Vestar JV to Build $125M Phoenix-Area Shopping Center

Verrado Marketplace. Image courtesy of Vestar

Vestar and DMB Associates are set to develop a 512,000-square-foot shopping center in Buckeye, Ariz. The $125 million project, dubbed Verrado Marketplace, was first announced in 2022 and received the Buckeye City Council’s approval this week.

“Verrado Marketplace will fill a void for high-quality retail space in Buckeye, one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S.,” Jeffrey Axtell, executive vice president of development with Vestar, told Commercial Property Executive. “We are creating a unique community destination with sustainable, forward-looking design and pedestrian-friendly spaces that will encourage people to gather and socialize.”

The Verrado Marketplace’s general contractor and architect have yet to be chosen. Groundbreaking is expected in the summer of next year, with delivery in late 2025.

READ ALSO: Inside the Retail Stores of the Future

To take shape on 48 acres at the northeastern corner of Interstate 10 and Verrado Way, the retail center will feature a department-store anchor along with shopping, entertainment and dining spaces. The 48-acre Verrado Marketplace will also include a public plaza, performance venue, gym and outdoor fireplaces.

No tenants have been formally announced yet, according to the Phoenix Business Journal. However, documents of the development agreement show Target, HomeGoods, Marshalls, Harkins Theatres, Ross Dress for Less and Total Wine & More as potential occupants. Western Retail Advisors’ Ryan Desmond, Charles Skaggs and Justin DiBiase are the property’s leasing brokers.

Alongside the Verrado Marketplace, Vestar is set to provide a 2,000-square-foot police substation for 20 years and other infrastructure for a reimbursement of up to $3.7 million from the city to be paid through permitting fees and construction sales tax, the development agreement shows. The developer will also further enhance the area’s landscaping and finishes.

The shopping center’s development will generate up to 1,500 jobs, with an estimated $50 million in revenue for the city over a decade.

Near the 8,800-acre Verrado master-planned community

The 8,800-acre Verrado master-planned community, developed by DMB Associates, is next to the Verrado Marketplace site. The mixed-use property includes 4.2 million square feet of commercial space alongside 14,000 entitled homes and 77 parks.

South of the future shopping center is a recently completed Costco store and another retail center, the Buckeye Commons, which totals 411,000 square feet. An Abrazo Health hospital will also come online at the same intersection. Downtown Phoenix is some 26 miles west of the site.

Earlier this year, Vestar also announced plans to develop a 375,000-square-foot retail-oriented project in Laveen, Ariz. It is expected to mirror the Verrado Marketplace’s timeline, with a summer 2024 groundbreaking and an opening in the fall of 2025.