New retail development solely devoted to entertainment pursuits that incorporate the great outdoors, either with fresh-air activity tenants or with construction that embraces the feel-good benefits of nature, is becoming a hot trend. As more and more Americans adopt an overall well-being mentality and all that entails — including adding more movement and socialized fun to their lives — so too will new retail developments also try to capture these same factors. This reliance on outdoor activity entertainment tenants is also a way to offset the
reduction of shoppers due to online ordering trends, and to physically engage customers in enjoyable “al fresco” experiences. Recent notable retail development projects that are incorporating this outdoor fun concept include West Harbor in San Pedro, Calif., and The Sydney in Scottsdale, Ariz.
West Harbor – A Waterfront Wonder
The West Harbor project, which broke ground in November and plans to be completed by 2024, will entail a revamp of a tourist-oriented shopping area that had previously been called Ports O’Call Village, which was razed four years ago. This new development, spearheaded by Jerico Development and Ratkovich Company in collaboration with the Port of Los Angeles, encompasses 42 acres of waterfront space along a main channel in North America’s busiest port.
The project especially aims to fully utilize the waterfront element of the space, offering up buildings with glass windows that overlook the harbor to embrace the views, as well as tenants with outdoor layout concepts. Leases signed so far have concentrated heavily on vibrant F&B/entertainment brands.
Nationally known signed tenants include Bark Social, the leash-free dog park/outdoor bar concept, which inked a 10-year lease. Bark Social expects to seek more West Coast spaces. Other notable tenants include Hopscotch, the light installation/optical illusion entertainment brand with one other location in San Antonio, which will open a 17,000-s.f. gallery and bar lounge, with a 2,000-s.f. outdoor section. Marufuku Ramen, with units in California, Texas and New York, will be opening its ninth U.S. restaurant in the development. There are also well-known sweets-focused brands, such as Sugar Factory and The Baked Bear. Harbor Breeze Cruises, the only tenant going in that had previously been a part of the Ports O’Call Village, will open a unit in order to book excursions such as whale watching outings. In addition, a 6,200-s.f. amphitheater for live shows, as well as fitness classes and outdoor movie nights, is also in the works, pending completion of an environmental review.
Many Southern California eateries have also signed leases for space in the development. San Diego-based Mike Hess Brewery expects to open a restaurant that will feature a 20,000-s.f. outdoor pet-friendly beer garden and a lawn game area. King & Queen Cantina, with restaurants in San Diego and Hollywood, Calif., will open an eatery that features an overwater deck and bar. Three California-based restaurants will be expanding their footprint in the development for the first time: Yamashiro, the Japanese fusion restaurant in the Hollywood Hills Hotel, Poppy + Rose, a downtown LA restaurant, which will also open 2,000-s.f. patio/vegetable/herb garden and Mario’s Butcher Shop, a sandwich shop with one other Newport Beach, Calif., location. Other Southern California casual chain restaurants will be opening units as part of a 9,000-s.f. food hall section of West Harbor, including Pitfire Pizza, Jay Bird’s Kitchen, Olala Crepes and The Win-Dow, which makes smash burgers.
The Sydney – A Desert Dream
Another retail development project that has tenancy leaning heavily on F&B/entertainment, especially with outdoor-oriented brands, is The Sydney, encompassing 26 acres in the Scottsdale community. Originally intended to be an office construction project, The Sydney’s developer, Palmer Development Group, pivoted the project to a mixed-use office footprint with an entertainment/retail element in order to meet the market’s demand for new dining options. Most of these tenants will now be open-air entertainment focused establishments, and hotel brands are also currently being courted. The development should be completed by 2024.
In September, Pickle & Social, an upscale restaurant bar/pickleball concept conceived of by Competitive Social Ventures, confirmed that it will open a venue on 3.69 acres of space in The Sydney. The space will include a 7,500-s.f. restaurant and bar, as well as outdoor and indoor pickleball courts. In addition, the space will provide an outdoor live music stage, as well as a 3,000-s.f. outdoor cornhole green space area. There will also be a 2,500-s.f. golf simulation section, in the vein of another one of Competitive Social Ventures’ brands, Fairway Social. The Rustic, a restaurant/outdoor live music venue founded by Free Range Concepts, is expected to open its first unit outside of its home state of Texas, in a 17,000- to 18,000-s.f. space. There is a rumor that other entertainment brands under the Free Range Concepts umbrella, such as Bowl & Barrel and MUTTS Canine Cantina, the latter of which is currently scouting out new sites in Scottsdale, may also open units at The Sydney.
Lastly, a new brand developed by the former Topgolf executives, called Goodsurf, is purported to be opening a 21,400-s.f. space, with half of the square footage for a restaurant, and the other half for its outdoor “wave pool” and patio dining/bar lounge area. The concept allows customers to not only dine and drink, but to also “ride a wave” with a wave machine for maximum outdoor entertainment.
