Making Dollars and Sense of Placemaking Begins with Market Insight

The land that is becoming Downtown Eastvale, CA, was once home to dairy farms and open fields. Today, it’s poised to transform into the city’s civic and commercial heart — a place where residents can gather, shop, dine, and celebrate community.

This image is from the City of Eastvale, CA, website. Click image to learn more about the project.

Hoffman Strategy Group partnered with The New Home Company to bring market realities into the Leal Master Plan Update — a 200-acre plan that identifies a vibrant civic center and Downtown Eastvale. Our role was to assess retail, dining, and mixed-use potential by analyzing demographic trends, spending patterns, and regional competition. We looked at how the right mix of uses could anchor a true “downtown” experience while positioning Eastvale to capture consumer spending that currently leaves the city.

At a high-level, we provided a development strategy that followed this analytics-driven process:

• Defined a geographic trade area informed from mobile movement patterns

• Modeled household growth and income at the neighborhood level

• Measured demand across retail, restaurants, and services relative to supply

• Projected sales performance to guide a viable tenant mix for a new downtown core aligned with market conditions

• Evaluated civic use impact on foot traffic and sales performance

• Benchmarked development strategies against comparable downtown areas in Claremont and Temecula

The result was a development strategy The New Home Company used in negotiations with the City of Eastvale—ultimately approved in 2022:

• 52-acre downtown core

• 595,000 SF of commercial space

• 660 apartment

• A civic center (city hall, library, police station, fire station)

• 2,500 surrounding single-family and townhome units

The outcome is a plan that balances vision with economic sustainability — ensuring the right uses, the right scale, and the right timing. By aligning civic space, commercial activity, and residential growth, Downtown Eastvale is set to become a regional destination and a source of community pride.

At Hoffman Strategy Group, we believe placemaking should always be grounded in an understanding of people, commerce, and place. That’s how you create places that work — places that make both dollars and sense.

About Hoffman Strategy Group
We advise developers, land- and property-owners, cities, economic development groups, and investors nationwide on how to position land for long-term value. Our work spans downtowns, mixed-use districts, retail hubs, and community cores—helping projects succeed by aligning vision with the market.

Reach out to Jerry Hoffman, Dan Sheridan, or Jeff Green to explore how we can support your next development strategy.