Los Angeles. But the tale has another side. In February Decron sold El Monte, which it had acquired for about $30 million, to Merlone Geier Part- ners for nearly $85 million. Merlone Geier Partners is a San Francisco–based real estate in- vestment firm that specializes in value-add op- 214 S C T / M A Y 2 0 1 6 in The Cosmopolitan around RECon time. In downtown Las Vegas, Foodcult's F. Pigalle, a fondue restaurant de- signed to pay tribute to the Paris red light district, has taken over the former Radio City Pizza space. Paris Las Vegas' new Beer Park by Bud- weiser, located on a 10,000-square-foot deck overlooking the Strip, is billed as the city's first true rooftop bar and grill. About 550 feet below, the Wahlberg family's long- delayed Wahlburgers res- taurant is set to debut this summer at Grand Bazaar Shops, becoming a stage for A&E; Network's Wahl- burgers reality show. Las Vegas Convention Center neighbor West- gate Las Vegas Resort & Casino has added a pair of fine-dining restaurants: Fresco Italiano, and Edge Steakhouse. Mexican street-food specialist Loco Cantina opened at Town Square Las Vegas, near I-15 and I-215. And in Henderson, the Harry Potter–themed Bad Owl Coffee shop opened at the Eastern Commons Retail Center, south of East Flamingo Road. Thank- fully, getting there will not involve catching a train on the Potter series' magical Platform 9 3/4. S C T S I T E S & C I T I E S An auto repair shop and dealership have helped fx a mall By Anna Robaton CENTER PROFILE MALL TUNE-UP