The open-air center on City Center Drive has a new owner and a shorter name. Stockdale Capital Partners led the purchase of The Shoppes at Chino Hills, with funds managed by Hamilton Lane as co-investor, in a deal the firms announced on September 14, 2026, at $157 million. The two firms' figures differ by $1 million. Hamilton Lane's release and the Press-Enterprise both give $157 million, but the headline on Stockdale's own announcement says $156 million. The Press-Enterprise reported a week later that the seller was Dunhill Partners and that the center would now be The Shops at Chino Hills, "dropping a 'p' and 'e.'"
So far the new name is the only real change. Read the buyers' own announcement closely and the parts of the center that fill a resident's week are the parts the buyers listed as reasons to buy it. Whatever Stockdale changes will start in the storefronts that are already empty.
What the buyers say they paid for
The Hamilton Lane release calls the property "a walkable, open-air environment" that "functions as a true community gathering place, offering amenities such as a central promenade, seasonal events, farmers markets, and family-oriented programming." Hamilton Lane's co-head of real estate, Scott Davies, pointed to "the presence of a leading grocery anchor." Stockdale's Bastian Peters described the center as "a true 'Main Street' retail environment."
That is a list of things residents already use. The firms present the promenade, the market and the events as the starting point, and their stated plan builds on top of it. Stockdale's Jeff Bhathal said the goal is to "build upon the property's strong foundation" by attracting "nationally recognized retailers, restaurants, and experiential concepts that are currently underrepresented in the market." The release says more rebranding, remerchandising and repositioning plans will come later.
Stockdale is the fourth owner since the center opened, and the Chino Champion's report on the sale lays out the history:
- May 2008: Opus West finishes The Shoppes at a cost of $130 million, then files for bankruptcy in 2009.
- 2010: A bank group led by Bank of America sells the property to MX3 Ventures of Newport Beach, which raises occupancy from about 70% to 96%.
- 2015: MX3 sells to Dunhill Partners for $147 million.
- September 2026: Dunhill sells to Stockdale for a reported $156 million to $157 million.
Across eighteen years and three sales, the price moved about $26 million to $27 million above what it cost to build. In the one earlier handoff where the record shows a turnaround, the gain came from filling space, as occupancy climbed from roughly 70% to 96%. Filling space is the same job the City says Stockdale described this time.
The weekly routine runs on the same schedule
The center's own listings, now under the new name, show the same recurring schedule:
| Fixture | Where | When |
|---|---|---|
| Heritage Farmers Market | Near The Kickin' Crab and Victoria's Secret | Every Wednesday, 3:30–7:30 p.m., year-round, rain or shine |
| Downtown Art Gallery | Suite 5010, next to The Den Salon | Wednesdays 5–7 p.m., Fridays 6–8 p.m. |
| Wetzel's Pretzel Express | Around the Promenade | Mon–Thu noon–8 p.m., Fri–Sat noon–9 p.m., Sun noon–7 p.m. |
| Trader Joe's | Grocery anchor | Regular store hours |
On Wednesdays the market and the gallery overlap. Market hours run to 7:30, and the gallery in Suite 5010 opens at 5 and closes at 7, so a late-afternoon market trip covers both. The Wetzel's train runs every day of the week. All of these fit the "farmers markets" and "family-oriented programming" the buyers named in their release.
The fall calendar belongs to local partners
The center's fall calendar shows the same thing. Most of its big dates are hosted by local organizations, and the center provides the space:
- Saturday, October 10: The 15th Annual Chino Hills Wine Walk, hosted by the Chino Hills Community Foundation. General admission runs 5–8 p.m. and VIP admission 4–8 p.m., with wine, craft beer, bites from participating restaurants and live entertainment.
- Saturday, October 17: The Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce's 2026 Business Expo, free and open to the public, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Friday, October 30: Trick or Treat, 3–5 p.m., listed on the City of Chino Hills calendar. The center's listing adds costume contests, candy and craft stations, and mobile recreation games.
- Saturday, November 7: A Kids Entrepreneur Fair on City Center Drive and The Promenade, noon to 4 p.m., run in partnership with the Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce.
All October, California Pizza Kitchen is offering a $5 kids' pepperoni jack-o'-lantern pizza, which appears on the center's events page next to the community dates. The posted listings end with the November 7 fair. No December or holiday event has been announced yet, and that first holiday season will be the earliest chance to see how the new owner programs the Promenade.
The Community Foundation and the Chamber run the two biggest fall dates, and the City lists the Halloween afternoon on its own calendar. Programming like this is what the buyers said they were paying for, and organizations outside the ownership group put much of it together.
Where the change will show up first
The real changes will happen in the vacant spaces. In the Champion's report, Chino Hills Community Development Director Nick Liguori said the City had met with the incoming owners and that "they plan to focus on securing tenants for current vacancies and to continue to be involved with the community."
The Champion's report on the pending sale described the center as about 80% occupied after Forever 21 closed in May 2025. That figure is a tenant's estimate, not a current count. The same report singled out Forever 21's former 12,000-square-foot space as a likely target for a national brand. No incoming retailer or restaurant has been named publicly. The Press-Enterprise piece repeats Stockdale's general aim of attracting national brands and lists no leases. That 80% estimate sits well below the 96% MX3 reached before its 2015 sale, and the gap marks the room the new owner has to work with.
Two restaurant spaces show what "coming" looks like at the moment:
Benihana. In May 2026, WhatNow reported that renovation of the former RA Sushi space was expected to finish "this summer." Summer has passed. The center's Benihana listing still reads "Coming Soon," with no opening date. Benihana signed with the previous owner, so its opening will be the first new arrival under the new one, whenever it happens.
Toastique. Announced in June 2025 for 13855 City Center Drive, Suite 3010, with a planned summer 2025 opening, Toastique now has a directory page with posted hours. A "coming soon" listing can take a while to become an open business, and Toastique made that move under Dunhill's ownership.
The property also carries a housing designation that is easy to forget. In 2021, to meet state affordable-housing mandates, the City designated The Shoppes as a mixed-use site allowing 267 housing units on 5.7 acres above retail in the southeastern part of the property. The unused eight-acre parking lot on City Center Drive, next to the Chino Valley Fire District, has 744 units slated. The Champion's report quotes the City as saying there was no current interest in the 267 units and no proposed development on the parking lot. Neither the buyers' release nor the Press-Enterprise story mentions housing.
The two letters
The name change is already done, and it is the one change people have reacted to in public. A Champion opinion column reported the switch to "The Shops" and noted that residents had asked to keep "The Shoppes." The center's website already uses the new name across its homepage, directory and event pages, at the same address, 13920 City Center Drive. The web address still reads shoppesatchinohills.com, so for now the old spelling survives in one place.
Until a new tenant is announced, the clearest signs of the new ownership will be a Benihana opening date, a lease for the former Forever 21 space, and whatever goes up on the December calendar.
If you're a Chino Hills homeowner keeping an eye on how the City Center area takes shape, including the vacancies, the new tenants and the long-standing housing designations on and near the property, Michael and Lisa Mucino at Camden McKay Realty track these local changes closely. Schedule a free neighborhood consultation or sign up for our local market updates, in English or Spanish, and we'll share what we learn as the center's plans become public.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
