Shopping center developer proposes megaproject at Citadel Outlets in Commerce

Move over Disneyland, the city of Commerce might get its own monorail…to shuttle passengers through a massive mixed-use project now on the table.

Shopping center developer Craig Realty Group is planning a major expansion of the Citadel Outlets shopping complex in Commerce that would add three hotels, hundreds of thousands of square feet of retail space and a monorail system, according to Urbanize.

The expansion would add 10 acres to the existing 34-acre property, located at 100 Citadel Drive, north of Interstate 5 near Commerce’s southern border.

Newport Beach-based firm Craig Realty wants to add 160,000 square feet of shops and restaurants in two- and three-story buildings, as well as a 174-room hotel and a 96-room hotel to the main Citadel Outlets site. There would also be 1,618 new parking spaces. There is already a DoubleTree by Hilton hotel on-site.

Just to the south, plans also call for building 70,000 square feet of new retail space, as well as 120,000 square feet of “experiential retail,” and a 150,000-square-foot movie theater, according to Urbanize. The third hotel, this one with 500 rooms, would be located in a 13-story building.

A third, separate area would get restaurants and a new 55,000-square-foot warehouse.

The monorail system would link the areas. It would need approval from the National Transportation Safety Board, and Craig Realty — which has developments across the country — expects the system could be completed by 2024.

Craig Realty wants to start the project with the restaurants area, which it said could open by late 2020.

This would be among the largest constructions in Commerce in recent history. But big-ticket deals did take place last year, mostly in the industrial space. Rexford Industrial Realty paid $121 million in May for a 36-acre distribution center. And Blackstone bought a three-building distribution center in the city for $42 million. [Urbanize] — Dennis Lynch