RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CALIF. — Southern California-based firms Redwood West and Panattoni, in partnership with Prime Finance and Prism Places, have acquired Victoria Gardens, a 1.2 million-square-foot lifestyle retail center located in the Inland Empire city of Rancho Cucamonga. New York City-based Brookfield Properties, a subsidiary of Brookfield Corp. (NYSE: BN), sold the open-air mall for $530 million. Ares Real Estate (NYSE: ARES) provided debt financing for the transaction.
“We see tremendous opportunity with Victoria Gardens,” says John Pomer, co-founder and managing partner at Redwood West, “It is a one-of-a-kind, highly productive asset with deep roots in the region.”
Built in 2004, Victoria Gardens is one of the largest regional malls in Southern California, with more than 30 buildings on 12 blocks, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
Victoria Gardens was 98 percent leased at the time of sale and attracts more than 14 million visitors a year, according to Redwood West. The center is home to 160 specialty retailers and restaurants including Apple, lululemon, Chanel, Gorjana, Sephora, Nike, Zara, AMC Theatres, Shake Shack, Tecovas, The Cheesecake Factory, Warby Parker, Fleming’s Steakhouse, Sweetgreen and Macy’s.
In addition to retail and dining, Victoria Gardens features a cultural center, public library, performance venue, multiple public plazas, parks, gardens and office space.
The new ownership plans to invest more than $50 million into the property, with immediate improvements focused on enhanced landscaping, new signage, revitalized common areas and the continued curation of retail, dining and experiential offerings.
In collaboration with Prism Places, Redwood West and Panattoni will oversee leasing, operations and property management at Victoria Gardens.
“Our objective is to build upon what is already working at Victoria Gardens by thoughtfully evolving the tenant mix and expanding programming and activations that bring people together,” says Stenn Parton, CEO of Prism Places. “We look forward to building upon that success.”
Redwood West is a vertically integrated real estate investment, development and operating platform that maintains a large-scale Southern California-based portfolio, including waterfront properties such as Lido Marina Village and Peninsula Village.
Panattoni Development Co. specializes in industrial, office and build-to-suit projects, with more than 630 million square feet developed. As the largest industrial developer in Europe, Panattoni has approximately 69 offices across North America, Europe and Asia.
— Abby Cox