Retail real estate company to develop 3 shopping centers in metro Phoenix
Oct 14, 2021, 7:00 PM | Updated: 9:50 pm
PHOENIX — The owner of numerous shopping centers in metro Phoenix plans to add three more to the Valley after a decade-plus break from ground-up retail development.
Vestar on Tuesday announced two new shopping centers are planned for Queen Creek and one in Peoria, areas that have seen rapid housing growth and expansion.
“We have seen a resurgence of retail like never before,” David Larcher, president & COO of Vestar, said in a press release. “Customer traffic, sales and leasing activity are stronger than pre-pandemic levels.
“These developments will not only bring more jobs, needed services and entertainment to the Queen Creek and Peoria areas, but will also give our tenants the chance to capitalize on the unprecedented growth these communities are experiencing and where the retail infrastructure has not kept pace.”
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Queen Creek Crossing will be located at the northwest corner of Ellsworth and Queen Creek roads on a 31-acre property and feature 300,000 square feet of retail space, according to the release.
Groundbreaking for the shopping center is planned for June of next year with an opening date of March 2023.
The other planned Queen Creek shopping center, named Vineyard Towne Center, is set to begin construction early next year on a 23-acre property at the northwest corner of Gantzel and Combs roads.
The first phase planned is 75,000 square feet filled with a traditional retail mix of shops, services, restaurants and a natural grocer.
The Shops at Lake Pleasant in Peoria will be located on 26 acres purchased from the Arizona State Land Department at Happy Valley Road and Lake Pleasant Parkway, according to the release.
Adjacent to another shopping center owned by the company, Lake Pleasant Towne Center, the new project is set to open late next year and provide 90,000 square feet of retail space.
Vestar also owns Valley shopping centers Tempe Marketplace and Desert Ridge Marketplace, both of which have been upgraded recently.
“For the past several years we strategically held off on developing new projects and put our resources into revitalizing our existing portfolio and responding to current retail trends,” Larcher said in the release.
“We are confident that this is the right time and are the right markets for us to return to our roots as ground up developers.”
The combined development cost of the three new shopping centers is nearly $90 million, according to the release.
