Owners of The Source expect a soft opening by year’s end.
Large “For lease” and “Coming soon” banners still decorate the $325 million, 500,000-square-foot entertainment complex at Beach Boulevard and Orangethorpe Avenue, but after years of waiting for an unveiling, the restaurants and the CGV Cinemas on the third level are expected to open late in the fourth quarter, said Ruben Lopez, Buena Park’s economic development coordinator.
“The whole face of retail, of destination centers, everything is changing so rapidly,” said Katie Wanamaker, vice president at Greenland Property Management, which oversees The Source. “I know that’s why we’ve been late in opening. … People want experiences, to go to a destination where they hang out all day, eat, drink, be entertained, be able to experience things with other people.
“Everything’s changing so quickly that we’ve had to keep up with it,” Wanamaker said. “If we’re going to open, we’ve got to do it right.”
An announcement of which restaurants will open at The Source should come about two months before patrons can walk the state-of-the-art complex, Lopez said. The theater, which is still under construction, will feature at least one 4D auditorium with motion chairs and environmental effects such as wind, rain and scents.
In the meantime, the property manager is accepting tenant applications for The Source’s nearly 100 retail stores. Tenants that already have leases are building their fronts, Lopez said. Details were not given.
“It’s going to be unbelievable,” Mayor Fred Smith said of The Source. “It’s something we’ve never had in the city. Very exciting.”
Accompanying the retail levels is a five-story office tower. A parking structure off Beach already is completed.
A 175-room Hilton, at Orangethorpe and Brenner Avenue, will be completed in 16 months, Lopez said. Once finished, the developer will then likely submit plans for an adjacent 700-unit residential complex.
The Source is part of a complete revamp of the city’s entertainment corridor.
A butterfly pavilion will soon replace the old Movieland Wax Museum and a Porto’s Bakery is expected to open along Beach later this year.
Construction soon will begin on a 10-story Hotel Stanford and a five-story Aloft Hotel near Knott’s Berry Farm.
“Almost all other cities,” Smith said, “are envious of all that’s going on here.”
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