CHULA VISTA, CALIF. — Sudberry Properties and Ayres Hotels have broken ground on Millenia Commons, a 131,800-square-foot “lifestyle destination center” and a 135-room Ayres Hotel in the San Diego suburb of Chula Vista. The center and hotel will be part of the 210-acre, multi-billion-dollar Millenia master-planned community, which is currently being developed in South San Diego County.
Millenia Commons will include tenants like HomeGoods, Cost Plus World Market, Ross Dress for Less, buybuy Baby, Mattress Firm, Hurricane Grill & Wings, Papagayos Grill & Cantina, Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt, Great Clips, Jamba Juice, McDonald’s and Pacific Dental Services. Flocke & Avoyer is handling the project’s retail leasing efforts.
The retail component will extend on both sides of Millenia Avenue, just south of Birch Road, on two separate parcels. The urban design will place an emphasis on walkability and outdoor gathering spaces. The design of the center is intended to complement the style of the overall Millenia master plan.
Sudberry Properties is the developer of Millenia Commons, which Andrew Hull Stevenson Architects designed. Hazard Construction is doing the initial grading and infrastructure work for this component, though Sudberry is in the process of selecting additional contractors.
The boutique hotel is scheduled to open in mid-2018. It will be the second Ayres Hotel in San Diego and the 22nd outpost in Southern and Central California.
Hotel amenities will include full bars in the lobby and the outdoor courtyard, a fitness center, three conference rooms and a boardroom. The Ayres Hotel lobby will feature a projection celebrating historic moments from the Olympics, as the property will be situated 2.5 miles from the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center (formerly the Olympic Training Center).
The hotel development team includes ACS Architectural Services and general contractor The Ayres Group.
Millenia’s overall master plan calls for 3,000 multifamily residences, 2 million square feet of Class A office space, and 1.5 million square feet of retail, hospitality, civic and mixed-use projects. It will also feature six urban parks woven together with a system of tree-lined promenades, bikeways and plazas. Phase I of Millenia began development in August 2013.
Stratford Land owns the Millenia master-planned project. Meridian Development is overseeing the project’s development. Other partners include Chesnut Properties, Trammell Crow Residential, Fairfield Residential, Shea Homes San Diego and Meridian Communities.
San Diego-based Sudberry Properties specializes in urban retail, community and town center developments with an emphasis on mixed-use projects and master-planned communities. The company has developed about 10 million square feet of retail, office, apartments and industrial projects with a market value of more than $1.5 billion.
Ayres Hotels is a family-owned and -operated collection of boutique hotels throughout California.
— Nellie Day