Pomona shopping center lands tenant

A popular department store chain will soon locate at the Rio Rancho Towne Center in Pomona.
Ross Dress for Less, the off-price chain that sells clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture and jewelry, has signed a lease and is putting the finishing touches on its space there, said Raymond Fong, Pomona’s deputy city manager.
Several other retailers, including City Wear, Panda Express and Farmer Boys, have also signed leases to locate at the project, though it’s not clear when they will move in, Fong said.
Ross Dress for Less is expected to move in this spring, Fong said.
“This is a great thing for Pomona,” Fong said of Rio Rancho, which is being developed by Upland-based Lewis Retail Centers at the 71 Freeway and Rio Rancho Road in the southwest part of the city. “It’s especially good for that part of the city, which is underserved by retail.”
Rio Rancho got off the ground in October, when Target opened there. Since then virtually all of the project’s retail pads have leased, and Lewis Retail has started the process for a second phase: it has bought two parcels across the street that were once occupied by automobile dealerships.
Securing Target was a major boost for the city, and not just because it replaced much of the sales tax revenue that went away when the pair of auto dealerships closed.
“It gives a boost of confidence to the other businesses in that part of the city,” Fong said. “It will help the Walmart that is down there. It shows that businesses aren’t running away from Pomona, they’re coming to Pomona.”
No timetable has been set for construction of Rio Rancho’s second phase, which is has just started its entitlement process. The first phase is expected to generate between $450,000 and $500,000 a year in sales tax revenue for the city, Fong said.