The Rise of Tucson “Power Centers” – Good or Bad?

Tucson Realtor - Michael Krotchie — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:21:22 +0000

In today’s Arizona Daily Star, there is an article about the final gasp of the De Anza Drive-In to make way for another big-box “Power Center”. A short excerpt:

A developer is finalizing a deal to buy the De Anza Drive-In, at 1401 S. Alvernon Way, and has already started marketing it as a retail complex.

Evergreen Development Co. is calling the project De Anza Crossings, a 20-acre retail “power center,” in marketing materials distributed by Picor Commercial Real Estate Services.

Gregg Alpert, Evergreen managing principal, declined to say when he expects the sale to be final, saying only that it would be “later this year.” As far as Alpert knows, De Anza Land and Leisure doesn’t have plans to keep running the theater after the sale, but “we would be open to it,” he said.

The past several years in Tucson has seen a tremendous amount of growth and if you stop and think about it, these commercial “power centers” are fast becoming a mainstay of every burgeoning city. Here’s a list (I typed “short list” at first but then realized my mistake) of “power centers” in the Tucson area.

List of Tucson Power Centers

Rooney Ranch – Located on the SW corner of 1st Avenue and Oracle (technically Oro Valley), Rooney Ranch, developed by Barclay, sits on 65 acres and consists of a Home Depot, Fry’s, Target, Ross, Sport Authority, PetSmart, Office Max, and Starbucks.
Tucson Spectrum, a 1 million square-foot power center at the SW corner of I-19 and Irvington Road. Also developed by Barclay, this power center boasts giants such as Best Buy, J.C. Penney, Sports Authority, Pier 1 Imports, Old Navy, and a Harkins Theatre occupying 620,000 square feet.
Oro Valley Marketplace – Located at Tangerine/Oracle Road and developed by Vestar, Oro Valley Marketplace is 800,000 square feet and features merchants such as a Wal-Mart Supercenter, Best Buy, Century Theatres, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Cost Plus World Market, and a few restaurants to boot.

Upcoming List of Tucson Power Centers

Marana Spectrum – In my previous post I wrote about this development, to be located at the southeast corner of Camino de Manana and Linda Vista Boulevard (east of I-10 between Cortaro and Avra Valley) and will cover nearly 170 acres. Estimated to have roughly 100 stores, Marana Spectrum will carry 3 “anchor stores” of at least 100,000 sqft, making the total square footage approximately equal to that of the Tucson Mall.
Tangerine Crossings – a 1 million-plus square foot project at the NE corner of I-10 and Tangerine Road in Marana being planned by Westcor, developer of La Encantada in the Catalina Foothills. The new Tangerine road (realigned and 4 lanes) is officially set to open June 25, 2008.
De Anza Crossings – 20 acre spread located where the current De Anza Drive-In resides. Projected to be finalized late 2008.
Passages of Tucson – This may stand in category by itself. When (and if) completed, Passages of Tucson will be 4.3 million square feet of retail, commercial, and residential space. Featuring a series of villages, the developer plans on building eight themed areas, grouping similar stores, restaurants, offices and activity centers into one area. The villages would follow a Southwestern motif, incorporating “new urbanism” design principles, with pedestrian-friendly streets and open courtyards. With final buildout not scheduled until 2020 (wow!) it remains to be seen if this behemoth will ever take shape.

I think that growth overall is good for Tucson. The De Anza development will be first power center that actually is built in town, everything on the list above basically sticks to the lifeline of the freeway for traffic flow, and with the limited transportation system in Tucson, there are only a few ways to expand.

What do you readers think? Good or bad?

UPDATE 6/14/2008:

Just read an article in today’s Arizona Daily Star and the De Anza Drive-In is safe for now! The developer as decided not to go ahead with purchase plans!

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Marana Spectrum – A Huge Retail “Power Center” coming in 2010

Tucson Realtor - Michael Krotchie — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:07:31 +0000

Adding to the explosive growth in Marana, AZ is the steady progress of a new 1.3 million square foot retail shopping center dubbed Marana Spectrum. It will be located at the southeast corner of Camino de Manana and Linda Vista Boulevard (east of I-10 between Cortaro and Avra Valley) and will cover nearly 170 acres. Estimated to have roughly 100 stores, Marana Spectrum will carry 3 “anchor stores” of at least 100,000 sqft, making the total square footage approximately equal to that of the Tucson Mall. That’s HUGE! Take a look at the proposed layout below:

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

The ball started rolling about one and a half years ago and plans have been released by the company in charge of the construction of the center (Kimco Developers Inc.). A brief excerpt from their site on what they do:

“Kimco Developers pursues the development of quality open-air retail shopping centers with national tenants, both on our own and through joint ventures with quality developers.

These projects will be supermarket anchored power centers, mixed-use or lifestyle centers.”

What is even more exciting about this center is the fact that it basically ensures a Twin Peaks interchange at I-10. With such a large retail center being built the Town of Marana will finally have to build the interchange that most Continental Ranch residents have been clamoring for over the past five years. It will also alleviate some of the congestion that has been building up during the past few years at the Cortaro Road interchange and also ease the traffic that will be generated from the pending subdivision of Saguaro Springs (read about it here).

(CLICK TO ENGLARGE)

The project is slated to begin in 2008 and be completed by 2010 (I wonder if that will coincide with the opening of the Twin Peaks interchange & the completion of the 3 year I-10 expansion project!).

As of yet no anchor stores have been announced but possible candidates will probably be stores along the lines of Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Circuit City, etc.

This is definitely going to be a huge step in Marana’s development plan and I can’t wait for it to be finished!

UPDATED 8/13/2007 – From today’s Arizona Daily Star article: “Plan update: The developer, Barclay Group, is still in negotiations with the town of Marana on a development agreement. The retail center’s opening is contingent upon the completion of the planned I-10/ Twin Peaks Road interchange. Construction on the interchange is expected to begin in early 2008. The Town Council approved a site plan for the center on Tuesday.”

UPDATED 3/14/2009 – Ground breaking should be any time now. The areas on both sides of I-10 have been cleared in preparation for construction to begin and two massive power poles have been erected just east of I-10 where the interchange will be; I assume to put power lines over I-10.

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The Rise of Tucson “Power Centers” – Good or Bad?

Marana Spectrum – A Huge Retail “Power Center” coming in 2010