Thompson Thrift Buys 20 Acres for Phoenix Project

Thompson Thrift Real Estate has purchased 20 acres for the development of South Bridge Marketplace, a 200,000-square-foot retail destination in Maricopa, Ariz.

The first phase will consist of a 130,000-square-foot anchor, while the second is slated to encompass a 60,000-square-foot grocery store and some 10,000 square feet of additional retail and restaurant space. Construction start is slated for April, with the second phase set to break ground in the second half of the year.

Located at the northeast corner of John Wayne Parkway and Honeycutt Avenue, the South Bridge Marketplace site is in an area where the daily traffic count reaches approximately 68,000 vehicles per day, according to Thompson Thrift. The John Wayne Parkway provides direct access to Interstate 10 and downtown Phoenix.

The company’s Senior Vice President Chris Hake stated in prepared remarks that Maricopa encountered high demand for retail and service options, being the eighth fastest-growing city in the U.S. Maricopa’s location between Phoenix and Tucson also provides convenient access to other major markets throughout the Southwest.

According to a recent Marcus & Millichap report, retailers are expanding across the suburbs due to Maricopa County’s recent, nation-leading population growth. More than 80 percent of metro Phoenix’s under-construction retail space was preleased as of October last year. This trend and a lack of speculative development led to the record-low 5.2 percent vacancy rate recorded in June, the same source shows.