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BISHOP RANCH August 2016 • SHOPPING CENTER BUSINESS • 61 ment that Bishop Ranch has developed over the last 38 years. The original plan called for two large anchors with plenty of retail and residential on top of the retail. That plan fell out of favor with the de- velopers as consumer behavior changed post-recession and has evolved to a town center for Bishop Ranch and the larger community of San Ramon. "We didn't feel that creating a manufac- tured street would equate to the feeling of a real downtown that we wanted," says Mehran. "As Renzo Piano says about so- called 'Main Street' developments, 'they are streets from nowhere to nowhere.'" After hiring Piano to handle the design of the center, Sunset focused on aesthet- ics and functionality, as well as the retail needs of office tenants and local residents, to create a downtown that had a sense of place. Piano's design creates a large park at the core of the project, which will be called City Center Bishop Ranch. The shops face the park, or piazza, and they face the outside of the center as well. This way, the character of the center is shown on both sides. "We wanted to build a place that was forward reaching, built for the future of retail and not a typical shopping mall," says Mehran. "Our concept is 50 percent food and entertainment in terms of square footage, including restaurants, movie the- ater and bowling concept. The other 50 percent is lifestyle retail and services. We needed a mix of uses creating a pathway to connect with our customers at multiple points throughout their day and week – both residential and employees who are seeking a place to eat, shop, dine, work- out and entertain. It is a big milestone for us and for San Ramon." Within a 10-mile radius of the center, there is a strong residential base. That market has an average household income of $168,000. The primary trade area for the center has 366,000 residents with an average household income of $150,000. "It is a uniformly high quality market with a surprising lack of a really compel- ling place for everyone to gather," says Jeff Dodd, senior vice president of retail for Sunset Development. The project will be anchored by a luxury movie theater, which is a new concept to the market. "We knew we had a great opportunity to create a point of differentiation around a premium luxury movie experience," says Dodd. "It is unusual for a market with such a high quality residential and employ- ment base to have relatively few great din- ing options. We have an opportunity to create a critical mass of dining options." A select group of lifestyle retailers will also be part of the center. In all, there will be 75 stores and restaurants at the center. The 10-screen luxury theater and a destination bowling center will anchor the entertainment component of the project. Up to 18 restaurants and food purveyors — from coffee to full-service restaurants — are planned as part of the center. In all, 75,000 square feet of food uses are planned. A one-acre park will be located at the center of Bishop Ranch City Center for public gathering space. The space is 115 feet wide by 380 feet long. "It is large enough to contain all types of events, like car shows, concerts, ice skat- ing rink or community theater, but also scaled so that it feels comfortable early in the day when it isn't as busy," says Dodd. "We have spent a lot of time programming that area, allowing us to have some flexi- ble space for events at all times." "The biggest difference between this and the typical suburban center is how people will use City Center Bishop Ranch," says Mehran. "In the suburbs, there is a void of things to do; by default you might end up at a mall. If you were in a city, you can choose a number of plac- es to go. We're creating a slice of that at Bishop Ranch; adding a city center and a place to spend time for everyone looking for a city experience — for our San Ramon residents, Bishop Ranch tenants and the region beyond." The design is also interesting to retail- ers and restaurants, who are attracted to the sophistication of the market and the project. "The Renzo Piano design attracts ten- ants that wouldn't normally come to a suburban center," says Mehran. "The retailers have also been attracted by the better restaurants and sense of place that we are creating." Sunset Development plans to open City Center Bishop Ranch in August 2018. The company is preparing to start grading work; it plans to have the foundation set by the end of 2016. "We are excited that City Center is the beginning of the next phase of Bishop Ranch," says Mehran. "Beyond this, on the opposite side of the street, we have 500 apartment units approved along with a new hotel and 70,000 square feet of re- tail. We are also continuing to build resi- dential. We want to create a place where people can stay 24/7." SCB The design of City Center Bishop Ranch allows double entrances for many retailers — one off the piazza and another at the exterior of the center.