LOS ANGELES—Storm Properties is moving forward with construction efforts on Storm Plaza. The 50,000-square-foot outdoor shopping center, which GlobeSt.com reported broke ground last year, has launched phase II, adding an additional 21,500 square feet of space onto the shopping center. 

The $15-million development is located on 4.2 acres at the corner of Sepulveda Boulevard and Normandie Avenue in Torrance. The highlight of this second construction phase is a 4,250-square-foot Wells Fargo banking branch. Wells Fargo completed a lease transaction with the developer prior to the start of construction. The developers are still negotiating lease transactions with other potential tenants to fill the remainder of the space. Phase II construction will be completed in the fall of this year.

Construction phase I focused on building the center's anchor store, a 16,556-square-foot, stand-alone CVS store. Developers had signed a lease with the drugstore chain in September just before the start of construction. The store opened in November of last year and is in full operation during construction. The third and final construction phase is scheduled to begin later this year with the center's completion estimated for early 2015. These dates are later than the original completion dates, which estimated construction would be done in late 2014.

Although construction is behind schedule, developers are getting a lot of interest from potential tenants. "With CVS now open, interest in the center has increased significantly," says Jay Ahluwalia, president of Storm Properties. "The addition of another excellent tenant demonstrates the demand for quality retail space.” Ahluwalia was not available for additional comment.