IRVINE, CA-PM Realty Group has provided third-party leasing and operations for The Shoppes at Chino Hills in Chino Hills, CA, since the original developer Opus West filed bankruptcy in 2008. PMRG was retained by Bank of America as the center was put up for sale and was asked to stay on by new ownership, a family trust that purchased the center in spring 2010. Due to the Opus bankruptcy and downturn, the center got off to a rough start, but, as GlobeSt.com reported in May, has seen a strong comeback with some 30 months of increased sales. It is currently 96% occupied, and the office component is 100% leased. GlobeSt.com recently spoke with Scott Kuklish, PMRG's VP for Southern California, about the firm's repositioning efforts for the center, as well as what its management portfolio looks like today and what he foresees for the company's future.

GlobeSt.com: Would you give us a snapshot of PMRG's management portfolio today?

Scott Kuklish: On a global basis, PM Realty Group is a privately held, primarily management company. We've been in business since 1954 and now have a portfolio that pretty much spans the US as a smile down the west, across the south and up north through Boston. We currently handle 175 million square feet, and this includes Hawaii as we have a headquarters in Honolulu as well. It's a fairly large reach, and our portfolio is made up of commercial office buildings as well as industrial and retail. Our client base is primarily institutional in nature; we also have individual clients who have substantial assets. The Shoppes at Chino Hills is a family trust, and the family is based in Orange County.

GlobeSt.com: To what extent is the company looking to grow, and is that targeted at any property types or markets?

Kuklish: PM Realty Group, while privately held, has very much an institutional large-property focus. Our portfolio is a mix of commercial office buildings, high-rises and retail in major markets. Of that 175 million square feet of product under management, about 15% is retail. Our focus is to continue to develop long-term relationships with strong, financially based owners who, like most of our institutional clients, have a mix of product types. We're focused on serving the needs of our clients, and that entails meeting their expectations across the board. In this particular case, with The Shoppes at Chino Hills, we have focused on really taking that property to a new level. We're very pleased with the performance of the shopping center. I know the ownership is as well—with occupancy at 96%, that speaks for itself. It's really come a long way.

GlobeSt.com: Given your history in the Inland Empire with The Shoppes at Chino Hills, what is your perspective on the region and the city of Chino Hills for the future?

Kuklish: Chino Hills is a great, family-oriented community set in a great commercial environment with a mix of cultures, which is representative of the culture of Southern California. The Shoppes has been remarkable in terms of its growth and attraction for business types—the mix of the restaurant component, the food-service component and the development of retail, with respect to stores like Banana Republic and Forever 21. The merchandising that has taken place there has been tremendous to watch. The Shoppes has been very much focused on reaching into that community in various forms of activity, including weekly concerts in the summer, fashion shows, wine-oriented walks and auctions. It's a great marriage of people and community, and the focus that we've had there continues to grow our relationship with that particular community.

GlobeSt.com: The City of Chino Hills envisioned that The Shoppes would be its “town center.” How did this become a reality and how do you interface with the City today?

Kuklish: The current configuration of the center and the location is exactly that: a town center. It just ties together with the infrastructure of the city. You have most of the primary services right there: City Hall, police, fire, and I think what that shopping center has really done is not only connect with the infrastructure of the city, but we have had great success with outreach to the city. We're continually interacting with the City Council and looking at the focus of where they want to take the community. We've been very much in tune with, and have a symbiotic relationship with, the City. They have specific ideas of what they want to achieve with the community, and I think we've done an excellent job of mirroring their thoughts. We hope to continue that opportunity, not just with the Shoppes, but with existing opportunities in the immediate area.

GlobeSt.com: What do you foresee for the future for The Shoppes at Chino Hills?

Kuklish: We have a lot going on, and we're seeing some really positive trends. We want to continue growth in sales, and back-to-school sales are beginning to pick up. There are a lot of activities anticipated there, and foot traffic and sales continue to increase. We anticipate that we're going to see continued strong sales—we don't anticipate that trend to slow. We're hearing in other areas that there has been a little bit of a lag, but we have been very strong in our performance there. We're reaching out to high schools and teen councils and creating focus groups, and we're getting excellent feedback from the community. The community feels like this is their center; it has such a connection and is so supportive. They're very open with their ideas, and our team continues to reach into that community. The connectivity at that location has been extraordinarily successful, and there's a strong management team of marketing and leasing folks on site. It's been a synergistic and symbiotic relationship in total.