As retailers nationwide feel the financial pinch, Westcor, the largest owner-manager of commercial properties in Arizona, has delayed the opening of its Phoenix-area Estrella Falls regional mall from 2009 to 2010. The 2-million-square-foot Estrella Falls open-air regional shopping center (pictured) will include a combination of department stores, lifestyle shopping, dining, entertainment and a streetscape with 30 acres of open space. The project was originally scheduled to open in fall 2009. Now, it has been pushed back to fall 2010. Tenants already in place, including Dillard’s and Harkins Theaters, remain committed to the development, according to Westcor information. \u201cWe made the decision to shift the timing from fall 2009 to fall 2010 because of several factors,\u201d Garrett Newland, vice president of development for Westcor, told CPN. \u201cMany retailers are pulling back from deals in 2008 and 2009 and even closing stores nationwide. Our retail partners have to come in and be successful and we believe a 2010 opening will be better.\u201d In a \u201cletter to the community\u201d on the Estrella Falls website, Westcor\u2019s message included \u201cworking closely with our retailers, we have determined that a shift in timing of the grand opening for the regional mall is the responsible and appropriate thing to do for Estrella Falls. Our new opening date of fall 2010 will not only meet the needs of our retailers, but also accommodate some recent infrastructure challenges.\u201d Newland said Westcor was concerned, too, with the ability or provide adequate wastewater capacity by a private utilities provider to the mall. \u201cAll these factors led us to believe that the delay is a good move,\u201d he added. Despite the delay, the Market at Estrella Falls–the power center component of Estrella Falls–is slated to open on time this fall. Retailers committed to the project include Bashas\u2019, Shoe Pavilion, Staples, Petco, TJ Maxx\u2019s HomeGoods, Razmataz and La-Z-Boy. The Estrella Falls regional shopping center is located near a 300-acre, mixed-use destination in the Southwest Valley. The project will also include additional commercial uses, hotel, office and multi-family residential uses. \u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re in a softening market with housing starts down significantly; especially on the west and southeast side of Phoenix,\u201d David Glimcher, president & CEO, of Glimcher Ventures Southwest L.L.C., told CPN.. \u201cFor Westcor to do a regional mall, it requires a commitment of a number of anchors and basically the department stores are pulling out on a lot of projects right now and pulling back. Macy\u2019s has experienced layoffs, is closing stores and pulling out of deals.\u201d Department stores are hesitant to move forward, Glimcher said, adding that he wouldn\u2019t be surprised to find out in six months that the project could be further delayed to as late as 2012. \u201cIt takes a number of anchor tenants; two won\u2019t make it fly especially when one is a movie theater. That is the kind of environment we\u2019re in for major projects,\u201d said Glimcher, whose firm has three prominent lifestyle projects in Phoenix focused on entertainment. \u201cCenters like ours, focused strictly on entertainment with restaurants, are a product still needed in the marketplace and not overbuilt.\u201d Founded in 1969, Phoenix-based Westcor is a wholly owned subsidiary of Macerich. The largest owner-manager of commercial properties in Arizona, Westcor’s portfolio currently consists of 18 million square feet of retail space at 28 shopping centers, including 11 super-regional centers, three specialty retail centers and 14 urban villages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As retailers nationwide feel the financial pinch, Westcor, the largest owner-manager of commercial properties in Arizona, has delayed the opening of its Phoenix-area Estrella Falls regional mall from 2009 to 2010. The 2-million-square-foot Estrella Falls open-air regional shopping center (pictured) will include a combination of department stores, lifestyle shopping, dining, entertainment and a streetscape with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1314,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37301],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1003711242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n