Arizona Resorts/ Arizona Travel Deals / Arizona Golf / Spas in AZ

Tempe Marketplace a ‘destination’
Mall has ‘created new place of community’

“Destination” is the magic word for mall builders, and the creators of Tempe Marketplace and Gilbert’s San Tan Village, both of which debuted within the past year, seem to have worked the magic and made their outdoor malls destinations for thousands.

Mesa Riverview has been slower to develop but its theater district will soon come to life with the same mix that is making the others two of the hottest new gathering places in the Southeast Valley.

Tempe economic development manager Sheri Wakefield-Saenz says it hasn’t taken even a year to make one thing clear: “That mall has created a new place of community and entertainment in a very warm, inviting and entertaining space.

“They know the taste of their demographic shopper and did a lot of homework to make sure they have the mix correct. It’s mainly Generation Y, but Xers like myself and baby boomers like it, too. Their shopping, restaurants, music – the way you can enjoy strolling around – put it right up there with the best destinations in the Valley.”

San Tan Village has used a similar mix to draw crowds since it opened in October.

Summer Katzenbach directs marketing for Tempe Marketplace, and says, “We consider ourselves a destination because you can come here and happily spend an entire day, an entire evening and never run out of things to do.

“I love walking around the mall and seeing people lounging on the couches, students studying for finals, people sitting around in groups talking or walking in and out of stores, people enjoying the entertainment we have . . . people just coming here and spending hours and having a really fun time.”

It’s not hard to see why turning a mall into a “destination,” as opposed to a place where you make a quick shopping trip, is so important to mall makers. When the American town center, where people could while away the day strolling to shops and restaurants, gave way to shopping malls, it became clear that the more one could make a mall like the old town center, the more successful it would be.

The point became to create a place where a clever blend of shops, restaurants, theaters, entertainments and activities give people a sense of community and make them want to stay.

Creating “community” became something of a science. It’s one that David Larcher, executive vice president of Vestar Development, the Phoenix-based company that built the mall, evidently knows well.

“Tempe Marketplace’s success isn’t just good luck. It’s the result of the vision David Larcher began to develop 10 years ago,” Katzenbach said. “He wanted to create a mix of clothing stores, restaurants, theaters, a bookstore and entertainments – a mix that would make us a gathering place.

We hear people say, ‘it’s the perfect place for us to meet with friends and family,’ and that is exactly what we want to hear.”

At Tempe Marketplace that “mix” means about 60, “power-center/big box stores” like Target, Old Navy, Best Buy and Cost Plus World Market on the south side of the mall, and on the north side a densely packed “District” of boutiques like Urban Angels, Hottie World and Divaz, as well as specialty stores, restaurants, a Barnes & Noble bookstore and a Harkins movie theater complex.

“There’s something to meet almost every shopping need and it adds up to what we call a “lifestyle center,” Katzenbach said.

Friends Jennifer Walsh, 31, of Gilbert, and Katie Murray, 32, of Ahwatukee were sitting together in Tempe Marketplace recently, chatting and watching their children play in the Splash Pad, a water feature designed for toddler play.

“Our kids love the splash area, and while they play Katie and I can talk,” Walsh said, as the children jumped about in the water.

Murray said the convenient location of the mall – at the intersection of the 101 and 202 freeways – makes access easy for her.

“Also, the big stores on the one side have everything you can imagine, and the little boutiques have a lot of really cute stuff. And the restaurants are excellent.”

Lots of other folks seem to agree.

Katzenbach said a recent count showed about 500,000 vehicles coming to the mall monthly, with an average of 2 1/2 people per car: which means about 1.25 million people are showing up each month.

Westcor, which owns San Tan Village and many of the other big malls in the Valley, does not release monthly customer traffic figures. But information gathered in recent years suggests Tempe Marketplace has quickly entered the top tier of Valley malls.

Katzenbach says that one ingredient at Tempe Marketplace that seems to be emerging as one of the most important parts of the “destination” recipe is the amount of entertainment offered.

“We showcase all sorts of entertainment from Thursday through Saturday on the District Stage,” she said. “And we have acoustic music Friday through Sunday at the Barnes & Noble fountain area. Also, we have a major concert once a month, large-scale events, community events . . . the list goes on and on.

“But what it adds up to is a lot of entertainment that young people love. We know it brings a lot of people here, some from a long ways away.”

That would include people like Anna Lampe, 20, who lives in north Phoenix. Lampe says she’s willing to make a long drive to Tempe Marketplace, “because this mall is exactly what I want.”

Full Article

Arizona Shopping

Arizona Travel

Best Golf In AZ

Arizona Resorts/ Arizona Travel Deals / Arizona Golf / Spas in AZ

Retailers happy with results at growing Riverview

The Theater District, a Main Street venue stretching between Cinemark Theatres and Bass Pro Shops, will soon bring Mesa Riverview to life with more entertainment, specialty shops and eateries, the same mix that is drawing big crowds to Tempe Marketplace and San Tan Village in Gilbert.

And with the announcement that Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill will be part of the mix, retailers and small businesses are checking out spaces for business, a Riverview business owner says.

“Last Friday it was packed with people with notepads asking about putting a business in here,” said Robert Guertin, owner of Big Sticks Fine Cigars.

To date new tenants include Howie’s Game Shack, a family activity center; Mattas Mexican Restaurant, a long-time Mesa icon; Jump N Shout, an interactive child’s play facility; Taco Time; Surf City Squeeze; Samari Sam’s; Omega Gyros and Hubbard’s Swim School.

Guertin, whose cigar store was the first independent business to open in the district in May 2007, isn’t fazed by how long it’s taken to develop the area.

“I am very happy,” said Guertin, whose storefront faces the planned Toby Keith restaurant. He’s also banking on future traffic from the Waveyard, a planned water park coming to Mesa.

Guertin said Mesa Riverview is twice the size of any mixed-use project in the area, “so it’s going to take twice as long to build it. And I knew this going into it.”

He said some small businesses that couldn’t wait for more retailers to open left.

“All those people that didn’t put a business here missed the boat,” he said.

Shoppers are also finding other activities in the district area by cooling off at water fountain features in front of the movie theater. Shaded benches surround the water fountain for individuals.

Dayna Birmingham, of Mesa, who often takes her three children to the movies, recently watched them cool off at the district’s water features. It was the family’s second trip to the district in two days.

“We’ve been watching them build,” said Birmingham. “It’s close to us and it’s going to be amazing.”

She is not the only shopper keeping an eye the on progress at the developing 250-acre mixed-use project near Loop 202 and Dobson Road.

“It’s awesome to see the different types of shops,” said Katie Gomez, who with her family spent an afternoon at Bass Pro Shops looking at fish featured in the sporting-goods store. Riverview also offers big-box and discount chains such as Home Depot, Party City, Bed Bath & Beyond, Wal-Mart Supercenter and a slew of other major retailers.

To the east of the regional power center, passersby can view construction of elevator caps for a Hyatt Place hotel. Two buildings are up for offices. And, at Riverview Auto Mall, a Toyota dealership recently opened with Nissan on its way by the fall.

Jonikka Alder, of east Mesa, said she shops at Jo-Ann Fabrics, Ross and Marshalls once a week. The fact that Mesa Riverview is accessible just off Loop 202 is another plus, she said.

And though Alder does most of her shopping at Mesa, she still makes her way to Tempe Marketplace, just two miles from Mesa Riverview.

“Those (shops) are a little more high end,” she said of the Target, The Gap and other retailers offered there.

Mega anchors such as the Wal-Mart Supercenter and Bass Pro Shops say they are doing well and are pleased with the mixed-use development since they opened.

Ken Brown, a store manager at the Dollar Tree, agrees.

Sales are up 25 percent, he said, compared with its former location just a few miles away at Alma School Road and University Drive.

Full Article

Arizona Shopping

Arizona Travel

Best Golf In AZ

Arizona Resorts/ Arizona Travel Deals / Arizona Golf / Spas in AZ

Fun, food, music take SanTan Village beyond shopping

Nick and Rhonda Fuduloff brought their dogs and lawn chairs to SanTan Village last weekend for the final performance of the center’s spring concert series.

The couple’s Saturday night plans usually include a concert at the Gilbert shopping center. The mall is close to home and pets, Brutus and Booboo, can come along.

Rock and Roll cover band, The Chadwicks, played to a crowd of about 300 people.
The concert series is one way the outdoor mall that opened in October has become a gathering place for the community, said Jennifer Munn, senior marketing manager.

Across the street from the concert, kids packed the mall’s play area.

The playground boasts a splash pad where the water was turned off because of unseasonably cool temperatures that evening.

Munn said the mall’s about 100 retailers and restaurants have seen business increase with the events. “We don’t want people to get their stuff and go,” Munn said. “We are trying to become the town center for the community.”

Concerts will begin again in the fall, and another community event SanTan Village planners hope will draw people to the center will be the Taste of SanTan Village in October. The mall also hosts a Kids Club that meets twice a month.

“With the concert series, it took us a while to build it,” Munn said, “but each week it has been growing.”

For the Fuduloffs, the concerts are a way to get to know their neighbors.

“We’ve met a lot of people,” Rhonda Fuduloff said, “and look forward to seeing them and their dogs.”

The couple said they wouldn’t come to the mall on Saturdays if it wasn’t for the concerts.

“And when we come, we shop,” Nick Fuduloff said, “even if we’re not planning on it.”

The mall’s attractions give mother Sara Windes of Gilbert time to shop without distractions. She drops her kids and husband off at the play area and heads to Gymboree and the Children’s Place, which are located in the same corridor as the playground.

“Almost all of us (moms) do that,” Windes said. “Then we can shop. They don’t have to go with us, and the kids can have fun.”

Windes said she loves that all the children’s stores are clustered near the playground.

“We come here almost every weekend and get the kids tired out,” she said.

Parents and kids use the play area as early as 8 a.m., Munn said. Moms even come with beach towels so they can and watch their children play.

“Morning, noon and night that play area is packed,” Munn said.

The mall has other amenities, such as Wi-Fi in the food court, to keep people there, she added.

“We want people to have a sense of place when they come here,” Munn said. “Families come out and have a place where they can play. We do want people to sit and gather and for the mall to be more of a destination.”

Full Article

Arizona Shopping

Arizona Travel

Best Golf In AZ