WATT COMMERCIAL SIGNS $13.5 MILLION IN RETAIL LEASES
1/20/2011
NEWS RELEASE
Media Contact: Emily Heidt
310-689-7537
Watt fills 235,000 square feet since June 2010; prepares for an active new year
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (January 20, 2011)—Watt Commercial Properties, a leader in developing, redeveloping and managing community shopping centers in urban markets, executed 26 new leases and renewed 36 existing lease contracts with retailers throughout the second half of 2010. In all, these lease deals comprise nearly 235,000 square feet of space in neighborhood retail properties across Southern California.
“The retail landscape changed dramatically over the past three years, however, leasing activity in our centers has returned much quicker than expected,” said Watt Companies’ CEO Jim Maginn. “These recent lease deals and the continued interest from retailers are a testament to the strength of our portfolio, but they also serve as an indication that the market sector may have turned a corner, and that 2011 will see even more leasing activity.”
Some of the leasing highlights include the following:
-Watt signed a new lease deal with J. Core Clothing at Bell Palm Plaza, an 85,000 square-foot shopping center located at the intersection of Atlantic Boulevard and Gage Boulevard in Bell, California. The women’s retailer expanded from 3,600 square feet in the neighborhood center to a new, 8,125 square-foot space. J. Core Clothing also signed a new 3,000 square-foot, five-year lease at Bell Palm Plaza to house its children’s clothing concept – Kuki.
-Bright Now Dental has opened its doors at Brea Gateway, a Ralphs and Rite Aid-anchored center at the corner of Brea Boulevard and Imperial Highway in Brea, California. The dental group signed a 10-year lease for 3,813 square feet in a separate retail pad on-site that was formerly occupied by Blockbuster Video. Watt leased the pad’s remaining 2,145 square-foot space to Panda Express earlier in 2010.
-In the second half of the year, Watt contracted with the Pasadena Unified School District for a 19,230 square-foot storage facility in the Fair Oaks Business Park. Located at 1190 N. Fair Oaks Boulevard in Pasadena, California, the business park includes seven separate suites within a 40,000 square-foot property. Fair Oaks is also located adjacent to the 210 Freeway.
These lease deals cap a successful 2010 for Watt Commercial Properties. The firm completed 53 new lease deals with an aggregate rent of $50.7 million, as well as 124 lease renewals totaling $23.6 million. Other major deals throughout 2010 include leases with Ross Dress for Less and L.A. Fitness in the newly redeveloped Palo Woods retail center in Harbor City, as well as a contract with L.A. Fitness for space in the Alicia Towne Center, which is currently undergoing a complete overhaul in Mission Viejo.
Chris Wilson, President of Wilson Commercial Real Estate (WCRE), represented Watt in the deals with Ross and LA Fitness, and provided advisory services on all others. WCRE is the largest landlord representative retail leasing firm in the Southern California marketplace.
About Watt Commercial Properties
With over two million square feet of core retail space in 39 shopping centers located largely in Southern California, Watt Commercial is a leader in developing, redeveloping and managing neighborhood and community shopping centers in urban markets. Most of Watt’s centers are grocery and drug store-anchored and include a strong mix of independent, regional and national chain retailers. Watt Commercial is a division of Watt Companies, a diversified real estate company that, over the past 60 years, has developed over eight million square feet of industrial and office space, and built more than 50 shopping centers, homes for over 100,000 families, three first class hotels and six major master-planned communities.
Watt Commercial is aggressively pursuing additional acquisitions within its core product type of neighborhood and community shopping centers. For submittals and more information regarding our existing portfolio, please call Karin Gilbert at (310) 314-2466.
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