Irvine Co. Plans to Vary Makeup of Shopping Centers

In a bold departure from its conservative leasing practices, the Irvine Co. plans to experiment with a more varied retailing mix in two of the 13 shopping centers it operates in Irvine.

For the first time, the company plans to allow vendors to sell from carts and will lease space to retailers on a temporary, seasonal basis in the Woodbridge and Irvine Marketplace centers, said Frederick O. Evans, president of Irvine Retail Properties Co.

Evans also said he wants more diversification of businesses operating in the centers, even if some of the operations have a greater risk of failure than the major chain operations that the company has favored in the past.

“It is a major change. It is a major focus of mine,” said Evans, who joined the Irvine Co. a month ago after 26 years at the Rouse Co. development firm in Texas.

The company wants to make its centers--typically specialized retail shops clustered around a large supermarket or drug store--into focal points of the communities they serve. It plans to gradually add community meeting rooms and offer more local promotions at its Irvine shopping centers, starting with a citywide Halloween promotion. The company manages 22 centers in Newport Beach, Tustin and Irvine.

The company’s focus on its neighborhood shopping centers comes as the weak economy has stalled development of its regional mall planned for the Irvine Spectrum business park.

Evans said, however, that the company would announce plans for the opening of three stores within the next 90 days that would be situated along the San Diego Freeway in the Irvine Spectrum area, though not part of a new mall. Evans did not say what type of stores are planned.