Sweden's H&M Signs at Opus West Shoppes

Swedish retailer Hennes & Mauritz has signed a 10-year lease for 10,475 sf at the Shoppes at Chino Hills, a 400,000-sf open-air lifestyle center that Opus West is developing here at Grand Avenue and Peyton Drive, just west of the Chino Valley (71) Freeway. According to Matt Landers, senior manager at Opus West, the H&M lease represents a significant step for both the Shoppes development and the Inland Empire.

Landers notes that the H&M lease puts the Shoppes at Chino Hills at 60% preleased nine months before the completion of construction. “The lease also has larger implications, as it marks H&M’s continued growth in the region,” Landers says.

H&M will occupy a corner location that is considered the architectural centerpiece of the project, which is slated for completion in May 2008. Founded in 1947, H&M is an international retailer with more than 1,400 stores in 28 countries.

H&M was represented by Rob Cohen of RK Futterman. Opus West was represented by Tony Archer, Greg Whitney, Jay Luchs and Lou Moreno of CB Richard Ellis.

Designed by Altoon+Porter, the Shoppes at Chino Hills will be part of a new 750,000-sf master-planned project that will include civic, office, retail, restaurant and residential uses. Located on 50 acres, the development will be surrounded by 240 units of luxury housing, 50,000 sf of office space built over the retail, a new civic center, a community library and a police station.

Besides H&M, the tenant roster includes more than 50 lifestyle retailers, among them Barnes & Noble, Banana Republic, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Trader Joe’s, American Eagle Outfitters, Jos A. Bank, Gymboree and dozens more. Opus West cites the strong demographics and the location at the convergence of Orange, Riverside, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties among the reasons it chose to develop at the Shoppes site.