An apartment complex, hotel, specialty grocer and big-box stores are on tap to be built at the Canyon Trails Towne Center in Goodyear after the shopping center was purchased by a California-based company.
The shopping center at Cotton Lane and Yuma Road is home to a Pottery Barn Outlet, but the center has struggled to fill out as it opened during the Great Recession.
Phoenix-based Vestar opened the shopping center just south of Interstate 10 in 2008. Some retailers that had committed to the center decided not to move forward
on their plans, leaving empty spaces in the shopping center, said David Malin, founder of Scottsdale Development Partners, who has been involved with the center since it was built.
Malin worked for Vestar when it was developing the center, and then worked as an outside consultant for TriGate Capital, which bought the property in 2013. He will
remain a consultant for the center’s new owner, Santa Cruz Seaside Company, as the
company continues to build out the center.
Apartment to begin construction soon
The first new development at the center, a 284-unit apartment complex, is scheduled
to begin construction in two weeks. The apartments will be built on a site originally intended for a Home Depot that never happened in the Great Recession.
The apartment developer, Embrey, bought 12.7 acres of the 91-acre site in July,
according to real estate database Vizzda, but the rezoning case to make way for the
apartments was approved in September 2021.
“Having Embrey on board really helped changed the narrative of the center,” Malin
said. “It has attracted some really good retailers.”
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A slew of new restaurants, shopping
The site has signed leases for nine retail shops and restaurants that are expected to
start construction in the next few months. Those include:
- frozen drink favorite Eegee’s
- Ono Hawaiian BBQ
- Freddy’s Steakburgers
- Denny’s
- Cobblestone Auto Spa
- Christian Brothers Automotive
- Chipotle
- Starbucks
- O’Reilly Auto Parts
A handful of restaurants, stores and services have recently opened in the center, as
well. They include:
- Pedego Electric Bikes
- Wingstop
- Apex Physical Therapy
- Clean Your Dirty Face
- Tropical Smoothie Café
- My Dr. Now
Other businesses located in the center include Planet Fitness, Super Target, Ross,
Petsmart and the Pottery Barn Outlet.
Hotel, specialty grocery on tap
The center has the potential to add about 200,000 square feet of new buildings,
Malin said. The additions will include a hotel, a specialty grocery and multiple big-box
stores.
“The (Santa Cruz Seaside Company) is committed to completing the redevelopment
over the next two to three years,” he said.
Malin said Santa Cruz Seaside Company is in negotiations with businesses for those
projects but did not name any brands yet committed to a new development there.
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Could it be a Trader Joe’s?
City leaders have been creative in their efforts to make it clear that residents want a
Trader Joe’s. They hosted a “We Want Trader Joe’s in Goodyear” virtual event last
month. The city held a similar event in 2019, when residents gathered on “We Want
Trader Joe’s Day.”
Residents ranked the grocer as the No. 1 most desired grocery store in a city retail
survey in 2017, 2019 and 2021.
Malin would not name the grocer as he said he doesn’t yet have a signed lease.
But he said the center will provide a mix of amenities that southwest Valley residents
have long sought.
“Folks in the West Valley have watched several mixed-use projects be created in the
East Valley, especially Scottsdale and other parts of the Southeast Valley,” he said.
“This creates an opportunity for residents to get that full experience.”
–Corina Vanek, Arizona Republic
Reach the reporter at cvanek@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter
@CorinaVanek.