GardenWalk poised to expand its amenities

The newest owner of Anaheim s GardenWalk, its third in a decade, is hoping a slew of changes and new additions will lead to a level of success that has so far eluded the open-air mall less than a mile from Disneyland. Whittier-based STC Management has signed leases with restaurants that will serve Indian street food, Japanese fusion cuisine, Taiwanese desserts, boba tea and more, company CEO John Hsu said. Also expected to fill out the mail s vacant storefronts: a board game cafe, a bar with arcade games and a year-round haunted house. Hsu is aiming to have many of the incoming businesses open by summer, soon after an AMC theater that closed last year at Downtown Disney opens at GardenWalk on Memorial Day weekend. The already signed leases should bring the mail s occupancy to about 90 percent. We re hoping by the end of the year we should be 100 percent, Hsu said. We re very aggressive. STC which manages commercial propertiebuilding that housed Richard Nixon s first law office bought the struggling GardenWalk in December for $80 million, which Hsu considered a bargain. Originally built for about $130 million, the center reportedly sold for $73 million in 2012 after a bankruptcy. While GardenWalk may not have lived up to its potential yet, Anaheim city spokesman Mike Lyster said, it has done better in the past few years because of the relocation of the House of Blues from Downtown Disney and openings of several other stores and eateries. There s so much potential there and we just want to see the center continue along that path he said of the new ownership. Hsu said when GardenWalk was built, area rents soared and smaller, independent businesses couldn t afford to stay. The corporate chains that came in were attractive mainly to tourists, not drawing the locals looking for something unique. He sees demand there that he hopes to fill with variety, including an array of food and d all ages. Anaheim Councilwoman Lucille Kring, who ran a wine bar at GardenWalk for three years, said what has really hampered the center is that it was terribly designed, leaving tenants who aren t next to the street hidden from view, and the parking structure with limited free parking an annoyance. Her wine bar, a previous movie theater and other businesses closed because customers didn t know they were there, she said, adding, When a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory goes out o