Back in the depths of the Great Recession, Maricopa was in the national spotlight for all the wrong reasons, including being dubbed “A Paradise Lost” by the Wall Street Journal due to all the abandoned home developments.
Now this booming city of 50,000 is once again the state’s fastest growing community, and also boasts one of Arizona’s highest average incomes.
But all that residential growth has come at a high cost to the City of Maricopa, says Casey Treadwell, leasing director at Edison Pointe, the all-new 130,000-square-foot shopping center now under construction in the heart of the city’s commercial core. “Maricopa is now one of the most underserved communities in the state when it comes to retail and entertainment, costing the city millions in tax revenue as residents are forced to drive to Gilbert or beyond,” Treadwell says.
Enter Edison Pointe, which will serve as a convenient, much-needed destination for shopping and dining in Downtown Maricopa. Breaking ground this past July and scheduled for completion in spring 2018, Edison Pointe features tenants ranging from Ross Dress for Less and Planet Fitness, to Burger King and Dunkin’ Donuts.
Located on nearly 15 acres at the northeast corner of Edison Road and John Wayne Parkway, this project is the second phase of the massive redevelopment project that previously brought a Fry’s Marketplace to the heart of Maricopa, and also represents the final block of undeveloped land in the city’s emerging commercial core lining both sides of State Route 347, between Smith Enke and Edison roads.
Led by the Valley-based real estate development and investment firm, Vintage Partners, who acquired the shovel-ready site in 2012, “Maricopa was one of the first cities in the state to bounce back from the recession,” Treadwell says. “It’s a thriving community, but there are very limited services, and Edison Pointe will benefit from both the pent up demand and the high traffic counts throughout the day at this centrally located site.”
Most important, says Brad Douglass, who’s handling the commercial leasing at Edison Pointe for Cushman & Wakefield, “Maricopa is not just growing, it’s adding additional educated, well-paid new residents who are drawn to the area’s affordable housing and great quality of life, but they don’t want to have to drive out of town to shop, eat or work out. That’s why the average annual income in the area has skyrocketed from the mid $60s to nearly $80,000 in the past two years alone.”
Additional announced tenants at Edison Pointe include Brakes Plus and Goodwill Industries. Vintage Partners is also pursuing a full-service restaurant. “Landing a full-service restaurant is one of our top priorities,” Treadwell says, “whoever lands first is going to dominate the market with little to no competition.”
