A Hesperia shopping center anchored by a Fresh & Easy supermarket has been sold to an Irvine-based real estate investment trust for $13.5 million, according to a statement.

The 52,000-square-foot Topaz Marketplace, in the 14100 block of Main Street, is three years old and 100 percent occupied. Other tenants include DeVita Dialysis, Wood Grill Buffet and Metro PCS.

The price, coming to $253 per square foot, is considered one of the healthiest of the year for retail properties with a price tag above $10 million, according to Faris Lee Investments, a commercial real estate firm that specializes in retail deals. The price can be traced to the lack of empty storefronts, the location and the fact that the buyer likes the future of Fresh & Easy.

Faris Lee Investments represented buyer, TNP Strategic Retail Trust, and the seller, Culver City-based Hesperia Main Street.

--Jack Katzanek
jkatzanek@Pe.com

Discount store Family Dollar has a 10-year lease on a location on Van Buren Blvd. in Riverside, according to a statement from the commercial real estate company that helped put the deal together.
Family Dollar will take up a 10,000-square-foot site at Van Buren Plaza, which is located on Riverside's west side. They are leasing the store from Tustin-based Kensington Real Estate Group.
The retailer will probably be ready to open for business in late October. The lease is worth about $1 million over its life.
Coreland Cos. represented Kensington, and Family Dollar was represented by Jeffrey Drake and Associates of Westlake Village.

--Jack Katzanek
jkatzanek@PE.com

Seattle-based Nordstrom Inc. announced today that it's more affordable Nordstrom Rack store would open at the Commons at Temecula in spring 2012.

The store will move into a 35,700 square feet space that was occupied by a Linens 'n Things in the shopping center owned by Inland Western Retail Real Estate Trust Inc.

- Kimberly Pierceall
kpierceall@pe.com

Lazy Dog Café will open its second Inland restaurant next year in the Signature Center in Rancho Cucamonga, according to the city's Redevelopment Agency.

The dog-friendly dining chain, founded in 2003, currently operates eight restaurants in Southern California, including one Inland location at Promenade Temecula. The planned Rancho Cucamonga site will be the first in San Bernardino County.

The 7,100-square-foot restaurant is being build from the ground up at the corner of Fourth Street and Buffalo Avenue and will feature an 850-square-foot patio where dogs can dine, too, according to the agency. The company is expected to break ground within the next couple of months, and the restaurant is slated to open sometime in late March or early April.

The new business is expected to create about 120 jobs.

Lazy Dog restaurants, built to resemble a hunting lodge and heavy on dog-related décor, serve up a selection of gourmet pizzas, burgers and sandwiches along with pasta dishes, meatloaf, trout, flatiron steak and other items.

--Tiffany Ray
tray@pe.com

State Compensation Insurance Fund, which offers workers compensation coverage for California companies, will offer a workshop designed to prevent people from being forced to file workers' comp claims.

The state agency's free workshop will be on Oct. 12 at its Inland-area Policy Services Office, 6301 Day Street in Riverside. The event will include how to find safety hazards and fix them and how to tailor safety training for employees. It will also give business owners a better understanding of ergonomics.

The event will begin at 8:30 a.m. and runs until noon. It includes a complimentary breakfast.

To register, contact Sheree Brose at 951-413-5960, or visit the "Safety & Seminars" page at State Fund's website, www.statefundca.com.

--Jack Katzanek
jkatzanek@PE.com

Corona ranks sixth and Murrieta seventh among California cities for homeowners who have converted to solar, according to an industry report this week.

SunRun, a home solar company and PV Solar Report, a solar market information firm, listed the top ten solar cities based on a database of residential rebate reservations received by San Diego Gas & Electric, Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison through August 31, 2011..

The rankings are as follows: San Jose, San Diego, Bakersfield, San Francisco, Fresno, Corona, Simi Valley, Santa Rosa, Murrieta and Lancaster.

--Leslie Berkman
lberkman@pe.com

The Johnny Rockets restaurant in the Shoppes in Chino Hills is taking its dog-friendly mantra a step further: Jen Rudin, co-owner of the franchise with Ken Hamilton, is serving as chairwoman for the inaugural Bark for Life and Family Festival of Chino Valley.

The fundraising event, scheduled for Oct. 15 at the Boys Republic High School in Chino Hills, will offer food and entertainment for humans and their canine companions, including dog sporting events such as a long jump. Funds raised by the Bark for Life event will be used to provide services to local cancer patients and to support community education programs and research.

Rudin and Hamilton, who have dogs of their own, have promoted a dog-friendly atmosphere in their two Inland Johnny Rockets franchises - they also own a Rancho Cucamonga franchise in Victoria Gardens - with dog menus, patio seating for pups and their human dining buddies, pet events and regular talks on pet-related topics. In an interview last year, they said they wanted to be a community resource and gathering place for the pet-loving crowd.

The event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is free for people. Dogs are $20 each; the first 200 to pre-register will get a doggy gift bag and a purple Bark for Life bandana. To register, or for more information, e-mail Jen at bflchinoeventchair@gmail.com.

--Tiffany Ray
tray@pe.com

The experts already are busy prognosticating about what the upcoming holiday shopping season holds for retailers, but what about Halloween?

Not too ghoulish, according to a recent survey by the National Retail Federation. Not only are more consumers looking to have some fright-night fun this year, the percentage of respondents who said they would celebrate the holiday was the highest in the 10-year history of the survey.

And, good news for retailers, consumers said they would also spend more.

In the survey, 69 percent of consumers said they would celebrate Halloween this year,up from 64 percent last year.

More specifically, 44 percent of respondents said they will dress up, up from 40 percent last year, and 15 percent said they'll dress their pets. Half will decorate the house, 34 percent will attend a party, and 74 percent will give out candy.

The average respondent plans to spend $72.31 on costumes, candy and decorations. That's up from $66.28 last year.

Spending on children's costumes alone is expected to jump to $1 billion this year, from $840 million last year. And adults will spend even more on their own look: more than $1.2 billion this year, up from $990 million.

Total Halloween spending is predicted to hit $6.86 billion.

Nearly 9,400 people were surveyed earlier this month by BIGresearch.

--Tiffany Ray
tray@pe.com

Working in real estate used to be golden in Inland Southern California. You could list a property on Monday, sell it on Thursday and take your spouse to dinner to celebrate by Saturday,

Those days are gone, and the dinner is probably a lot less expensive that it was when prices and commissions were peaking, but it looks like job opportunities in real estate for young professionals could be on the upswing. According to the Lusk Center for Real Estate at the University of Southern California, job offers for seniors coming out of the school were more plentiful this year.

Also, students coming out with master's degrees are being offered better money than in 2010, a Lusk Center spokesperson said.

The school knows of 150 job openings to its graduates this spring and summer, a 25 percent increase over last year. Also, the average total compensation package in 2011 was $120,000, and that's a 15 percent increase over the previous year.

Most Lusk Center graduates used to take development jobs, with companies that invested in properties and engineer multi-million dollar deals. These types of jobs fell off sharply when the recession hit, and these are the jobs that are coming back now.

--Jack Katzanek
jkatzanek@PE.com

Two buildings that used to be part of Fleetwood Enterprise's corporate headquarters have been sold to Riverside County, according to a statement from the developer that sold the properties.

CT Realty Investors is selling the two office buildings to the county for $6.6 million, according to a statement. The county will use the 78,116 square feet for its mental health department and for a data center.

Aliso Viejo-based CT Realty Investors bought Citrus Park West from Fleetwood in 2008 and converted the 12-building property, more than 400,000 square feet in all, to a business park suitable for offices, light industrial and distribution. The complex is located near the Van Buren Blvd. exit from Highway 91 in Riverside.

Fleetwood leased part of the campus back in 2008 and 2009 before filing for bankruptcy protection. Over the course of the last few years, CT Realty has invested in new wiring and paving, among other upgrades.

This is the second high-profile sale CT Realty Investors has announced this month. The company is part of a group that sold the 1.3 million square foot distribution center in San Bernardino used by Hewlett Packard last week.

--Jack Katzanek
jkatzanek@PE.com

An Irvine-based pool supply company has agreed to pay almost $500,000 to settle sexual harassment and retaliation charges, according to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Female Hispanic employees at Aqua Tri, a company that supplies pool sanitizing chemicals and other products, charged that two supervisors repeated made sexual advances that included inappropriate touching and pressure for dates and sex. The supervisors, both Hispanic men, also dangled promotions in exchange for sex.

Several of the women complained to upper management, but the complaints were not followed up, according to the statement by the federal agency. Instead, one was demoted and forced to resign, and another was denied overtime work and forced to do demeaning work outside of her job description.Also, several male employees were fired in retaliation for what was perceived as support for the women.

Aqua Tri agreed to settle the charges by paying the women $462,500. The company will also establish better training for supervisors and a working process for dealing with complaints of this nature, including a Spanish-speaking human resources specialist.

--Jack Katzanek
jkatzanek@PE.com

(An email from Kelly Berry, Director of Information Services and Clerk of the Board for the San Bernardino International Airport and the Inland Valley Development Agency)

PRESS RELEASE

At today's closed session meeting executive director Donald L. Rogers submitted his Retirement Letter to the SBIAA Commission and to the IVDA Board. The Retirement Letter was accepted by the SBIAA Commission without any further action and such letter also applies to his retirement from the IVDA. The retirement of Mr. Rogers is effective immediately. Mr. Mike Burrows will remain in his current position as the Assistant Director to oversee the business operations of SBIAA and the IVDA.

SBIAA and the IVDA will pursue the recruitment of an immediate successor to serve as the Executive Director on an interim basis, and SBIAA and the IVDA will thereafter undertake a formal personnel search for a permanent Executive Director on such terms to be later identified based on input from all SBIAA Commission members and IVDA Board members and the interim Executive Director.

In addition, Item No. 6 on this agenda approved a contract with the law firm of Paul Hastings as special litigation counsel after an expedited solicitation process for Mr. Tom O'Brien to assure SBIAA compliance in matters relating to the current investigations.

SBIAA confirms its pledge and commitment as previously made in response to the Grand Jury Report that SBIAA is in the process of reviewing and enforcing all provisions of agreements between SBIAA and Scot Spencer managed companies.