Caruso Affiliated has made a major commitment to development in California. The Los Angeles-based company has $1 billion in new projects under development in the state. There are six projects in the program, making it among the largest ground-up development programs in the country, according to company President and CEO Rick Caruso.

Caruso Affiliated's The Americana at Brand in Glendale, California, will have 475,000 square feet of retail, restaurants and entertainment space, 100 condominiums and 238 apartments.

For its latest projects, Caruso has spread its wings past the Los Angeles market. Though five of the projects are located in the L.A. area, one is located in the San Francisco market. While several of the projects will be landmark developments like The Grove, the company's well-known development located adjacent to the Los Angeles Farmers Market, several will be smaller, infill projects that pay special attention to serving an area's specific needs.

"It all comes down to great real estate," says Caruso. "It's the right demographics and location. It's all the basic principles. I would much rather be a settler than a pioneer; we want to go into areas that are already mature but that have opportunities for us."

The first of the new projects to open will be Caruso's third project in the Thousand Oaks area. The Lakes at Thousand Oaks is currently under construction adjacent to an existing civic arts center, helping to create a town center for the suburban downtown. The Lakes, set on 7.5 acres, will add 50,000 square feet of restaurants and retail.

In Marina del Rey, the company is redeveloping Marina Waterside, which will open in October. Offering 130,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, Marina Waterside has been designed using Mediterranean architecture to capture the seaside feel of the project. Outdoor dining areas and plaza space will dominate a large part of the project.

Caruso's projects bring retail where it is needed most; but they don't bring it in a typical manner. A lot of attention is paid to detail; and a lot of attention is paid to the market.

"It is a function of having a lot of people who are well educated and have earning power and who typically have nowhere to go that's very nice to shop," says Caruso. "We have also been careful to bring sophistication and luxury to our projects, no matter who the tenants are. It's free to walk on to our properties. There are people who walk on our properties who are accustomed to having luxury, and then there are those to whom free services are a welcome pleasure and a treat."

Treating the customer right and creating a great place have led to success for all of Caruso's projects. Sales growth in all of the company's properties in 2004 were in the double digits. Some retailers even experienced sales growth as high as 40 percent. With figures like that, it is no wonder that Caruso has never sold a property that it has developed and has no plans to.

Caruso Affiliated's next large scale development will be in Glendale, California, where the company is developing a mixed-use project downtown that will have some entertainment and, as Caruso says, "Grove-like components." The Americana at Brand will have 475,000 square feet of retail, restaurants and entertainment space, 100 condominiums and 238 apartments. Built on 15.5 acres, the centerpiece is a 3-acre park that will be programmed with events and performances.

"Because of the success of the park at The Grove, we are expanding the size of the park in Glendale," says Caruso.

After a significant court battle, the road has been cleared for the Glendale development and site work has begun. Caruso plans to open the $264 million project in fall 2006.

On a smaller scale in Playa Vista, near Marina del Rey, Caruso is developing a new town center project with retail and apartments. The $140 million project will contain 195,000 square feet of neighborhood retail and 175 apartments. Entitlements and designs are underway. Caruso expects construction to begin during the first quarter of 2006.

In Arcadia, California, the company is developing a large-scale retail project adjacent to Santa Anita Park, a racing track. Developed on 85 acres, the project will have between 600,000 and 1 million square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space.

Caruso's The Lakes at Thousand Oaks is currently under construction in Thousand Oaks, California. Located adjacent to an existing civic arts center, the development will help to create a town center for the suburban downtown.

Caruso also is developing a major project in Albany, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company plans to develop between 600,000 and 800,000 square feet of retail on 45 acres near Golden Gate Fields, also a racetrack. Entitlements and design are underway for this project as well, with an anticipated groundbreaking during 2006.

Because of the company's track record with developments, and because it has followed through on every promise it has ever made to a community, entitlements are coming easier for its projects. Communities actually try to lure Caruso to their sites, and are very welcoming if the company shows interest.

"Like any good business, you listen to and follow your customer," says Caruso. "That's all we're doing. They know that they are going to get a nice product. Neighborhoods are very welcome to us. It has been a lot easier for us in our last few deals to get community support."

The current pipeline of six projects will carry the company through 2008, says Caruso. Already, though, the company is planning its next developments.

To accommodate all this expansion, Caruso Affiliated has hired a lot of new employees over the last few years. The company currently has more than 100 people just on the development side of the business. It is still hiring too, at all different levels - especially in leasing, design and architecture and operations. The company looks for creative people who think outside the normal possibilities for retail centers. Employees are often charged with carrying out new ways of doing tasks.

"We've committed to putting the resources that we need in order to achieve our growth," says Caruso. "We have unlimited growth opportunities; a lot of people, cities and tenants are looking to have our product, so we have to grow smart, and that requires good people."

Caruso is still committed to building projects with a great look. The company isn't sacrificing any quality because it has a large number of projects in development. Caruso's in-house design team, led by Senior Vice President Dave Williams, makes extensive studies of elements that the company has identified as key to creating great pedestrian and retail streets, and then incorporates them into the designs. It also makes exhaustive searches for the right materials and finishes to create the rich environments that are a hallmark of Caruso projects.

"We're obviously working a bit harder, but we've got a lot of new, smart people that have come into the fold to help," says Caruso. "Each project is unique and each project has a lot of detail. We are enhancing the quality of our projects on all levels. My direction to the company is that each project needs to be better than the last one."

Caruso Affiliated is in the middle of negotiations for new developments that will take the company to 2010 and beyond. Caruso says his chief problem with regard to choosing new projects is that so much of what he sees is not a good fit for the company.

"We are experiencing no shortage of business," says Caruso. "We are turning a lot of business down that we don't think is right for us; where we don't think the real estate is strong."

With the success of its existing projects, Caruso Affiliated Holdings has the financial backing to get new projects in the pipeline, and to get its existing pipeline done. Caruso may expand beyond California in the future. It has looked at projects in Nevada and in the Chicago area.

"I'm not worried if we are the biggest," says Caruso. "I'm worried whether we are consistently the best at what we do. If we continue to do what's best in the industry, then we will grow naturally."