Vestar, the largest privately held shopping center owner and manager in the western United States, recently announced bold new development plans to capitalize on Phoenix’s historic growth.

The three new retail centers — Queen Creek Crossing, Vineyard Towne Center and The Shops at Lake Pleasant — total over 650,000 square feet of retail space at a combined development cost of nearly $90 million. Construction is slated to begin in late 2021 through early 2022.

In recent years, Vestar has focused on, and invested in, updating and refreshing its mixed-use and lifestyle properties, including The Gateway in Salt Lake City, Utah and Desert Ridge Marketplace in Phoenix. Three additional properties, Tempe Marketplace in Tempe, District at Tustin Legacy, in Tustin, California, and Long Beach Towne Center in Long Beach, California, are all currently undergoing multi-million-dollar renovation projects. The upgrades include the addition of state-of-the-art LED screens, interactive and public art spaces, improved landscaping, signage, and more.

“Vestar has always been a company with a very focused vision,” says David Larcher, President and COO of Vestar. “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. 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 Shops at Lake Pleasant
After purchasing 26 acres from the State Land Department, Vestar will develop approximately 90,000 square-feet of retail space. The Shops at Lake Pleasant is scheduled to open late 2022 at Happy Valley Road and Lake Pleasant Parkway, adjacent to Lake Pleasant Towne Center, also a Vestar property.

“We have seen a resurgence of retail like never before,” says Larcher. “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 where the retail infrastructure has not kept pace.”

To learn more about Vestar, visit vestar.com.