SAVVY DEVELOPERS EMBRACE CULTURAL SHIFTS TO REIMAGINE THE SHOPS AT HILLTOP

Using a Customer-First Perspective, Real Estate Investment Company Responds to Create Destination of the Future in San Francisco East Bay Region

Leading Asian supermarket 99 Ranch Market will anchor The Shops at Hilltop’s expanded tenant collection.

LOS ANGELES (May 21, 2018): LBG Real Estate Companies, LLC, a privately-held real estate investment company that specializes in the acquisition, repositioning and development of commercial real estate throughout the United States, announced today that its substantial transformation and revitalization project to reimagine The Shops at Hilltop, its recently-acquired 1.2 million square foot shopping center located in the heart of the San Francisco East Bay region, is underway.  Set to become a robust and all-inclusive Asian-centric shopping and entertainment destination for the dense and diverse population it serves, The Shops at Hilltop is slated for completion in mid-2019.

Leading its comprehensive asset repositioning approach is a laser-focused, customer-first philosophy the real estate investment company has adopted as an integral component of an innovative, cultural remerchandising strategy to create a new and flourishing community destination.

According to LBG Real Estate Companies Managing Partner Leslie Lundin, “We’re not only working to fill a much needed void in an underserved West Coast marketplace, but are creating unique synergies between our core consumer constituency and an expanded tenant mix via a culturally-sensitive remerchandising strategy that is designed to effectively meet our customers’ needs and their wants.”

“It is these synergies that will result in an impressive end product where The Shops at Hilltop will be defined as an all-inclusive destination that offers a well-rounded consumer experience – one that instantly differentiates the center from its regional competition,” she continued.

With a residential trade area estimated at more than 1.2 million permanent residents (483,000 households), significant growth among the region’s population and, in particular, its Asian population (Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Filipino and Asian Indian) is fueling strong and proven demographics for long-term success for The Shops at Hilltop.  In fact, the Asian community population, currently estimated at 22 percent of The Shops at Hilltop’s primary trade area, is projected to dramatically increase over 10 percent by 2023.

According to Asian-Americans: Digital Lives and Growing Influence, a The Neilson Company report released May 8, 2018, Asian-American consumers are growing faster than the general population and maintaining income and education rates higher than any other racial or ethnic group making the demographic “integral to any brand’s growth strategy.”  The recently-released study cites:

• Since 2006, the Asian-American population has grown 43 percent, which is a more rapid growth than that of any other U.S. race or ethnicity.
• A 257 percent increase in Asian-American buying power from 2000 to 2017 exceeds the increases in buying power for all other racial and ethnic groups.  Today, Asian-American buying power is $986 billion and is projected to reach $1.3 trillion in 2022.
• Asian-American households spend more annually ($61,400) than the average U.S. household ($53,510).
• The state of California ranks highest for Asian-American consumer spending ($323 billion) followed by New York ($88 billion) and Texas ($78 billion).

“As LBG Real Estate Companies advances its wide-ranging renovation, remerchandising and reintroduction strategy for The Shops at Hilltop, they are also sitting at the forefront of leading an emerging, and often overlooked, trend to react to cultural marketplace shifts as they listen and respond to the needs of their most important asset – their consumer,” said Market Analysis and Research, Inc. Principal Richard J. Tunstall. 

“Given the steady growth of the Asian-American population, favorable spending patterns held by the community itself and growing universal appreciation for Asian foods and authentic restaurant experiences, The Shops at Hilltop is poised for East Bay marketplace success with the successful implementation of the strategy.”

Prominently located off Interstate 80, just 20 miles northeast of San Francisco in the East Bay city of Richmond, Calif., current tenants at The Shops at Hilltop include Macy’s, Sears, Walmart and 24 Hour Fitness, among many more.  They will soon be joined by an approximately 35,000 square foot 99 Ranch Market, the largest Asian supermarket chain in the U.S. 

“Interest in becoming part of The Shops at Hilltop community has been tremendous where prospective tenants are confident in our cultural repositioning approach for the new destination.  On the leasing front we look forward to continuing to curate and remerchandise The Shops at Hilltop to infuse new and fresh retail, restaurant and unique entertainment concepts into our overall merchandise mix,” said Managing Partner in charge of Leasing for LBG Real Estate Companies David S. Goldman.

Comprehensive transformation, remerchandising and repositioning efforts taking place at The Shops at Hilltop include:

• A culturally-focused remerchandising effort to include a new outlet shopping component; food & beverage choices with a particular focus on Asian cuisine; family-friendly entertainment venues; and convenient service brands.
• Property-wide rebranding and the launch of new annual business-to-business and consumer marketing strategies and advertising programming.
• Updated community gathering spots.
• Extensive special events programming.
• Major interior and exterior renovations.
• New and dynamic wayfinding improvements.

What’s more, additional in-place zoning and entitled land parcels that encompass the vast 77-acre Hilltop Mall Road site are slated for:

• Several limited-use business hotels
• Creative, co-working office and medical office space
• Conventional and/or medical office space
• A variety of residential uses

“The San Francisco East Bay region’s demographics are proven and the consumer demand is there.  Our goal for The Shops at Hilltop is to ultimately bring to this dense and diverse marketplace a walkable, mixed-used village that will be used as a vibrant community destination in the years to come,” said Lundin.

For more information regarding leasing opportunities at The Shops at Hilltop, please contact 310-235-0444, ext. 1.

About LBG Real Estate Companies, LLC

With offices in the San Francisco East Bay, Los Angeles, and Newport Beach, LBG Real Estate Companies, LLC is a privately-held real estate investment company that specializes in the acquisition, repositioning, and development of commercial real estate throughout the United States. For more information, visit LBGFunds.com.