Starbucks, Texas Roadhouse and an additional, iconic restaurant brand have all signed leases this month to open restaurants at The Block at Pima Center, paving the way for vertical construction to begin. Further lease announcements are expected soon as additional tenants are poised to sign contracts on the remaining shop spaces and the two remaining pads in Scottsdale’s newest retail center.
Located on the northwest corner of the Loop 101 and Via de Ventura on the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community, The Pima Center is one of North Scottsdale’s largest and most successful mixed-use developments. The development currently contains 1.5 million square feet of office, flex, medical, and light industrial space, and is expected to double in the next three years.
A freeway pad lease has been signed with the undisclosed restaurant brand. The principals at Mainspring were tight lipped about the brand’s identity, citing the terms of an NDA, but did say that this long sought after iconic brand’s first venture into Arizona will be a welcome addition to the Scottsdale scene. ” It’s an amazing testament to our site and development that they chose The Block for their first store in Arizona,” said Curtis Brown, principal with MainSpring Capital Group, who is leading the development effort. “I’m sure the Recreation Corridor developments and the 101 traffic counts had a lot to do with their selection. For all the visitors and resident transplants this restaurant will be a tourist attraction in and of itself,” said Brown.
Texas Roadhouse has also signed a lease and will occupy a 7,162-square-foot, free-standing restaurant with Loop 101 frontage. This will be the 11th Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Arizona and the first in Scottsdale. The restaurant chain, based in Clarksville, IN, offers tableside service and specializes in steaks, ribs and made-from-scratch side dishes. Plans call for Texas Roadhouse to also open in first part of 2019.
Starbucks has leased a 2,200-square foot freeway frontage drive thru end cap at the east end of one of the multi-tenant buildings. They also plan to open in early 2019, along with several other small shop tenants that are ether already signed or in various stages of negotiations.
“We are very excited about the traction our leasing efforts have gained,” continued Brown. “Landing such well-known brands like Texas Roadhouse, Starbucks and others is really great for building our momentum as we complete phase one and open up leasing for the second phase. The real testament to the site coming of age is the signing of our ‘mystery’ restaurant brand. They could have selected any location in the western U.S. for their expansion towards this end of the country and they chose The Block. That speaks volumes,” said Brown. “We still have some smaller shop space opportunities and only two pads left, all of which can be delivered fourth quarter 2018 with early 2019 openings.”
When fully build out, The Block at Pima Center will contain upwards of 60,000 square feet of restaurant and service retail space with 65ft monument signage opportunities along both Loop 101 and Via De Ventura to provide additional visibility for The Block’s tenants. Construction has already begun and all the offsites and retention have been completed. Mass grading will begin in a couple weeks.
The Corritore Company will be handling the leasing assignment for phase two of The Block. “We are extremely excited about what will be the best freeway infill retail development opportunity along the 101 in Scottsdale. This trade area is under-served and in desperate need of retail, restaurants and services,” says John Corritore, president of The Corritore Company. “The area’s variety of entertainment is expanding, which will make this an even more appealing destination. We intend to attract the best retailers and restaurants to this highly visible project.”
Located in the heart of the Talking Stick entertainment corridor, Pima Center is surrounded by Salt River Fields baseball stadium, the Butterfly Pavilion, TopGolf, Talking Stick Resort, and the Odysea in the Desert aquarium, as well as the future Great Wolf Lodge and upcoming Renaissance Dinner Theatre. An estimated seven million people will annually attend various entertainment venues within a mile of The Block. The area benefits from approximately 195,000 cars per day on the Loop 101 freeway. The immediate trade area also includes 20,000 employees.
