Will Sports Center Influence Other Projects?

Schwartz: “Our kind of facility may be having an impact when people are thinking of doing a tennis clubhouse and pool.”

LADERA RANCH, CA—The jury’s still out on whether the newly opened Ladera Sports Center here will impact the development of other community-oriented projects, but the grand opening in August had an impressive turnout, founder H. Michael Schwartz tells GlobeSt.com. Schwartz, who is also the CEO of SmartStop Asset Management , sat down with us for an exclusive interview after the sports center’s grand opening to discuss its success and the significance of this property in the commercial real estate industry. GlobeSt.com: How did the grand opening celebration of the Ladera Sports Center go? Schwartz: The grand opening was fabulous. There were a lot of people in the Ladera, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita and San Clemente areas that supported us. We had two In and Out food trucks there, and 1,137 burgers were eaten—some doubles. We had the TNT Dunk Squad, and kids got really excited to have Tyson Chandler there to sign autographs. All in all, the little kids loved the blowups, jumpy houses and slides in back. There was something for young people, older people and adults. It was a nice way of introducing the project to the community, and we’re very excited about how many people showed up. There were also a lot of community people there, too, including Tanya Flink from Supervisor Lisa Bartlett ‘s office, Assemblyman William Brough and Frank Ury , Mayor of Mission Valley. Senator Pat Bates also came out, and it was nice because she has grandkids and recognizes where these kids have to play—these hot, converted industrial buildings—and she was very impressed with the environmental aspect of this. The building is applying for LEED-Gold certification, and it features low-flow toilets and energy-efficient lights to reduce greenhouse gases. GlobeSt.com: What impact will this property have on the commercial real estate sector in Orange County? Schwartz: I think that the trend could be here locally with some of these master-planned communities that have bigger thoughts of doing community centers and those that have gymnasiums. Our kind of facility may be having an impact when people are thinking of doing a tennis clubhouse and pool. It does it make sense for a multipurpose room to have basketball and volleyball courts. Most are conversions; we’re not hearing much about ground-up development like this. The jury’s not in yet on this. GlobeSt.com: What unique property types do you think this center will inspire? Schwartz: It’s tough because these types of special-purpose buildings are expensive and need to be developed in areas where there’s a need and the ability to effectively pay for the services of that facility. It’s unique from that perspective, and also, a lot of schools that have gymnasiums—plus a lot of YMCA gymnasiums—have little one- and two-courts, so it’s hard to say. In Orange County, you have this property and also two properties, one in Garden Grove one in Anaheim. GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about this property? Schwartz: Since we’ve opened, we’ve had a lot of requests for adult basketball leagues, which was not potentially part of our original business plan. In addition, we’ve had requests about girls’ basketball—a lot of parents have contacted us about doing tournaments or a local rec league for girls. Some of the local sports are geared in some situations more toward the boys than the girls, especially in basketball, so there’s a need for more basketball programs for girls.