Aging Hilltop Center Now a Terraced Complex

The transformation of what was once known as the Harbor Heights shopping center in Rancho Palos Verdes shows just how extensive the recycling of commercial properties can sometimes be.

Opened more than 30 years ago, the small, strip shopping center was the first major center on the peninsula side of Western Avenue. Tucked on top of a hill and hidden from motorists, it consisted of 10 tenants.

In August, 1987, a Denver-based company, Wickliff Development Co., began transforming the aging center, carving out the hillside in front of the existing stores to make way for two additional tiers, each with rooftop parking. An estimated 155,000 cubic yards of earth were excavated from the site, most of which was hauled to a nearby undeveloped park, from where much of it originally had come.

It was announced in September, 1987, that the project would be completed the following spring. It was actually completed about a year after that, and cosmetic work and leasing efforts are still under way.

In June, 1988, Wickliff sold the center to Burton Properties Trust Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of The Burton Group PLC, a British conglomerate. In November, 1988, the company purchased Torrance’s Old Towne Mall and is renovating it.

The center’s three tiers include about 185,000 square feet of retail space. The number of stores has been more than quadrupled. A multiscreen movie theater in space formerly occupied by a jewelry store opened last spring.

According to Burton Properties, nearly 90% of the space at the center, now called The Terraces, is rented out. The company is confident the remaining 25,000 square feet will be occupied by the time a grand opening is held in May.

Rancho Palos Verdes officials are hopeful the center will serve as a catalyst for other commercial redevelopment along Western Avenue--redevelopment that already appears to be under way.

“The area really has been upgraded in the past few years,” said Laurie Jester, a city planner. “We have really seen a lot of new things going in there.”

George Krikorian, who owns the center’s new theater, said he was attracted to the center because of its location and the absence of any other indoor theaters nearby. “The Terrace is the doorstep to San Pedro and the east side of the peninsula,” he said. “It is somewhat of a pocketed community, geographically.”

Antonella Ouaddi, whose father, Joseph, has operated the Portofino Italian market and restaurant at the center for four years, said times were sometimes tough during the center’s renovation. Business dropped, and the family had to pay for valet service for a year when the parking lot was overtaken by construction work.

“We stuck it out because we are a family business,” she said. “We kind of pulled together and tightened our belts.”

Now that the renovation is complete, business is starting to pick up again, she said. But her family is uncertain if the renovation will translate into a lot of new business.

“We really haven’t said, ‘Wow, now it’s booming.’ ”