Phone: 213.223.5500 | Join Our Mailing List

‘Shoptainment’ Will Save Shopping Malls, Analyst Says

May 24, 2023 | Las Vegas Review-Journal

Before the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down, industry analysts across the board were lamenting the death of the shopping mall.

Online shopping had gripped the American consumer, people were ordering dinner online with delivery right to their door, and once longstanding brick and mortar stores including massive chains were shuttering locations all over the country.

Bruce Carlson, the managing director for Northern California for Kennedy Wilson Property Services, who works in the “shopping mall relocation” business, said the industry seemed like it was destined for demise. Carlson and his employer were one of 24,000 businesses who recently attended the three day International Council of Shopping Centers annual convention at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and said the outlook pre-COVID-19 was grim.

“Everyone was freaking out five years ago because Sears was closing, J.C. Penney was closing stores, Macy’s was closing stores,” said Carlson. “So you have two ends of a mall, the anchors, which are now wide open, so there was a lot of terror around that.”

Primestor Targets $300 Million for the Urban Vision Fund I to Deliver Transformative Real Estate in Urban, Minority Communities

April 26, 2023 | Belay Investment Group, News, Press Release

Minority-Led Firm Secures Up To 165mm In Capital Commitments For Urban Vision Fund

Primestor Development (“Primestor”), a leading minority-owned and minority-led urban impact real estate developer and investor, today announced that it held its first closing for The Urban Vision Fund I, anchored by an equity commitment through Belay Investment Group (“Belay”) of up to $100 million and a $25 million equity commitment from LGT Capital Partners. Belay is a Los Angeles based women-owned and led real estate investment management firm with over $900 million of assets under management, primarily on behalf of a large California based pension plan. LGT Capital Partners is a leading alternative investment specialist with over USD 85 billion in assets under management and more than 600 institutional clients in 43 countries.

Primestor Holds First Closing on New Fund, Targets $300M Capital Raise

April 26, 2023 | Paul Bubny, ConnectCRE Los Angeles

Culver City-based Primestor Development, a leading minority-owned and minority-led urban impact real estate developer and investor, said Wednesday it held its first closing for The Urban Vision Fund I, anchored by an equity commitment through Belay Investment Group of up to $100 million and a $25 million equity commitment from LGT Capital Partners. The fund is ultimately targeting $300 million.

Primestor closes first half of LA development fund with $165M  Belay, LGT Capital leading investors for multifamily and retail assets

April 26, 2023 | Isabella Farr, TheRealDeal Los Angeles

Primestor Development, an L.A.-based developer, has closed the first half of a new fund that will focus on building multifamily and retail assets near public transit in California.

The firm has raised $165 million — $100 million from Belay Investment Group, $25 million from LGT Capital Partners and the rest from other investors, according to Primestor CEO Arturo Sneider and an announcement from the firm on Wednesday.

Primestor Targets $300 Million for The Urban Vision Fund I to Deliver Transformative Real Estate in Urban, Minority Communities

Minority-Led Firm Secures Up To $165mm In Capital Commitments For Urban Vision Fund

LOS ANGELES, April 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --Primestor Development ("Primestor"), a leading minority-owned and minority-led urban impact real estate developer and investor, today announced that it held its first closing for The Urban Vision Fund I, anchored by an equity commitment through Belay Investment Group ("Belay") of up to $100 million and a $25 million equity commitment from LGT Capital Partners.  Belay is a Los Angeles based women-owned and led real estate investment management firm with over $900 million of assets under management, primarily on behalf of a large California based pension plan.  LGT Capital Partners is a leading alternative investment specialist with over USD 85 billion in assets under management and more than 600 institutional clients in 43 countries.

Vacant for Decades, Street Corner Destroyed in 1992 LA Uprising Set to Get New Life

April 21, 2022 | Marc Brown, ABC 7 Los Angeles

It was five days that changed Los Angeles - civil unrest triggered by the "not guilty" verdicts for four LAPD officers who beat Rodney King.

At the intersection of Vermont and Manchester avenues, a lot that was set ablaze almost 30 years ago has remained abandoned.

"I saw this lot burning April 29, 1992. And that began the downward spiral of economic development and economic investment in this neighborhood," said Mark Wilson, who grew up in South L.A. and is part of the Coalition for Responsible Community Development.

He recalls the area was a place where his family and neighbors shopped.

The unrest stretched over five days - 63 people were killed, thousands of jobs lost, businesses destroyed.

After the unrest in 1992, the four-acre lot at Manchester and Vermont sat vacant - a blight on the community. But now it's rising out of the ashes.

LA Businesses Begin Requiring Proof of COVID-19 Vaccine for Customers

Nov. 08, 2021 | Joseph Pimentel, Spectrum News 1

Workers at Primestor's retail centers have been preparing for Monday for the past couple of weeks.

Plastered on their tenants' windows and signs on common areas are the city of Los Angeles' newest mandate: "Indoor patrons will have to show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19."

"We have been updating our bilingual signage and, in some cases, trilingual signage — English, Spanish and Tagalog — because some of our centers have a large Filipino presence as well," said Arturo Sneider, CEO of Primestor Development, which owns more than a dozen retail shopping centers across the city.

CRE Leaders Looking For Different Development Attitude From LA's Mayoral Hopefuls

October 3, 2021 | Bianca Barragan, Bisnow Southern California

In the past two weeks, three new contenders have officially thrown their hats into the ring to be Los Angeles’ next mayor. The primary election — the first hurdle for the candidates — is in June, and many election watchers think at least one more major candidate will jump into the fray.

azalea Regional Shopping Center Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with Champs and South Gate High School

On September 26, azalea Regional Shopping Center partnered with Champs and South Gate High School to bring a group of students for an enlightening, intimate experience in their very own hometown.

Tailored specifically for the invited guests of South Gate High School, we shine a spotlight on Hispanic Heritage Month with the spirit of Kermes through activities that exude joy and excitement.

An opportunity for the city to come together for local students and lead by example on the importance of building relationships through community as the backbone of positive school culture, which is mirrored in sport and competition.

azalea Regional Shopping Center hosted the first Festival de Libros in South Gate

On June 12th, at azalea Regional Shopping Center in South Gate, we hosted our first Festival de Libros highlighting 15 Latin authors and local artist/musicians. 

We’d like to thank the City of South Gate, South Gate Police Department, the authors and our tenants for participating and contributing to the success of this experience. 

As we move forward with the full reopening of our centers, we continue to prioritize safety and community engagement! 
⁣
Champs Sports
Denise Diaz
Heidy Rodriguez

azalea Regional Shopping Center held a Turkey Giveaway to the community of South Gate

November 21, 2020, azalea Regional Shopping Center partnered with AT&T to giveaway 500 turkeys and food boxes to the community of South Gate. ⁣
⁣
Thank you to everyone who stopped by today! We appreciate your patience and hope you enjoy your turkey this thanksgiving.
⁣
We want to give a special thank you to AT&T Business for making this happen and we couldn’t have done it without the help from City of South Gate, the South Gate Police Department, Mayor Maria Davila and our Primestor fam, Marie Galindo, Jermaine McMihelk & Andrea Gamboa.

The relationship between shopping center development and social equity: How Arturo Sneider does it

Arturo Sneider entered the real estate business to heal cultural gaps that contribute to poverty and crime in disadvantaged neighborhoods. "As a company for 29 years, we have been almost entirely focused on economic development from within underserved and marginalized communities," said the CEO of Primestor. "We are an activist organization that uses the real estate medium as its means for change."

40 COVID-19-safe activations that show shopping centers’ resilience

Safety concerns have changed what activations look like this year, yet centers have proven creative and resilient. From drive-thru trick-or-treating to augmented reality experiences, here’s a sampling of COVID-19-safe activations that centers have enacted so far this year and have planned through the holidays.

HIGHLIGHTED PRIMESTOR PROPERTIES

LATE SUMMER/EARLY FALL

Day of the Dead
In honor of Dia De Los Muertos, Plaza La Alameda and Panorama mall installed colorful, flower-filled community ofrendas, or altars, and invited people to bring pictures of their loved ones.
Oct. 20 – Nov. 3
Plaza La Alameda, Walnut Park, California

Oct. 21 – Nov. 5
Panorama, Panorama City, California

Pumpkin patch

To celebrate Halloween and kick off the holiday season, azalea Regional Shopping Center installed a community pumpkin patch.
Oct. 23 – Nov. 23
azalea Regional Shopping Center, South Gate, California

Using commercial real estate to create economic opportunity

By Kai Ryssdal and Andie Corban

Retail stores, restaurants, and other businesses across the country are closing because of the pandemic. That’s leaving many workers unemployed, a crisis that’s hitting Black and Hispanic or Latinx Americans especially hard.

“Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal met up with Arturo Sneider, the co-founder and CEO of Primestor Development, a real estate company that invests primarily in underserved neighborhoods in Southern California. They met at Plaza La Alameda, a shopping center Primestor owns in Walnut Park, a neighborhood in Los Angeles County.

Primestor Completes 114,431-Square-Foot Retail Element of Jordan Downs in South-Central Los Angeles

October 23, 2020 Published in California, Development, News, Retailers

Los Angeles — Primestor Development, along with Nadel Architecture + Planning as architect, has completed the development of Freedom Plaza, the retail component of the Jordan Downs mixed-use community in Los Angeles’ Watts neighborhood.

In Watts, A Lesson For CRE On How To Provide Economic Opportunity

September 28, 2020 Joseph Pimentel, Bisnow

For Primestor Development CEO Arturo Sneider, the new Freedom Plaza in Watts holds a special place in his heart and career.

The 115K SF retail shopping center is more than just a neighborhood shopping center, he said. In Watts, a historically Black neighborhood in Los Angeles that hasn't seen a lot of economic activity or investment, Freedom Plaza could be the economic engine that nearby residents want and need.