by Ioanna Magiati, Architect Partner | AO
For much of the past decade, the commercial real estate industry has talked about what aging malls and underperforming retail properties could become. Today, many of those ideas are moving from master plans and renderings into entitlements and construction. That shift marks a new phase for retail repositioning. The forces behind it are familiar: changing shopping habits, the decline of traditional department stores, rising demand for housing and a growing need for places that offer more than a single use. What has changed is the industry’s understanding of how these projects work in practice. JLL’s “Retail Market Dynamics Q1 2026” reported that 2.6 million square feet of retail...
by Gail Kalinoski | Commercial Property Executive
VAC Development has broken ground on The Cliff, a $100 million office-to-retail project in the Green Valley Ranch section of Henderson, Nevada. In August, a joint venture led by VAC Development acquired and recapitalized the project, which will transform a 10-acre, 100,000-square-foot, two-building office property into an open-air retail, dining and entertainment destination. Delivery to tenants is targeted for the second quarter of 2027.
by Steven Sharp | Urbanize LA
The 13,000sf retail center should be completed in Spring 2027. Nine months after commencing construction in earnest, concrete work and wood framing are taking shape for the Culver Commons project. Located along the north side of the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Centinela Avenue, the completed project will include 13,000 square feet of restaurant space accompanied by parking for 145 vehicles. AO is serving as architect of record for the project, a representative of Regency Centers indicated earlier this year.
by CBS News
Surf's up in southern Placer County as plans to build a new inland surfing resort near Roseville have now been approved. Chris and Andrea Gallardo are the founders of Alchemy Surf Resort, an action sports business that's proposed to be built in the Placer One neighborhood just north of Roseville, near Foothills and Sunset boulevards. Plans call for creating a 5-acre lagoon where people can surf on artificially created waves. "There are about 25 different wave types, so we can create a wave one hour for a beginner and the next hour can be an advanced wave," Chris said.
by Zweig List
R.D. Olson Construction, a leading general contractor with expertise in the hospitality space, broke ground on Senoa Resort & Spa, a quiet 70-key luxury wellness resort spanning 11.5 acres in Sedona, Arizona. The $116 million villa-style resort immerses guests within desert and creekside scenery while being minutes away from downtown Sedona. “We intentionally selected Senoa’s location so that guests could experience all of Sedona’s natural wonders right at their doorstep,” said Bill Wilhelm, president and CEO of R.D. Olson Construction.
by Brannon Boswell | CoStar News
For decades, the three-story Bloomingdale's building at Santa Monica Place helped anchor one of Southern California's highest-profile shopping spots, drawing customers to apparel, cosmetics and luxury goods a block from the Pacific Ocean. Today, the building is being reinvented for a very different purpose. Fitness International has opened a 48,000-square-foot Club Studio fitness club on the ground floor, while the upper levels are being converted into a children's museum.
By Bruce Greenfield, Partner, AO
A world-class wave is the reason a surf destination exists. It is the heart of the experience and the thing that makes everything else possible. But a great wave alone doesn’t make a great destination. As the surf park industry matures, our opportunity is expanding beyond creating exceptional places to surf. We are creating places where people stay, eat, gather, train, shop, live, celebrate and return, including many people who may never paddle out.
By Cecilio Padilla | CBS NEWS
A new Whole Foods Market opens Wednesday in Elk Grove, giving the grocery chain its fourth location in the Sacramento area. The 43,000-square-foot store at Elk Grove and Big Horn boulevards will open at 9 a.m. on its first day. Regular hours will be from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Whole Foods says the Elk Grove store will carry more than 1,500 products from California-based suppliers. The location also includes a bakery, hot food and salad bars, meat and seafood counters and a specialty cheese department.
by Mike Boyd | ConnectCRE
Developer NewQuest announced that a 148,000-square-foot Target store at Texas Heritage Marketplace will open on October 11. It will be one of many popular outlets in the planned 800,000-square-foot retail center. Newquest says it’s investing over $400 million into the center. A Lowe’s and Sam’s Club will join Target as anchor tenants. The Houston Business Journal reports that earlier this year, NewQuest broke ground on the shopping center’s multitenant retail component. It will include 100,021 square feet of junior anchor space, as well as 35,000 square feet of restaurant- and spa- and fitness-related retail, with 5 acres of green space to be called Heritage Grove.
by Steven Sharp | Urbanize LA
Just off of Hawthorne Boulevard in Torrance, framing is complete for a new multifamily residential complex from Bay Area real estate development firm Legacy Partners. Soto Del Amo, which broke ground last year at 3863 Carson Street, is being developed through a joint venture with DWS Group. The new five-story building will contain 200 studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments, accompanied by 440 parking spaces in a six-level garage when complete.
by Urbanize SF
Community Development Partners has announced the closing of Canvas, a new affordable housing complex in the City of Fremont. The five-story development, which will rise across the street from the Fremont Hub Shopping Center at 39340 Fremont Boulevard, calls for a blend of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, including 15 units reserved for individuals or families with disabilities. The apartments are to be set aside for renters earning between 30 and 70 percent of the area median income level. AO is designing the project, which is depicted in a rendering as a contemporary low-rise building. Plans call for two courtyards, meeting spaces, a clubhouse, and a fitness room.
by Joseph Pimentel | Orange County Business Journal
A $175 million affordable housing project is coming to Tustin Legacy. The Irvine Company and Roseville-based USA Properties Fund have broken ground on Terracina at Tustin Legacy, a 338-unit apartment community that officials say will provide much-needed housing for lower-income families in one of Orange County’s most expensive housing markets. The project will include two four-story residential buildings wrapped around a parking structure, USA Properties President Geoff Brown told the Business Journal. Leasing will begin in the second half of 2028 while construction is expected to be completed in 2029, officials said.
by GlobeNewswire
AO, a leading full-service architecture firm, earned a record-setting Grand Awards and 24 Merit Awards at the 63rd Annual Gold Nuggets, one of the building industry's largest and most prestigious design programs. First recognized by the Gold Nuggets in 1981, AO's latest honors reflect a legacy of enduring design excellence and the firm's continued commitment to creating distinctive, human-centered environments. “24 awards across 16 categories is a tremendous honor,” said RC Alley, managing partner at AO. “These awards recognize great design, but what they really represent are the relationships behind every development. We're fortunate to work with clients who trust us with their vision and challenge us to do our best work. Just as...
by Modern Home Builders
For more than 50 years, AO has collaborated with developers, brands, and retailers to deliver thoughtful architectural solutions that balance creativity with commercial success. Built on a belief in the power of relationships, the firm leverages deep industry expertise to create impactful projects across sectors including multifamily, retail, hospitality, healthcare, industrial, and public infrastructure. Founded in 1992, Shopoff Realty Investments specializes in unlocking the potential of underutilized and undervalued real estate.
by Patrick Sisson | New York Times
As housing remains scarce and increasingly expensive, cities and states across the country have been looking for ways to help essential workers like educators afford to live near where they work. Assistance and allowances toward housing, grants on down payments and rents at below-market rates are just some of those solutions. School districts in California, Texas and Florida are among those actively pursuing developers to turn their excess land and unused or underutilized facilities into subsidized housing. The partnerships differ by state and district, depending on property taxes, tax incentives and financing, but the developer is typically responsible for construction and other upfront costs while schools provide the land.
by Colby Smith | Secret Houston
Houston-based NewQuest Properties is transforming the West Katy and Fulshear area with the $400 million Texas Heritage Marketplace. Located at I-10 and Texas Heritage Parkway, this massive 165-acre project will bring 750,000 square feet of retail, dining, and healthcare space, plus future apartments. It is designed to serve the rapidly expanding populations of nearby neighborhoods like Jordan Ranch, Cross Creek Ranch, and Tamarron. Situated at a highly visible intersection in Waller County (within Katy’s extraterritorial jurisdiction), the development will directly benefit from a planned $320 million expansion of Interstate 10. This freeway widening will ease traffic and significantly improve access for visitors traveling from Katy, Fulshear, Brookshire, and surrounding areas.
by AO
Set against the expansive backdrop of Utah's Wasatch Front, Mountain View Village is a vibrant mixed-use development shaped by a landscape-driven vision in which outdoor space establishes identity, structure, and social energy. Leading multidisciplinary design firm AO Architects provided master planning, architecture, landscape architecture, and specification services for a landscape that does more than support the program; it defines how people arrive, move, gather, and remain, creating a destination that feels active, welcoming, and deeply connected to its community.
by Taylor Larsen | Utah Construction + Design
MILLHAUS, designed by AO and built by RVC Construction, appeared “fashionably late” to the city’s ongoing development party when it completed in November 2025. But “fashionable” is the wrong word to describe this multifamily project—this one is anything but trendy. Its arrival in Millcreek is most welcome for just how timeless and unique it appears inside and out, creating a standout apartment building that architecturally elevates the growing community.
by Mutual Housing California
Mutual Housing, a leading developer and manager of affordable housing properties in Northern California, announced its partnership with AO, Guerdon, and Brown Construction to deliver five zero net energy modular housing communities through 2028. With projects located in Sacramento, Solano, Yuba, and San Joaquin counties, this first-of-its-kind partnership will deliver over 580 units of affordable housing, bringing significant relief to Northern California’s housing shortage.
by Jess Ponting | Surf Park Central
What does it take to build the first Wavegarden Cove in the United States and America’s first truly urban surf park? In this special Surf Park Summit session, the team behind Atlantic Park Surf pulls back the curtain on one of the most ambitious surf park developments ever attempted. Located in the heart of Virginia Beach and backed by local developers alongside Virginia Beach-born music icon Pharrell Williams, Atlantic Park is a mixed-use destination that combines surfing, hospitality, residential real estate, retail, entertainment, and public gathering spaces into a single vision for the future of urban placemaking.