Project Data:

Completion Date:     10/6/2020

Square Footage:      90870

Building Use:           Retail

Project Description:

Largely vacant for nearly a decade, this well-known and highly trafficked intersection had become a community eyesore and reminder that big-box anchored centers are becoming more and more rare. The large shopping center was to be redeveloped, split in a partnership between residential and retail teams, to create a desirable area for residents and the community, and to improve a part of Orange County that has been largely overlooked of late. Committed to adaptive reuse, the project team had to balance a multitude of priorities, voices, and stakeholder desires relating to design, community integration, tenant viability, construction timelines, safety, and place-making.

The project straddles two cities, adding another level of complexity. Entitlements and permits were processed through each respective city and to each respective city’s requirements and due to the combination of buildings at city lines and property lines with both new and old buildings, a series of added fire walls and expansion joint separations had to be designed into the project.

Finding a way to reuse existing structures but update the tired design aesthetic was top of mind. A clean aesthetic in terms of colors and materials was chosen to work in tandem with murals and graphic design elements on many of the buildings, helping to create consistency across the site. Wanting high performance but still the look of raw, untreated lumber, a special process was developed where cementitious wood siding and a multi-step paint formula mimics the look of the real thing, but with a level of durability and color integrity previously unachievable.

Consumer behavior has also changed, so with the largest tenant space becoming a public market and food hall, it was imperative to program plenty of outdoor public gathering space. But balancing how to create attractive public space, while also creating a sense of separation from the nearby residences and vehicular traffic on- and off-site was also important. For the large eastern patio facing, walls of greenery were planted to create a ‘secret garden’ effect while a canopy of white lanterns overhead creates a sense of enclosure within, and piques interest from those outside. At the western patio, murals, wall-mounted screens, and more casual furniture is used to create another space for patrons of the food hall and brewery therein.

The public market tenant would be taking over a 31,000 sf former grocery space, so part of the shell architecture scope was to find ways to make the large enclosed area feel inviting and interesting. The entire front façade was removed, revealing the original bowed roof deck. Glazing was maximized to create visibility into the space, capitalizing on daylighting, while also exposing and celebrating this original wood roof system. Large operable glazing systems were used to heighten the indoor/outdoor feel, and a 2,000 sf portion of the original roof was removed to install clerestory windows in the middle of the space, affording the entire interior of the space with natural daylight.

Firm Name:              Bickel Group Architecture

Completion Date:     10/6/2020

Square Footage:      90870

Building Use:           Retail

Location:                 NWC Beach Blvd & Garden Grove Blvd, Stanton and Garden Grove, CA

Project Description:
Design for Equitable Communities:
This portion of Orange County is sorely lacking in the type of commercial projects that create a sense of community and gathering among local residents. With food halls and microbreweries popping up seemingly everywhere of late, this area had not seen that type of investment or level of place-making design and investment, while simultaneously having a reputation for some of the area’s highest crime rates and socio-economic challenges. This project transformed a site that was unsafe and unattractive into a local destination that residents can be proud of, want to spend time in and visit multiple times a week, while also attracting visitors from around the region and increasing local tax revenue and employment.

Design for Well-being
When designing this project, a global pandemic could not have been predicted. But the emphasis on outdoor space, natural daylighting, and the ability to open up the large interior proved to be good design regardless of a public health crisis. When the project opened, being able to keep as much of the building envelopes open to fresh air allowed the project to be attractive to more of the community than if it was a traditional, sealed building. The outdoor seating areas are used more than those indoors. Meanwhile, the amount of daylight for tenants, be it through maximized storefronts or the new clerestory element added to the food hall space, allows patrons and employees to feel a connection to the outdoors.

Design for Change
As an adaptive reuse project, every square foot of this project was evaluated from the perspective of evolving to meet the changing needs of the local population. Where large sit-down restaurants once stood are now a variety of quick serve restaurants with smaller footprints that support the change in customer desires in dining options. Where large big box retailers and traditional in-line service and retail tenants once stood are now various fitness users, healthcare providers, restaurant concepts with a viral following, and an experiential public market full of chef-driven concepts and small retail start-ups. Retail spaces continue to evolve with consumer tastes, but this project is poised to evolve with them. It’s designed with flexibility, user experience, and community engagement in mind – three things that will never go out of style.

Design Architect:

Associate Architect or Firm:

Landscape Architect:
Ridge Landscape Architects
SWA

Owner / Developer:
Frontier Real Estate Investments

Engineer:
Blue Peak Engineering
BJ Palmer and Associates
Building Mechanical Systems
STB Structural Engineering
tK1sc

General Contractor:
Dempsey Construction
Pinhero Construction

Consultant:
RSM
Superior Signs

Photographer:
Dorian Media