Hagglund and Brixton Capital bought the 16,579-square-foot project in January of last year. The property is currently undergoing major exterior, interior and landscape renovations that will revitalize the space. The property has a long history on Cedros and was originally developed as a roller rink in the 1970s and in 1982 was converted into the Antique Mall. West Elm will be located directly across the street from the iconic musical venue, Belly Up Tavern. Cedros Avenue features more than 85 one-of-a-kind boutiques, galleries and restaurants within two and half blocks. The average household income is more than $120,000 within a five-mile radius and is in proximity to the affluent communities of Solana Beach, Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe and Encinitas/Cardiff.

We spoke with Hagglund about the rash of new development and leasing activity in the eclectic market.

GlobeSt.com: Why is this area of South Cedros getting so much attention lately?

Hagglund: Cedros for some time has had a lot of attention paid to it, and it has been a very well-known street in Northern San Diego County. People like to go to the farmer's market and the Belly Up—there are a lot of reasons to go down there, but not a lot of opportunities for new businesses and retailers to find space on the street. It's been very tight. Historically, there have been a lot of owner/user type operators in the area. But as values have gone up on the street, property owners realize they should either upgrade their properties or move to less expensive real estate if they don't have to be on Cedros. We've sold three of the buildings on the street and others in the Solana Beach market.

GlobeSt.com: How prevalent are retail areas like this one in the San Diego market?

Hagglund: There are not a lot of them. San Diego has a lot of small and different communities, but Cedros is fairly unique and pretty small compared to other areas.

GlobeSt.com: Which retail concepts are faring the best in markets like these?

Hagglund: Each market is a little bit different. Downtown Encinitas has evolved over the last 10 years; it went from just a few restaurants to many bars and businesses—it's much more vibrant. North Park is a different type of district, and it too has evolved over the last five years with restaurants, craft breweries and different retail shops you wouldn't find in a mall or traditional shopping center. La Jolla is higher end and fashion oriented. But Cedros is a small, pure destination; there are different types of businesses down there. It's all based on the demographics of the areas, the people living there.

The problem with restaurants in Solana Beach is that there are fairly restrictive parking requirements; there are more spaces required for restaurants than general retail or office use. In our project, we're not planning on doing any restaurants until the parking code changes, if it does. Cedros Gardens will add a certain amount of restaurant space in there—three will be a minimum of two restaurants coming to this market in the near future. If the City changes the regulations or adds more parking, we will see more. You can also do a brewery and wine-tasting rooms, and those they have a special use code that allows those types of uses in Solana Beach to have the same amount of parking as general retail.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about West Elm coming to this area?

Hagglund: They've been exceptionally well received. People are really excited to see them coming to Cedros. I'm hearing this from a lot of people; there's positive community support out there for it. Having a national retailer on the street will help put Cedros on the map outside of San Diego County—particularly one that fits in well with the community.

Hagglund: “People like to go to the farmer's market and the Belly Up—there are a lot of reasons to go down [to Cedros], but not a lot of opportunities for new businesses and retailers to find space on the street.”

SOLANA BEACH, CA—Real estate activity has been ramping up in the Cedros Design District recently. As GlobeSt.com recently reported, RAF Pacifica Group has acquired 40,000-square-foot former Cedros Gardens land parcel here, and new retailers are entering South Cedros St., creating a revitalization the area hasn't seen in decades, according to RAF's founder and principal Adam Robinson tells GlobeSt.com. The San Diego-based commercial real estate investor and developer acquired the parcel for a total consideration of $5.5 million from a private owner and plans to develop a 26,000-square-foot mixed-use project on the parcel integrating high-end restaurants, ground-floor retail, office and multifamily.

We also recently learned that CBRE Group Inc. SVP Dave Hagglund, along with colleague Robert Gunness , represented Brixton Capital , owner of the property at 212 South Cedros Ave. —a soon-to-be renovated street-front retail project—in a lease transaction with West Elm, a member of Williams-Sonoma, Inc . portfolio of brands. CBRE's Carrie Bobb and Scott Muller represented the tenant, which will be the anchor retailer at the project, set to occupy nearly 11,000 square feet by fall of this year, with additional available retail spaces totaling 5,575 square feet.

This will be West Elm's second store in San Diego. West Elm's first San Diego location opened in Westfield's Mission Valley Center East. The retailer creates unique, affordable designs for modern living and is committed to Fair Trade Certified, offering a range from local and handcrafted products to community-driven collaborations and events. The Brooklyn-based company plans to bring approximately 30 jobs to the neighborhood. A selection of Southern California-based makers and designers will sell their products in the store's assortment of modern furnishings and décor as part of the west elm LOCAL program.

Hagglund and Brixton Capital bought the 16,579-square-foot project in January of last year. The property is currently undergoing major exterior, interior and landscape renovations that will revitalize the space. The property has a long history on Cedros and was originally developed as a roller rink in the 1970s and in 1982 was converted into the Antique Mall. West Elm will be located directly across the street from the iconic musical venue, Belly Up Tavern. Cedros Avenue features more than 85 one-of-a-kind boutiques, galleries and restaurants within two and half blocks. The average household income is more than $120,000 within a five-mile radius and is in proximity to the affluent communities of Solana Beach, Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe and Encinitas/Cardiff.

We spoke with Hagglund about the rash of new development and leasing activity in the eclectic market.

GlobeSt.com: Why is this area of South Cedros getting so much attention lately?

Hagglund: Cedros for some time has had a lot of attention paid to it, and it has been a very well-known street in Northern San Diego County. People like to go to the farmer's market and the Belly Up—there are a lot of reasons to go down there, but not a lot of opportunities for new businesses and retailers to find space on the street. It's been very tight. Historically, there have been a lot of owner/user type operators in the area. But as values have gone up on the street, property owners realize they should either upgrade their properties or move to less expensive real estate if they don't have to be on Cedros. We've sold three of the buildings on the street and others in the Solana Beach market.

GlobeSt.com: How prevalent are retail areas like this one in the San Diego market?

Hagglund: There are not a lot of them. San Diego has a lot of small and different communities, but Cedros is fairly unique and pretty small compared to other areas.

GlobeSt.com: Which retail concepts are faring the best in markets like these?

Hagglund: Each market is a little bit different. Downtown Encinitas has evolved over the last 10 years; it went from just a few restaurants to many bars and businesses—it's much more vibrant. North Park is a different type of district, and it too has evolved over the last five years with restaurants, craft breweries and different retail shops you wouldn't find in a mall or traditional shopping center. La Jolla is higher end and fashion oriented. But Cedros is a small, pure destination; there are different types of businesses down there. It's all based on the demographics of the areas, the people living there.

The problem with restaurants in Solana Beach is that there are fairly restrictive parking requirements; there are more spaces required for restaurants than general retail or office use. In our project, we're not planning on doing any restaurants until the parking code changes, if it does. Cedros Gardens will add a certain amount of restaurant space in there—three will be a minimum of two restaurants coming to this market in the near future. If the City changes the regulations or adds more parking, we will see more. You can also do a brewery and wine-tasting rooms, and those they have a special use code that allows those types of uses in Solana Beach to have the same amount of parking as general retail.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about West Elm coming to this area?

Hagglund: They've been exceptionally well received. People are really excited to see them coming to Cedros. I'm hearing this from a lot of people; there's positive community support out there for it. Having a national retailer on the street will help put Cedros on the map outside of San Diego County—particularly one that fits in well with the community.