When Zelman Cos. acquired 103 acres in Burbank last year, the company was a new player on the San Fernando Valley real estate scene.
Now, Zelman is bringing a new retailer along in its wake.
Anchoring the 900,000-square-foot retail portion of the $100-million complex will be The Great Indoors, a fresh store concept launched by Sears Roebuck & Co., said officials at Zelman, which received final approvals for the project at the end of September.
The Great Indoors, a concept launched by Sears in 1998 that now includes three stores, chose the San Fernando Valley, along with Irvine and Chino Hills, for its first three California units. The stores are among a group of 30 Great Indoors locations that Sears plans to open in its initial rollout. The retailer expects to have 100 sites selected within the next three years.
In Burbank, The Great Indoors will join Costco and Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse as anchors of the center, which is being built near the Burbank Airport.
The retail center, which is nearly fully leased, will be part of a complex that also includes about 600,000 square feet of office space and two hotels, Extended Stay America and Courtyard by Marriott. The project is the first Valley development undertaken by Zelman, which also developed the Puente Hills East complex in the City of Industry.
The Great Indoors, a 142,000-square-foot superstore, is part do-it-yourself home improvement center, part appliance and home furnishings retailer and part decorating center with an emphasis on pricier brands and more-sophisticated styles than those typically found at Sears stores.
“We found from our research that the customer wanted one stop to do it all,” said Peggy Palter, a spokeswoman for The Great Indoors. “Typically, a customer might go to eight or more stores if she has a redecorating or remodeling project, and maybe make purchases in three or four of those. She was looking for a one-stop convenient location.”
Broad product selection
The stores carry everything from towels to home theater systems, along with all the materials needed to remodel a room, from kitchen counters to bathroom fixtures, slate tiles and wood flooring. Brand names include Bose for sound systems, Kohler for bathroom fixtures, Viking for appliances and Karastan carpeting, instead of the typical Sears mainstays such as Kenmore appliances and Panasonic sound systems. Merchandise is showcased in about 75 room vignettes along with traditional retail displays; decorating consultants and personal shoppers are also available.
Rollout of The Great Indoors corresponds with a similar concept under development by Home Depot called Expo Design Center and comes at a time when competition in the appliance sector is growing increasingly fierce.
Although Sears holds a healthy 31-percent share of the large appliance market, according to industry reports, stores like Home Depot have been chipping away at its leadership position.
Home Depot also explored space in the Zelman center but the developer ultimately signed a lease with Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse.
“They were very pleasantly surprised with finding out the huge change that has taken place in Burbank in the last 10 years,” Reiling said.
Tenant lineup
Other stores that have signed on include Best Buy, Target, Michael’s, Linens ‘N Things, Sportmart, Staples, Shoe Pavilion and Marshalls. A food court will house TGI Friday’s, Hometown Buffet, Krispy Kreme and others.
“It looks almost exactly like we thought it would look,” said Reiling, of the tenant mix. “We had in almost every category two people (interested in leasing space at the complex) for every space (available).”
The one product that consumers will not be able to shop for at the new center, however, is cars. Although Burbank city officials had hoped to secure two auto dealerships for the site, where a Lockheed plant formerly operated, both those deals fell through.
“Car dealers are hard,” said Bud Ovrom, Burbank city manager. “If an auto dealership wants to move within a 10-mile radius (of another dealer, the other) dealer has the right to protest.”
Burbank officials had hoped that DaimlerChrysler and General Motors Corp. would both locate on the site. But the Chrysler store would compete with a Glendale dealership, and the Glendale rival protested. Plans to move a GM dealership from Glendale fell through when the manufacturer nixed the move.
Burbank has been trying for some time to lure a car dealership. An earlier plan for a Ford Motor Co. outpost on another Burbank site also fell through. The city preferred to have auto dealerships on the Zelman site because they would not cannibalize sales from other retail stores.
“We don’t want everybody cutting each other’s throat,” Ovrom said.
