Luxury shopping complex planned for northwest Stockton

This is an artist's rendering of what developers envision the North Stockton Gateway project, now known as Stockton Promenade, will look like if the Stockton City Council approves the ambitious upscale shopping and entertainment area. (Courtesy art)

Luxury shopping complex planned for northwest Stockton

By Ross Farrow
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Tuesday, February 26, 2008 8:18 AM PST

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Picture Stockton's northwest corner being transformed into a Mediterranean-style village filled with luxury stores, upscale restaurants and a 16- to 18-screen movie theater across from Oak Grove Regional Park.

That's the dream of AG Spanos Cos. of what will be known as Stockton Promenade. Commonly known as North Stockton Gateway, the center would include 670,000 square feet of retail space on 65 acres on what is now part of the rural ambiance that dominates Interstate 5. Spanos has sold the land to Kornwasser Shopping Center Properties, which would develop the center.

The promenade would be surrounded by acres of new homes and other retail projects that would reach as far north as the city of Lodi's White Slough property.

While Spanos is trying to attract upscale Lodi residents to the north Stockton "lifestyle center," Lodi community leaders hope their city's charm and ambiance will keep shoppers, and their sales tax dollars, in Lodi.

Never mind the home foreclosure and fears of a recession plaguing San Joaquin County and the rest of the United States. Spanos officials predict the nation will be out of its economic doldrums by the time the center opens about four years from now at a site northeast of the intersection of Eight Mile Road and Interstate 5. The master plan is pending approval by the city of Stockton.

Called a "lifestyle center," Stockton Promenade is not being designed for people who want to go to a single store, buy one or two items and leave, said Dean Plassaras, a consultant for Spanos.

"The idea is for people to stay awhile and socialize," Plassaras said. "The planning dream is to live, work, shop and play in the same place."

AG Spanos Cos. is planning a large-scale development near the intersection of Eight Mile Road and Interstate 5. The project would include the Stockton Promenade, or 670,000 square feet of retail space, on 65 acres that would include a 16- to 18-screen movie theater. (Marc Lutz/News-Sentinel)

The idea is to meander through the stores, see a movie, have dinner at P.F. Chang's China Bistro or Morton's Steakhouse, get something at the Cheesecake Factory, and if the weather's right, sit out in a plaza-like setting and enjoy your friends.

"You can do that in Downtown Lodi," said Pat Patrick, president and CEO of the Lodi Chamber of Commerce. "You can socialize and eat at sidewalk cafes."

"I believe that no matter what they build there, Lodi will be the place to be because our Downtown is so much fun, so beautiful and so historical," Mounce said. (The Promenade) sounds like a great place for Stocktonians to be."

Patrick added, "What they're trying to recapture is an old downtown that is new. We (in Lodi) have the genuine article."

Plessaras said the Stockton Promenade will not harm tax revenues from either Lodi or Stockton, despite what some may think.

"We're not trying to harm Lodi; we're not trying to harm Stockton," Plassaras said. "We are more of a Lodi community here than a Stockton community. We have more commonality."

The consultant maintains that with the projected growth, including 40,000 planned residential units for north Stockton, there will be enough business for everyone.

Cars pass by a field Friday near Eight Mile Road �" the proposed site for a new luxury shopping center. (Dan Evans/News-Sentinel)

Not only that, Stockton Promenade is intended to draw from a 25-mile radius �" from Weston Ranch in southern Stockton all the way to Galt.

Patrick says that plans call for 120,000 new residents in the area generally considered to be "between Stockton and Lodi," but it will probably take 25 years to develop that much housing.

"For the first 10 years, I would think everyone will be competing for many of the same (sales tax) dollars," Patrick said.

Mike Niblock, Stockton's community development director, said it's premature to determine whether the Promenade will harm his city economically. The city of Stockton is conducting an economic study to answer that question, he said.

Mounce says that Lodi doesn't want to have a center like Stockton Promenade in Lodi, although the city will continue to try to bring businesses like Trader Joe's to town.

Trader Joe's is one of the tenants projected for Stockton Promenade, Plassaras said.

"I really think that Lodi is heading in a completely different direction from Elk Grove or Stockton," Mounce said. "Lodi is going to be a tourist destination. We have the Sandhill Crane Festival and our wineries."

About Stockton Promenade

Potential tenants• Nugget supermarket

• Cheesecake Factory

• P.F. Chang's China Bistro

• Barnes and Noble bookstore

• Trader Joe's

• Morton's Steakhouse

• Cabela's, an upscale sporting goods and outdoors store

• McCormick and Schmick's, an upscale seafood restaurant

• Coldstone Creamery

Demographics

AG Spanos Cos. and developer Kornwasser Shopping Center Properties are touting projected rapid growth of upscale and college educated residents within the region to attract upscale tenants for Stockton Promenade. Here are some of the numbers:

• 2006 population within a three-mile radius: 40,598

• 2006 population within five-mile radius: 111,023

• 2006 population from Galt to Weston Ranch: 475,805

• Average household income: almost $85,000 within a three-mile radius, $60,482

• College graduates: In 2008, approximately 3,800 in vicinity of the project. This is a significant number when it comes to attracting upscale commercial tenants.

Source: Consultant Dean Plassaras

Plassaras said he sees an opportunity for Lodi to promote its wine industry and other virtues at the Spanos lifestyle center, perhaps by opening a store selling Lodi wines.

The upscale retail development is a long way from reality. The city of Stockton hasn't approved the plan, which is part of a larger master plan that totals 7,500 dwelling units on both sides of I-5 plus a large amount of commercial similar to the shopping center southwest of I-5 and Eight Mile Road, according to Plassaras and Dave Stagnaro, principal planner for the city of Stockton.

To accommodate all the new growth, Stockton's new General Plan calls for five lanes in each direction on I-5 within the next 25 to 30 years. An environmental impact report will be prepared for the project, Stagnaro said.

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

Gator wrote on Mar 3, 2008 6:17 PM:

" You can check out this style of building
in West Sacramento btwn B&C St.btwn 4&5
th streets Go take a look... "

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