Since its April opening, the 114,000-square-foot, four-story complex has filled all of its 110 New York-style lofts, office condominiums and retail store spaces. And its owner couldn't be more pleased.
"If you can't be good, be lucky,' Bob Champion, president of Los Angeles-based Champion Development Group, which built the facility, told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune newspaper.
Champion's project, which includes restaurant chains Hana Grill, Sharky's Woodfired Mexican Grill and Wheatberry Bakery Cafe, comes at a time when demand for office properties in Pasadena is running full-tilt.
Pasadena Collection was completed within a few months of three other mixed-use complexes in the city, all of which combine ground-floor retail or restaurant space with upper-level apartments, condominiums and office suites.
Word of success with mixed-use developments is echoing around the country. In addition to Pasadena and San Diego in the Southern California region, similar mixed-use projects have been undertaken in Atlanta and the northwest. But the developments don’t come easy. Often, the amount of land that developers require to include commercial office, shopping, residential and arts districts within their developments means they are working with blighted, vacant industrial properties. Environmental cleanups are often necessary before construction on such projects can begin.
In addition, residents who live near proposed mixed-use developments often fear the influx of traffic, people and changes that often times have to occur to public infrastructure to make way for the developments.
Pasadena’s city planners have faced opposition since they first approved the construction of four- to six- story mixed-use buildings several years ago.
City officials said their aim was to encourage business growth in Pasadena's busiest sectors, Old Pasadena, the Playhouse District and South Lake Avenue, while also increasing available housing in the city's core. Opponents have said they are not opposed to mixed use, but rather the manner in which the projects were planned.
One of the early projects, the upscale Paseo Colorado outdoor mall and its accompanying apartment complex, was received slowly after its opening, which coincided with the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But Ohio-based Developers Diversified Realty Corp., which owns Paseo, has maintained the project is at or near capacity and has little trouble finding tenants.
Old Pasadena Collection, unrelated to Champion's project, is an apartment complex with 9,800 square feet of retail space completed about 1 1/2 years ago.
Although the project was said to have begun slowly, it has now leased all of its retail spaces, Gary Ahlfeldt of real estate firm Minasian & Associates in Pasadena, told the newspaper. Lease rates average about $3.50 per square foot.
Not all new developments are fully leased, however. At Western Asset Plaza, a 270,000-square-foot office and retail project at 385 E. Colorado Blvd, an 18,800-square-foot restaurant space still remains unsigned.
Los Angeles developer Maguire Partners appeared close to signing two upscale eateries for the space several months ago. It is still seeking two restaurants to serve lunch and dinner, as well as a smaller casual dining or specialty coffee shop to fill out the space, said Leslie Mayer, a leasing agent for Cushman & Wakefield Inc., which is handling leases for Maguire.
