California Apparel News

In a market when mall development seems to be mostly focused on remodeling existing sites, CenterCal Properties is scheduled to mark the grand opening of a new shopping center later this month in the San Francisco Bay Area town of Concord, Calif.

The 375,000-square-foot, mixed-use center is called The Veranda. It will feature a high-end movie theater, Veranda Luxe Cinema & IMAX, scheduled to open later in December. Also on site, the organic produce–focused 365 by Whole Foods Market, a Cost Plus World Market and a TJ Maxx. The site also will include services such as free Wi-Fi and a children’s play area that features a Luckey Climber climbing structure.

The Veranda also will be the address of a $1.7 million water fountain that can choreograph jets of water to music. It is scheduled to open before the end of the year. The center intends to produce ice-skating rinks during winter as well as musical performances. Veranda also will be the address of restaurants such as MOD Pizza, which is scheduled to open Dec. 3, and a Peet’s Coffee & Tea.

CenterCal is headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County. It runs more than 14 properties including Plaza 183 in Cerritos, Calif., which was redeveloped in 2015, and The Collection at Riverpark, which opened in Oxnard, Calif., in 2012.

The developer has been involved with a contentious $400 million redevelopment of the Redondo Beach Waterfront in the South Bay of Los Angeles County. The proposed overhaul of the aging waterfront would offer a mix of retail, dining, entertainment, and park and creative office space.

However, slow-growth activists in the city of Redondo Beach passed an initiative to derail the project earlier this year. Media reports said that CenterCal sued the city of Redondo Beach for breach of contract in Los Angeles Superior Court in early November.