Rancho Cucamonga is seeing a retail transformation. In general, the Inland Empire has seen significant population growth, which has spurred both residential and retail activity. The Rancho Cucamonga market has seen an increase in leasing activity and the arrival of new tenants, quickly making it one of the top emerging retail hubs in the Inland Empire. The demand for retail is taking shape on Foothill Blvd. and the Victoria Gardens Mall.

“Rancho Cucamonga is one of the hottest submarkets in the Inland Empire,” Blake Kaplan, an associate at JLL, tells GlobeSt.com. “The development of Victoria Gardens put Rancho Cucamonga on the map. Once retailers, office users and home builders saw the success of that lifestyle center, they realized that Rancho Cucamonga could become a hot spot for commercial real estate in the Inland Empire. Over the past few years, we have seen new homes with resident migration, new and revitalized retail centers with a new crop of tenants including daily needs, restaurants and entertainment and office users expanding into the area because of the rich amenities, transportation corridor and labor. What was once a retail area with a single focus of Victoria Gardens that appeals to locals and tourists is now a comprehensive retail landscape that appeals to everyone from the professional to the Millennial to the family to the tourist.”

The population growth has been the chief driver of the retail activity, and higher income families are migrating to the market attracting new retailers. “Leasing activity has been very strong as companies try to satisfy demand from the growing office and expanding residential neighborhoods,” explains Kaplan. “Higher density and higher income families are driving new and expanded food concepts as well as lifestyle and daily needs retailers to the area. Multiple neighboring freeways also provide tremendous accessibility from neighboring communities.”