31100 - 31176 Hawthorne Boulevard, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

The Palos Verdes peninsula, with its high-end homes and golf course communities, is highly selective about the development projects it allows. As such, the Golden Cove Shopping Center in the area's affluent enclave of Rancho Palos Verdes stands as a testament to the effectiveness of Maxxam's hands-on development approach.

When Maxxam planned the renovation of the existing Golden Cove Shopping Center structures - one of which was a single-story anchor space, and the other a 2-story building with office space above the retail - the proposed project was initially met with resistance. Maxxam proposed keeping the 2 pad buildings that housed long-standing and popular restaurants, Admiral Risty and the Golden Lotus, while adding 3 additional pad buildings fronting the ocean. In addition, the revised design included building large patios on the ocean side to take advantage of spectacular views. This plan pleased community skeptics and proved to be a significant enhancement to future tenants including Starbucks and Subway.

Seeing the need for additional community outreach, Maxxam principals personally appeared at numerous public hearings and committee meetings. This type of direct involvement is one of Maxxam's core business strategies, and the time and effort the principals invested and the in-depth knowledge they demonstrated paid off. The community embraced the plan and the city council granted approval for the $4 million renovation. Today, the Golden Cove Shopping Center is a first-class center and a top shopping destination for the local community.