Success Stories In Retail Recruitment



Perris, California Adding Millions Of Retail Square Feet After Buxton Study
Perris, CA., is in the middle of an explosion – an explosion of growth and development.

Located in the heart of Southern California’s "Inland Empire," between San Diego and Los Angeles, Perris is taking advantage of its growing population by recruiting a mix of retailers best suited to the needs of its residents. To find this group of targeted retailers, the city hired Buxton to perform its CommunityID^® study. Buxton analyzed three sites along Interstate 215, the main corridor that runs through Perris. Buxton then provided a retail match list for one of the sites, which happened to include an empty Kmart building as well as undeveloped property.

In the year since the Buxton analysis, Perris has successfully landed Target Stores to anchor the site that will eventually be a 700,000-square-foot retail center, and is receiving great interest from several other major retailers. In addition to developing the area around the Target site, Perris has used the marketing information from Buxton to recruit developers and retailers to other locations along I-215. Perris’s successes so far include an additional 625,000-square-foot retail center now breaking ground that will likely be fully leased upon opening and landing a freestanding Lowe’s store nearby.

City leaders are focusing on adding retail development to their community and take pleasure in knowing that restaurants will soon follow. "We need pads and "Restaurant Row" type destinations for the restaurants to locate to. These projects provide that type of preferred location," says Michael McDermott, Manager – Office of Real Estate Services for the City of Perris.

This retail focus has been wildly successful. One year after the Buxton study, Perris has close to 3 million square feet of retail projects in varied stages of development. McDermott, who worked closely with Buxton, said the CommunityID project went smoothly. "It went very well," he says. "Buxton provided the city with an additional and powerful tool. As I speak to the various developers and retailers, the study serves to lend credence to the city’s ability to successfully support major retail development"

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