For many years, I have wanted to drive and then walk each of the Inland Empire Regional Malls at virtually the same time to observe what is really happening inside these malls and assign each a grade based on what I saw. I finally accomplished this task, and the following are the results. It involved driving about 450 miles over 2 days and logging more than 20,000 steps to walk each property (I am grateful for the exercise).
This blog reflects our commitment at Progressive Real Estate Partners to understand our entire marketplace which is one of our key differentiators to the success of our leasing and sales teams.
The malls included are:
- Shops at Palm Desert
- Galleria at Tyler
- Promenade Temecula
- Moreno Valley Mall*
- The Mall of Victor Valley**
- Inland Center Mall**
- Ontario Mills
- Victoria Gardens
- Montclair Place
* I could not walk the interior of the Moreno Valley Mall because the interior shops of the mall were temporarily closed by the Fire Marshall the day before I started my drive and as of this writing they are still closed, but should reopen very soon.
** For disclosure purposes, The Mall of Victor Valley and Inland Center Mall are owned by Macerich. We currently have a listing to lease or sell the vacant Sears Building at Inland Center Mall. I tried not to let this fact interfere with my evaluation of the malls.
Unlike traditional retail where you can drive through the parking lot to gauge performance, regional malls require actually walking them. Mall websites list tenants, but they don’t show vacancies—and vacancies matter. As a result, putting my eyes on each mall proved very valuable to this analysis. Also, I wanted to do this analysis in February since many retailers will close following the holiday season and I wanted to see these malls during their “resting period” vs. when retailers may be gearing up for the holidays.
Factors Utilized to Create the Grade:
- I graded on a curve. I was not comparing these 9 malls to a mall like South Coast Plaza.
- It would be unfair to evaluate the traffic that I witnessed since I visited these malls on different days and times. Instead, I relied on Placer.ai for annual visitors as my “traffic” metric. I also utilized Placer’s data to look at traffic per square foot which helps equalize malls that are different sizes.
- I examined who the anchors are at the mall and how many vacant anchor spaces currently exist.
- I counted how many vacant interior spaces existed. Note that I did not account for actual square footage vacant, because I find the number of storefronts that are vacant is far more impactful than the square footage vacant.
- I counted how many transitional tenants each mall had. Transitional Tenants refer to short-term, non-credit, or locally operated uses that occupy space in the absence of stronger national or regional retailers, and are not considered part of the mall’s long-term merchandising strategy.
- The number of quality restaurants and entertainment options were important considerations.
- Although the food courts were not an important metric to the overall grade, each food court was evaluated for the number of food court tenants and the number of vacant spaces.
- The interior common areas were analyzed and judged for their contribution to making the mall a pleasant place to visit.
The results are based upon a current snapshot. Future redevelopment plans were not considered and will be covered in a future blog. Riverside County malls are first and San Bernardino County malls follow.
The Shops at Palm Desert, Palm Desert
Grade: C
Anchors: Macy’s, JCPenney, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Macy’s Furniture
Vacant Anchors: Former Sears
Total Mall SF: 1,045,000
Notable Sit Down Restaurants: Buffalo Wild Wings
Placer.ai Total Traffic: 4,700,000
Placer.ai Traffic/SF: 4.50
Vacant Interior Spaces: 11
Transitional Tenants: 37
Number of Food Court Tenants: 12
Vacant Food Court Spaces: 1
Common Area Condition: Old floors and seating, few kiosks.
Comments: Although I had been told that this mall was not doing well, I found this hard to believe considering the location. One would have thought that an enclosed mall in a great location and in an area that gets very hot would be doing much better. The number of vacant and transitional spaces were primary contributors to the low grade. I do look forward to learning more about the future redevelopment plans for this mall.
Galleria at Tyler, Riverside
Grade: B-
Anchors: Macy’s, JCPenney, H&M, AMC, Barnes & Noble
Vacant Anchors: Former Nordstrom, Former Forever 21
Total Mall SF: 1,230,000
Notable Sit Down Restaurants: The Cheesecake Factory, P.F. Chang’s, The Yard House
Placer.ai Total Traffic: 9,100,000
Placer.ai Traffic/SF: 8.83
Vacant Interior Spaces: 13
Transitional Tenants: 31
Number of Food Court Tenants: 12
Vacant Food Court Spaces: 2
Common Area Condition: Old and worn carpet and seating
Comments: Nordstrom closing was a big blow to this mall. Also, the fact that Barnes & Noble and AMC Theaters as well as a few of the quality sit down restaurants are adjacent to the mall, but not actually integrated into the mall creates a lot of challenges for its future health. It will take much creativity to take advantage of its great location adjacent to the 91 Freeway.
Promenade Temecula, Temecula
Grade: A-
Anchors: Macy’s (2 locations), JCPenney, Round1, Regal Cinemas
Vacant Anchors: None
Total Mall SF: 1,310,000
Notable Sit Down Restaurants: California Pizza Kitchen, The Cheesecake Factory, Lucille’s Smokehouse, P.F. Chang, Yardhouse
Placer.ai Total Traffic: 8,700,000
Placer.ai Traffic/SF: 7.64
Vacant Interior Spaces: 9
Transitional Tenants: 25
Number of Food Court Tenants: 12
Vacant Food Court Spaces: 0
Common Area Condition: Attractive with polished tile finishes with quality furnishings.
Comments: This mall is likely surrounded by the highest incomes of all the malls. Overall, this mall is vibrant and successful, but there is a lot of retail in this trade area and I think the key is figuring out ways to continue to drive traffic to its interior which would reduce the number of transitional tenants and vacant spaces.
Moreno Valley Mall, Moreno Valley
Grade: No Rating due to the temporary closure and inability to walk the interior of the mall
Anchors: Macy’s, JCPenney, Harkins Theatres, Round1
Vacant Anchors: Former Department Store and One Floor of Former Sears
Total Mall SF: 1,200,000
Notable Sit Down Restaurants: None
Placer.ai Total Traffic: 4,100,000
Placer.ai Traffic/SF: 3.72
Vacant Interior Spaces: Not Available
Transitional Tenants: Not Available
Number of Food Court Tenants: Not Available
Vacant Food Court Spaces: Not Available
Common Area Condition: Not Available
Comments: I will reserve some further comments until I have had a chance to walk the interior of the mall although I have walked the interior within the last 2 years and it will be interesting to see if the current ownership can redevelop this property. The fact that they have a challenging relationship with the city that has resulted in many code violations and fines which eventually forced partial closure is not a positive sign.
The Mall of Victor Valley, Victorville
Grade: B+
Anchors: Macy’s, JCPenney, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Cinemark Theatres, Round1
Vacant Anchors: None
Total Mall SF: 620,000
Floors: Single Story
Notable Sit Down Restaurants: Red Robin
Placer.ai Total Traffic: 4,500,000
Placer.ai Traffic/SF: 7.83
Vacant Interior Spaces: 3
Transitional Tenants: 9
Number of Food Court Tenants: 17
Vacant Food Court Spaces: 5
Comments: This mall should be known as “The Little Engine that Could.” This mall has a distinct advantage in the fact that it is smaller than the other malls and is single story. It also sits in the middle of a trade area of approximately 400,000 people that is isolated from much of the region. Because of the limited amount of interior space, the interior is effectively 100% leased (2 of the 3 vacant spaces are at the entrance to the future Round 1 entertainment facility) and the number of transitional tenants is minimal.
Common Area Condition: Clean, bright, and well maintained
Inland Center Mall, San Bernardino
Grade: C+
Anchors: Macy’s, JCPenney, H&M, Urban Planet
Vacant Anchors: Former Sears
Total Mall SF: 880,000
Floors: Single Story (anchors are multi-level)
Notable Sit Down Restaurants: None
Placer.ai Total Traffic: 2,900,000
Placer.ai Traffic/SF: 3.29
Vacant Interior Spaces: 6
Transitional Tenants: 14
Number of Food Court Tenants: 10
Vacant Food Court Spaces: 3
Common Area Condition: Clean and bright with modern finishes.
Comments: This mall has a lot of potential. The challenge is that income levels in the immediate trade area are lower than the other regional malls and the immediate surroundings do not encourage new retailers. That being said, with the Carousel Mall demolished and the closest mall 15 miles away, this mall could have a positive future.
Ontario Mills, Ontario
Grade: A+
Anchors: Nike, Neiman Marcus Last Call, AMC Theatres, Burlington, Marshalls
Vacant Anchors: Former Saks Off 5th
Total Mall SF: 1,420,000
Notable Sit Down Restaurants: Dave & Buster’s, Market Broiler, Rainforest Café
Placer.ai Total Traffic: 14,100,000
Placer.ai Traffic/SF: 9.95
Vacant Interior Spaces: 0
Transitional Tenants: 10
Number of Food Court Tenants: 12
Vacant Food Court Spaces: 0
Common Area Condition: Clean and well maintained
Comments: This place is a powerhouse. Unlike Victoria Gardens, which is driven by a significant number of quality restaurants as well as the Apple store, Ontario Mills is driven by actual stuff to buy. It is a remarkable mix of anchor tenants and interior stores that are true retailers. Except for Saks Off 5th Avenue which just closed in the past 60 days, the mall is 100% leased.
Victoria Gardens, Rancho Cucamonga
Grade: A
Anchors: Macy’s (2 locations), JCPenney, AMC Theatres, Apple
Vacant Anchors: None
Total Mall SF: 1,200,000
Notable Sit Down Restaurants: The Cheesecake Factory, Fleming’s, Lucille’s BBQ, PF Chang’s, Yardhouse.
Placer.ai Total Traffic: 14,900,000
Placer.ai Traffic/SF: 12.45
Vacant Interior Spaces: 4
Transitional Tenants: 6
Number of Food Court Tenants: 9
Vacant Food Court Spaces: 2
Common Area Condition: Outdoor center with high-quality finishes
Comments: Victoria Gardens and Ontario Mills have virtually the same traffic at about 14 million visitors per year, but they do it in entirely different ways. Victoria Gardens exterior is all common areas with no enclosed space other than the individual stores. It is stocked with great restaurant choices, and it is much more experiential than Ontario Mills. It is by far the most pleasant IE mall to walk around.
Montclair Place, Montclair
Grade: C
Anchors: Macy’s, JCPenney
Vacant Anchors: Former Sears, Former Nordstrom
Total Mall SF: 1,400,000
Notable Sit Down Restaurants: Lazy Dog
Placer.ai Total Traffic: 6,100,000
Placer.ai Traffic/SF: 4.83
Vacant Interior Spaces: 20
Transitional Tenants: 20
Number of Food Court Tenants: 8
Vacant Food Court Spaces: 0
Common Area Condition: Basic with dated finishes and furniture
Comments: The mall’s east end facing Central Avenue is thriving with Barnes & Noble, AMC Theaters and Main Event. The mall has a great location along the 10 Freeway. The current owner has had plans to redevelop this mall for at least the past decade, but I am not sure what it will take to make this happen, but I am confident that this property will have a bright future.
CONCLUSION
In touring and grading these nine Inland Empire regional malls, one theme is clear: the details you see from the at ground level tell a very different story than any website, google search, brochure, or AI discussion ever could. That same commitment to walking the properties, understanding each trade area, and studying who is really shopping, dining, and spending is exactly how the Progressive Real Estate Partners team approaches leasing and sales throughout the Inland Empire retail market.
If you own, lease, or are considering buying or selling retail property in the Inland Empire, we’d welcome the opportunity to put this level of market knowledge to work for you. Our team specializes in the sale and leasing of retail properties across the region and has completed almost 2,000 transactions for owners and retailers who rely on accurate, street‑level insight to make smart decisions.
To explore how these mall trends and trade area dynamics might impact your property or portfolio, contact Progressive Real Estate Partners at 909‑230‑4500 or visit progressiverep.com to connect with one of our retail specialists.