Torrance, CA
Village Del Amo
2025
by DJM Capital Partners
Two longtime restaurant pad buildings, both closed by the pandemic,
rebuilt as new construction with outdoor dining and play areas built-in from the start.
The Problem :
Two longtime restaurant tenants in freestanding pad buildings closed during the pandemic along "Restaurant Row" at Village Del Amo.
Both buildings were structurally poor fits for the next tenant, as they stood —
outdated, inflexible, and not built for how people wanted to eat out and gather present day.
The loss of these two restauranteurs was more than a loss of rental revenue. It represented the loss of the last active operators along the "Restaurant Row" that used to drive consistent traffic to the property, while few new customers were finding compelling reasons to visit a property that hadn't had significant investment in many years and was tired compared to strong and vibrant local retail competition.
Two pandemic closures,
two buildings that didn't fit what came next
Rather than simply re-lease the pandemic-vacated pad buildings in their existing form, the plan was to rebuild them from scratch — designed around how people actually wanted to eat out and gather afterward, and timed to open alongside the broader refresh already underway elsewhere on the property.
The
: Strategy
Rebuild from the ground up, not re-lease as-is
Ground-Up
Rebuild
Two new buildings were planned
and entitled in place of the old pads — more flexible space, better demising,
as well as outdoor dining , and play areas built in from the start.
The Improvements:
Two new buildings,
Both built for modern tastes
The old buildings were demolished
and new tenants were lined up during entitlements and construction, while coordinating tenant improvements seamlessly,
decreasing the time the pads sat empty to the absolute minumum.
Fast Demolition
to Opening Turnaround
Sequenced with the Rest of the Renovation
The construction work was timed alongside
a new grocery anchor addition,
the construction of a new office building onsite,
as well as the addition of refreshed signage, exterior paint, parking lots, and landscaping already completed at the property,
so the completion of these buildings
and the tenants within them,
completed a total refresh
of the overall shopping center.
The Results:
From vacant pads to the property's most active corner
The two pandemic-vacated pad sites went from a liability to the property's most active gathering space,
with outdoor dining and play areas giving families a reason to stay longer.
That result holds up on its own — and the timing makes it even stronger:
this work opened inside a property that was simultaneously getting a new grocery anchor, refreshed signage, and a sitewide aesthetic upgrade, so the finished impression reads as more than the sum of its parts and the financial health of the property and its valuation appraisal reflect that incredible coordination across the board.
