Vintage Partners, the Arizona-based commercial real estate development and investment company, has announced a pair of exciting new tenants joining the redevelopment efforts at Uptown Plaza, the landmark 1955 shopping center in central Phoenix on the NE corner of Central Avenue & Camelback Road. Scheduled to open in late 2015/early 2016, the newest additions will include the second Arizona location of the famed NYC-based, Danny Meyer crafted Shake Shack restaurant, and the third location of Fox Restaurant Concepts’ popular Flower Child. Along with existing Uptown Plaza tenants such as AJ’s Fine Foods, these new restaurants will help restore this stylish shopping center’s unique mix of local, region and national stores that serve a need for the residents of north-central Phoenix.
Launched in 2001 as a simple hotdog cart in a Manhattan park by one of the world’s premier restaurateurs (yes, you, Danny Meyer), Shake Shake serves up high quality versions of classic American roadside eats. As only the fourth Shake Shack west of the Mississippi, patrons at the Phoenix location will enjoy all the Shack classics, from delicious 100% all-natural, antibiotic-free Angus beef burgers (no hormones added ever) and griddled-crisp flat-top dogs to crispy crinkle cut fries, plus a selection of fresh-made frozen custard concretes featuring local Valley purveyors. Also coming to Uptown Plaza, Flower Child is one of the newest offerings from Fox Restaurants Concepts, which began with a single restaurant in Tucson in 1998 and has since grown to include 15 concepts and 40 locations and counting. Flower Child offers healthy food for a happy world and will be located on the southern side of the center.
What kicked off in late 2014 continues today as Uptown Plaza’s property-wide renovation restores the stylish, brick-lined midcentury modern look to this iconic shopping center constructed in 1955 by the Del Webb Co. as the Valley’s first retail center located outside of downtown Phoenix. To accomplish this goal, the owners of Uptown Plaza charged Vintage Partners with, “carefully renovating and re-merchandizing this this landmark property to restore Uptown Plaza as one of the Valley’s most desirable retail destinations,” says Vintage Partners Principal, David Scholl. To accomplish these goals, Vintage Partners has assembled an all-star renovation team, including designer, Nelsen Partners (Kierland Commons, Scottsdale Quarter), builder Kitchell Contractors and landscape architect Kristina Floor of Floor & Associates. Furthermore, Vintage Partners has partnered with the renowned Phoenix furniture design boutique, Modern Manor, to help restore the center’s signature 1950s style by incorporating a mix of vintage and custom furnishings, outdoor seating, lighting and other elements that are historically authentic, yet fashionably modern.
Scheduled for completion in fall 2015, with additional tenants to be announced later this summer, Phase 1 of the Uptown Plaza restoration is well underway. Starting with peeling away decades of stucco and clutter, during the delicate demolition process the design team has already uncovered 50’s-era details such as original hand-painted signage on the red brick storefronts. “We’re working to ensure that Uptown Plaza will once again be a neighborhood landmark that will thrive for generations to come,” Scholl says.
