In late August, someone visiting Foothill Ranch Towne Centre saw demolition tractors moving around the empty theater building. Patch reported it that week and noted that the visitor had "mixed feelings" about the work. The building last showed films in September 2024, according to the Orange County Register, after years as a Regal and then a Cinemark. A Costco is going up in its place.
The theater is one of four large chain spaces in Lake Forest to close since 2024 and line up a new tenant. None became another destination like the theater. Each was taken over by a store you visit to get things done: a thrift store, a grocer, an off-price retailer and a warehouse club. Lake Forest's shopping centers are refilling their big boxes with errands.
Four Dark Storefronts and Their New Tenants
| Center | Former tenant | New tenant | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foothill Ranch Towne Centre | 99 Cents Only | Goodwill of Orange County | Opened November 2025 |
| Lake Forest Town Center, 22631 Lake Forest Drive | 99 Cents Only | Fresh Choice Marketplace | Open as of October 19, 2026 |
| Hunter Court Shopping Center, 24372 Rockfield Blvd. | CVS | Burlington | Ribbon cutting September 25, 2026 |
| Foothill Ranch Towne Centre, 26602 Towne Centre Drive | Regal/Cinemark theater | Costco | Under construction, summer 2027 expected |
The two old 99 Cents Only stores show how differently the same kind of space can be reused. At Foothill Ranch Towne Centre, the 20,000-square-foot store became the 25th store and donation center for Goodwill of Orange County, the Register reported in November 2025. The one at Lake Forest Town Center became Fresh Choice Marketplace. In its October 19 Status Update column, the Register described an international grocer selling food "from all over the world," including halal meats, breads and produce. Its only other store is at 440 South Anaheim Hills Road in Anaheim Hills.
Burlington took over the former CVS at Hunter Court. The Lake Forest Chamber of Commerce held its ribbon cutting on September 25, 2026, Patch reported, and the store sells housewares, apparel and more at 24372 Rockfield Blvd.
The first three replacements are about the same size as the stores they replaced. The fourth is much bigger, and it brings the most change to the parking lot around it.
The Old Theater Becomes the Biggest Errand in Town
According to the Planning Commission staff report from February 5, 2026, the Costco warehouse totals 165,068 square feet. That includes a 3,773-square-foot entrance canopy, and the building is capped at 34 feet tall. Today, the closest Costco to the site is about 6.6 miles away at 115 Technology Drive in Irvine, the report says. For households in Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills, that drive gets much shorter.
The plans describe what will be inside:
- A pharmacy, optical exams and sales, and a hearing center
- Hot and cold food preparation, plus alcohol sales for off-site consumption
- A tire sales and installation area of about 5,065 square feet, with five service bays facing east
- A vehicle display area under the entrance canopy
- Part of the parking lot set aside for seasonal sales, with Christmas trees given as the example
The list leaves out a gas station. An earlier project summary included one, but the formal application filed May 27, 2025 did not, the Register reported at the time. The approved project lists a warehouse and tire center only.
The staff report lists typical Costco hours as 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekdays, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. Executive members would get in at 9 a.m. every day. The report calls these the company's typical hours, so they describe how Costco usually runs. The city has not set them.
How Approval Played Out
The project got through the city quickly. Costco filed on May 27, 2025. After two rounds of city comments, the Planning Commission approved it on February 5, 2026. An appeal followed on February 19, and the City Council denied it and approved the project on March 17, 2026, according to the city's planning project status report. The Council vote was unanimous, Citizen Portal reported.
The appeal was about trip counts. According to the meeting transcript on CivicSearch, at the March hearing the appellant's representative said the project's vehicle-miles-traveled analysis relied on assumptions that undercounted car trips, and asked the Council to require a new analysis. Public speakers raised more practical concerns. They worried about losing shared parking, longer walks to other businesses in the center, more eastbound traffic on Portola Parkway, and 53-foot trucks coming in by way of Bake Parkway and Alton.
The staff report answers most of those points with specific figures.
- Trucks. Four loading bays sit on the south side of the building, the side closest to SR-241. On a typical weekday, about ten deliveries are expected, mostly outside store hours. Trucks will come up Bake Parkway to Portola Parkway and turn into the site at the Market Place signal.
- Shoppers. Customers will mainly use the existing signals at Towne Centre Drive and Market Place, and at Towne Centre Drive and Entertainment. A traffic study by Kittelson and Associates, prepared for Costco, concluded that no roadway or turn-pocket changes are needed. Costco still agreed to help pay for traffic-signal monitoring and operations equipment near the project.
- Parking. All Phase 4 tenants at Foothill Ranch Towne Centre share one parking supply. The plan cuts it from 2,512 stalls to 2,068, and 913 of those sit on Costco's own parcel. Code requires 1,994 spaces with Costco in place.
The parking figure is the one regular Towne Centre shoppers will notice most. The center loses 444 stalls even as it adds its busiest tenant, which leaves 74 spaces above the code minimum.
The Months Before Summer 2027
The city's October 2026 Economic Development e-newsletter says the site is under construction and Costco is expected to open in summer 2027. It also says the rest of Foothill Ranch Towne Centre stays open throughout construction. A city announcement after the Planning Commission vote mentioned a goal of opening by the end of this year. The summer 2027 date is newer and replaces it.
Several road projects will overlap with construction, and some are on the routes the Costco trucks will use. The city's Winter 2026/27 Leaflet gives the schedule:
- El Toro Road corridor. New raised medians, updated signal equipment, landscaping and resurfacing, with completion expected in early 2027.
- Zone D slurry seal. A protective coating for neighborhood streets, expected to finish before the holiday season.
- Bake Parkway resurfacing. Covers parts of Bake Parkway along with Normandale Drive and Regency Lane, and is expected to start in late 2026 or early 2027.
Bake Parkway is the first leg of the planned Costco truck route, so new pavement there should arrive around the same time as the new warehouse.
The same Leaflet, which notes a Costco opening in summer 2027, also marks the city's 35th anniversary on December 20, 2026. The city's Tree Lighting Ceremony comes first, on December 12. The Leaflet's anniversary timeline includes the 2014 opening of Lake Forest Sports Park. When the city turns 36 next year, it is expected to have a Costco about six miles closer than the nearest one today, on the lot where Foothill Ranch's movie theater used to stand.
If you own a home in Foothill Ranch, Portola Hills or elsewhere in Lake Forest and want to know how buyers are likely to see a warehouse club opening down the road, the team at Tim Smith Real Estate Group can walk you through it based on your street and your property. Request a Home Valuation to start with a clear picture of what your home is worth today.
