[sirkingwilliam]

Quick summary of this article:

Phase II will have:

• 300,000 square feet
  
• 40,000 of said 300,000 square feet will be office
  
• Five new to San Antonio high-end restaurants
  
• 40 stores for phase II
  
• 30 of which will be new to the city
  
• Two story bookstore
  
• 30 (though it says 300? lol) foot water fall
  
• Movie theater was axed when Santikos built the Palladium at The Rim

http://www.mysanantonio.com/business...8.32970fc.html

The Shops at La Cantera to multiply

Web Posted: 03/20/2008 09:05 PM CDT

Melissa S. Monroe
Express-News Business Writer

A planned expansion of The Shops at La Cantera will provide well-heeled shoppers with an even more diverse shopping experience.

A mix of 40 stores, about 30 of them new to the city, are part of The Shops' second phase of development, scheduled to be completed Oct. 24.

The 300,000-square-foot project includes a 40,000-square-foot office component and five high-end restaurants, officials with The Shops said Thursday.

Anchoring one end of the project, which will retain its Hill Country look, is a two-story bookstore. Restaurants will anchor the other end.

The project is a joint venture between Chicago-based General Growth Properties Inc. and USAA Real Estate Co. Officials wouldn't reveal the cost of the second phase, saying only that it is a "multimillion-dollar project."

The retailers will be a mixture of "high-end to affordable options," said Mollie Calvert, director of marketing for General Growth, which includes North Star Mall and The Shops. Calvert wouldn't reveal who's coming to the center.

"The retailers joining us are some of the hottest concepts in the retail industry today," she said. "Even with phase one, we looked for the best retailers out there."

Unlike the first phase, the new center is being designed so cars can go through the middle of the area, with parking inside as well as on the perimeter of the banks of stores. There will also be a valet service and a walkway will link the two centers.

The Shops, which opened in September 2005, is considered one of the city's high-end shopping centers, with both a Nordstrom and a Neiman Marcus. Shoppers walk to the stores in an open-air setting.

The center has been a success among locals, tourists and especially visitors from Mexico, Calvert said, without indicating how much sales have increased in that three-year period. She said the property has "exceeded our expectations."

Officials at USAA Real Estate also are pleased.

"The success of The Shops at La Cantera has certainly resulted in a tremendous amount of interest and demand by other retailers who were not able to locate in the first phase," said USAA Real Estate President and CEO Pat Duncan. "We have been very happy and pleased with the design of the second phase, which will not only meet this demand but create a whole new, exciting experience for shoppers."

Phase two will have a similar look to phase one of The Shops, with tiled roofs, water fountains, trees and soft furniture. But this phase will include office space on the second floor and a 300-foot waterfall.

It's rare in the city to find this much office space in such a large retail environment, Calvert said.

She said the type of tenant that would be ideal for the office space includes service businesses, such as a doctor's office or title company.

Phase two was developed along with phase one, but construction was delayed to evaluate how the first phase did.

For example, when Santikos' Palladium theater went in at The Rim shopping center across the highway, Calvert said, The Shops dropped its own plans for a theater in phase two and added more restaurants.

The bookstore is also expected to do well with male shoppers, who have said in surveys that a bookstore is the one thing that The Shops is missing.

Surveys also revealed that men tend to visit The Shops more than traditional shopping centers.

The center's ambience is one reason men like to come to The Shops, said John Badagliacco, The Shops' senior general manager.

"You always have to start with retail, but what we were able to do is give a unique environment that people can really enjoy in all kinds of weather," he said.