The Streets of Brentwood Shopping Center Strives to Be Good Corporate Citizen and Develops Reputation as Family Destination

February 10, 2010

“This is a growing community,” says General Manager Tracey Nobil. “It’s a perfect opportunity for all of us to grow together and we are becoming more integral to the Brentwood residents.”

The Streets of Brentwood, owned by Continental Real Estate, is located in Brentwood, CA in the northern area of the state. It was one of the only shopping centers in the country to open in the fall of 2008 and Nobil says that, rather than being a daunting economic time to open a retail center, she has seen it as an opportunity to serve her community.

“This has been a very interesting time to open because we’ve had an immediate opportunity to find out what does work for our residents and what they’re looking for,” she says. For example, the outdoor lifestyle center opened without developing all of its property, waiting for better economic times. So, rather than letting the open space sit vacant, they’ve turned it into soccer fields and ice arenas.

Not coincidentally, they were voted the best shopping center and the best place to bring a visitor in 2009.

Recently, they also added a new play area, which Nobil says brings even more families to the center. The play area was designed, manufactured and installed by PLAYTIME, LLC.

“It opened in November and even as I was watching PLAYTIME install the animals in their spots, we had kids running over to pet them,” says Nobil. “From that moment, I’ve had parents coming to take pictures of their kids on the animals. We get complements all the time.”

To further inspire community interaction – and perhaps traffic at the center – Nobil is planning to launch a website where parents can post pictures of their children in the play area. Once a month, the center will pick the cutest picture and that family will receive free tickets to the center’s state-of-the-art digital movie theater.

Retailers at The Streets of Brentwood also hold quarterly events in which a percentage of all sales are donated to organizations that serve important causes in the area.

Is there any proof that these tactics have helped the shopping center succeed in these tough economic times?

“By spring, we will have eight new stores and restaurants opening,” says Nobil. “In this economy, I think that’s pretty exciting.”