Following the successful grand opening of Superior Grocers at Hawthorne
Plaza in Hawthorne, CA on February 5, 2015, the Canyon Catalyst Fund
(“CCF”), the Canyon Capital Realty Advisors’ emerging manager program,
along with Paragon Commercial Group (“Paragon”) announced the
commencement of construction on a major repositioning of the Rancho Las
Palmas Shopping Center (the “Property”). Centrally located in the heart
of Rancho Mirage at the highly visible intersection of Bob Hope Drive
and the U.S. Highway 111, the Property will be completely remodeled to
include enhanced architecture and landscaping, improved pedestrian
connectivity, energy efficient lighting, enhanced access from both
Highway 111 and Bob Hope Drive, and a dominant regional tenant lineup.
The upgraded shopping center will be anchored by a 48,000 square foot
Hobby Lobby, 30,000 square foot Stein Mart (NASDAQ: SMRT) and a new CVS
Drug Store (NYSE:CVS).
“We are pleased to welcome Hobby Lobby and Stein Mart to Rancho Las
Palmas and to the City of Rancho Mirage,” said Erwin Bucy, a Principal
with Paragon. “They provide value oriented, high quality shopping
options for residents and visitors to Rancho Mirage and surrounding
desert communities. The combination of Hobby Lobby, Stein Mart, a new
free-standing CVS along with a 10,000 square foot specialty grocer will
form an excellent base of anchor tenants that we are certain will
continue to attract new inline tenants to the center.”
Following five years of increasing vacancy after the departure of the
previous anchor tenant, the CCF and Paragon partnership acquired the
Property in March of 2014. Within the first nine months, Paragon
executed all new anchor tenant leases and worked closely with the City
of Rancho Mirage to obtain full unanimous approval of its redevelopment
plan in December of 2014. As part of the redevelopment, CVS will
relocate from its current inline suite to a freestanding location with a
drive thru on the hard corner of Highway 111 and Bob Hope.
Rancho Las Palmas is located adjacent to The River, a major regional
retail and entertainment destination, and benefits from one of the
busiest intersections in the entire Coachella Valley, with average
traffic counts of over 65,000 cars passing by the shopping center daily.
In addition to the growing number of Coachella Valley residents, the
daytime population for the area includes approximately 128,000 employees
who work within a 10-mile radius of the shopping center and 10,000
students who attend the College of Desert located 2.5 miles away.
“We would like to thank CVS and the City of Rancho Mirage,” said Maria
Stamolis, Senior Managing Director at Canyon Capital Realty. “They have
been excellent partners who believed in and supported our vision for the
project. We would not have been able to transform Rancho Las Palmas
without their full support.”
About The Canyon Catalyst Fund
The Canyon Catalyst Fund is a joint venture between Canyon Capital
Realty Advisors (Canyon Capital Realty) and the California Public
Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) aimed at developing the next
generation of real estate managers and acquiring $400 million of real
estate assets in urban markets across California. Leaders from Canyon
Capital Realty work closely with emerging managers, acting as mentors
and advisors to ensure the incorporation of best‐in‐class practices.
Canyon Capital Realty is the real estate direct investing arm of Canyon
Partners LLC (Canyon). Founded in 1990, Canyon and its affiliates are
investment management firms headquartered in Los Angeles, with
approximately $25 billion in assets under management.
Canyon Capital Realty focuses on providing value-added debt and equity
capital to real estate owners, operators, developers, mortgage lenders
and corporations involved in time-sensitive and complicated projects, as
well as on markets and transactions that are often overlooked,
misperceived and difficult to underwrite. Since inception, Canyon
Capital Realty has invested over $5.5 billion of capital in over 212
commercial real estate and mortgage transactions with a total
capitalization of $14.3 billion through its distinct real estate
investment platforms.
About Paragon Commercial Group
Founded by Mark Harrigian, Erwin Bucy and Jim Dillavou, Paragon
Commercial Group opportunistically invests in value-add and
tenant-driven retail development and redevelopment opportunities, with a
focus on underutilized assets in infill and high-barrier to entry
markets. With over 50 years of collective retail experience and a retail
resume in excess of 10 million square feet of neighborhood and community
centers on the West Coast, Paragon’s deep market knowledge and extensive
tenant relationships provide a constant grass roots pipeline of retail
investment opportunities.
Paragon enters into each acquisition with a commitment to quality that
extends to each constituency involved in the development process
including, capital partners, government agencies, lenders, property
owners, tenants and clients. The team’s current portfolio ranges from
smaller properties, including single tenant assets and neighborhood
grocery anchored centers, to larger more complex infill development and
redevelopment projects.
Copyright Business Wire 2015