SIMI VALLEY, CA-Easter Seals Tri-Counties has opened a new facility here at Simi Valley Town Center, a 600,000-square-foot outdoor mall acquired by Denver-based Alberta Development Partners in 2010. The new location will service children with disabilities through personalized therapy sessions and provide educational tools for parents.
“We are ecstatic to be able to announce the opening of our new location,” said Mary London, president and CEO of Easter Seals Tri-Counties, in a prepared statement. “We feel extremely fortunate that the management at Simi Valley Town Center values our services and that of other non-profits they host, all for the betterment of their community.”
London added that the tenant lineup at the center is quite strong. Anchored by Macy’s, other powerhouse tenants include Apple, Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie, allowing the center to take advantage of unused space and give back to the community through non-profit partnerships and activities, she said. Other non-profits at the center include the Boys & Girls Club of SV, the Performing Art Academy of Southern California and the Veterans of Foreign Affairs.
“We think Easter Seals Tri-Counties coming into the Town Center is a very positive move for our community and our patrons,” said Jeff DiJulius, the center’s general manager.
London tells GlobeSt.com that the center is in ideal location for the facility because it allows behaviorists to bring children with disabilities into a real-life environment to work with them when necessary. “Usually we have to go to parks or drive the child to a community environment. It’s so important to get them out of the home and into the community for behavioral purposes.”
London also says that working with the center on the lease agreement was a very positive experience, since the leasing executives made the lease affordable for the non-profit. Charlotte Casale, specialty leasing manager for Simi Valley Town Center, tells GlobeSt.com, "We are delighted to have the opportunity to bring non-profits to our community base. Shopping centers have become much more than just a place to shop, rather a gathering place. We're happy to offer a space that contributes to that. Providing our community with additional resources outside of a typical mall atmosphere reinforces our commitment to being a true Town Center. Shop, dine, be entertained and stay awhile.”
Easter Seals provides services for individuals with autism, developmental disabilities, physical and mental disabilities and other special needs. Through fundraising, grant approvals and most recently insurance-covered therapy programs, Easter Seals Tri-Counties has been able to purchase state-of-the-art treatment tools such as Apple’s iPad for their therapists to conduct lessons and introduce learning applications. For more information on Easter Seals, visit www.eastersealstc.org.
ADP has future plans to revitalize the center into a vibrant, world-class lifestyle center. During the redesign process, the developer has been actively involved with city council members, the mayor and merchants to retain the center’s old-world charm while adding modern amenities.
As GlobeSt.com recently reported, in July affiliates of Walton Street Capital, a private-equity real estate investment firm, and ADP acquired the Foothills Mall, a 753,000-square-foot, enclosed super-regional mall in Fort Collins, CO, for an undisclosed amount.
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Carrie Rossenfeld
Carrie Rossenfeld is a reporter for the San Diego and Orange County markets on GlobeSt.com and a contributor to Real Estate Forum. She was a trade-magazine and newsletter editor in New York City before moving to Southern California to become a freelance writer and editor for magazines, books and websites. Rossenfeld has written extensively on topics including commercial real estate, running a medical practice, intellectual-property licensing and giftware. She has edited books about profiting from real estate and has ghostwritten a book about starting a home-based business.
