Park West Plaza, part of a 3,000-acre, 4,000-unit master planned community by A. G. Spanos, will be the only regional shopping center located on the I-5 corridor in the Stockton trade area, and the retailers are well aware of that fact. The project's 580,000-sf first phase (on 53.8 acres) is better than 80% preleased, says leasing agent Rick Puttkammer of San Diego-based Burnham Retail group.

"If you know the dynamics of Stockton, the you know retail is predominately in the city, which is not convenient to I-5 or 99," says Puttkammer. "In addition to being able to pull existing Stockton customer, we've extended the trade area by virtue of being right off the freeway."

Anchor tenants will include Target (123,680 sf), Kohl's (88,248 sf), Sportmart (35,000 sf), Babies R Us (32,494 sf) and Bed Bath & Beyond (27,000 sf). Other national tenants include Borders, La-Z-Boy, Petsmart, Famous Footwear, Dress Barn, and Lane Bryant. Bank of America and Washington Mutual have laid claim to a couple of the out pads, says Puttkammer. Annual triple-net rates for in-line shop space range from $27-$30 per sf, while anchor tenants are likely paying about half that.