New Centers Bigger And Better For Caruso
The developer thinks its new centers will top traffic and sales at its popular centers like The Grove and the Promenade at Westlake.
Brianne Gloski

Bounded by Central Avenue, Brand Boulevard and Colorado Street in the heart of downtown Glendale, California, the 900,000-square-foot, open-air Americana at Branddevelopment will include 475,000 square feet of retail space, 238 apartments, 100 condominiums, and abundant open space complete with a 2-acre park, plazas, outdoor seating, promenades and rich landscaping.

With $1 billion in the construction pipeline, the development company is optimistic about the successes of its future projects. Caruso is currently developing The Americana at Brand in Glendale, California; The Village at Playa Vista in Playa Vista, California; The Shops at Santa Anita in Arcadia, California; and Golden Gate Fields in Albany, California.

“Our sales are substantially higher in all of our properties because we are picking locations in the right demographics,” says Rick Caruso, founder and chief executive officer of Caruso Affiliated. “Our sales percentages are a lot higher than the sales in the average mall in the United States.” The sales per square foot in Caruso’s portfolio is $700 per square foot — compared to about $300 per square foot for the average mall.

The retail component of Americana at Brand will include 75 unique shops and fashion boutiques, casual and fine dining, and a 16-screen Pacific Theatres.

“As strong as the volume is at The Grove, I think Americana is going to be substantially stronger,” Caruso says. “One thing that I don’t have at The Grove is a freeway system that brings the customer to my front door. In Glendale at Americana, I have three freeways.”

The $320 million, mixed-use Americana at Brand will feature both retail and residential space, a first for Caruso, but certainly not the last.

“This [Americana] is our first project with residential, but all the new projects will have residential [components],” says Caruso. “It’s very complicated to do right…but it’s great for the retail.”

Americana At Brand’s design, created by Caruso Affiliated’s in-house architecture team and Elkus/Manfredi, combines a mix of styles that are indigenous to Glendale and Southern California.

“Americana is gong to be even better than The Grove,” says Caruso. “The architecture is more interesting; the fountains are going to be more exciting; the open space is going to be nicer. We don’t sit still.”

However, location is not the only component in creating a successful development. The right demographics, architecture and service are also key components in bringing shoppers back for more.

Americana at Brand’s design also reflects its urban setting with residential units topping ground-floor retail space. Groundbreaking for Americana occurred in June, and completion is scheduled for March 2008.

Caruso is targeting what the company calls “casual luxury” in each of its developments, which means great service for both the guests and tenants. The right amenities are also essential to provide a luxurious shopping experience. The parks, open space, fountains, mature landscaping, fresh flowers, valet parking, etc. — all give the projects the feel of a five-star hotel.

“We want the service and the quality to permeate throughout,” says Caruso. “We’re [developers] all in the commodity business. We’re selling a lot of the same things, so why does one do better than the other? It’s how they’re delivered. It’s the experience that people have on our property. The minute you drive into the property — the parking made easy, the place being clean, feeling safe, being attractive, fun to be at — it’s the overall experience.”

The residents of Americana, Golden Gate Fields and The Village at Playa Vista will benefit from numerous services that hotels would normally provide for their guests. Essentially, according to Caruso, they will be operated as hotels. Residents of the Caruso developments will have access to in-room service, pet grooming and walking services, valet parking, laundry service, and housekeeping service. All units will be wired for state-of-the-art technology and access to room service will be provided by each restaurant on the property.

Rendering of The Shops at Santa Anita, a proposed development by Caruso Affiliated adjacent to the Santa Anita Racetrack in Arcadia, California.

Overlooking San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Fields in Albany will be a retail, residential and entertainment development located near the historic horse racetrack of the same name.

Racetrack-adjacent development seems to be a popular option for Caruso, The Shops at Santa Anita will be located adjacent to the historic Santa Anita Racetrack in Arcadia. Featuring 810,000 square feet of retail space and 22,000 square feet of office space for the school district, the property draws inspiration from Myrtle Avenue in Monrovia, California. Caruso and track owner, Magna Entertainment Corp., will develop the project on the unused parking lots south of Santa Anita Park. With an opening scheduled for 2010, The Shops at Santa Anita will feature upscale shops, a cinema complex, cafes, outdoor restaurants, a performing arts theater, park-like areas, promenades and a large water feature.

Each of the Caruso developments has several elements in common with each other. For one, all of the developments are located on infill sites. “We’re not pioneers and we won’t start in the middle of nowhere blazing a trail,” says Caruso. “We’ll come in after the area is very mature. It’s more difficult to get the entitlements and to find the land, but in the long run, it provides for a much better project and more stability in terms of barriers to entry and what not.”

In addition to being developed on certain sites, the projects are all outdoors, geared towards families, contain upscale and eclectic tenants, and provide great service and quality design and landscaping.

“Every property has the same fundamental philosophy behind it,” says Caruso. “But, it’s also important that every property, though it may have the same signature, feels different… They’re all open air, they all have the same sense of quality, but they all will have a different look to them, a different energy, a different feel.”

While there will be some overlap in the tenant lists for each development, the uniqueness will stand out in each due to Caruso’s determination to make each property a new and exciting experience for its customers. According to Jennifer Gordon, the vice president of marketing and tourism for Caruso Affiliated, the company is striving to bring new tenants to the marketplace to create that one-of-a-kind tenant mix. As an example, American Girl Place recently opened in The Grove, and Barney’s New York Co-Op will set up shop in the retail center next spring.

For Caruso, the tenant mix is not the main factor that draws customers to a particular development. It’s a huge factor, but what really gets them shopping at specific places is the perfect guest experience. Customers will return if they are treated well and are happy. And Caruso has perfected the art of making shoppers happy.

“It’s no different why people gravitate to that great hotel for vacation because they know they’re going to be treated and pampered,” says Caruso. We want that same thing here on all of our properties. We want to make you feel special. You’ll come back to where you are comfortable, where you’ve been treated well.”

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