To look at the conceptual images of CityNorth and other planned retail centers in the Northeast Valley it’s clear that developers are trying to out-Kierland, Kierland Commons.
Scottsdale Crossing, just east of Kierland, was originally hyped as Kierland Uncommon, a similar mixed-use project of retail, offices and condos that would have an even higher tier of luxury retailers than its western neighbor.
In its infancy seven years ago, it quickly became clear that Woodbine Southwest Corp. had hit the mark at Kierland Commons with its mix of exclusive fashion retailers, unique restaurants, offices and luxury lofts in a kind of idealized American main street.
Now, CityNorth, Scottsdale Crossing, Palisene and One Scottsdale all are lined up using a similar template, but trying to improve on Kierland and do it on a bigger scale.
In an ongoing retail border war, the four planned centers could add a combined 3.2 million square feet of retail to the 2.98 million already existing in four northern shopping centers near the Phoenix-Scottsdale border.
Scott Nelson, a vice president for Westcor, the Palisene developer, worries that too much retail will be built to serve the well-heeled Northeast Valley population.
"You need a critical mass of retailers," he said. "We don’t want to end up like north Dallas that has four centers, none of which is amazing because they split the retailers."
Given that caveat, Westcor is still moving ahead with its plans for Palisene. The Valley mall giant, a subsidiary of the Macerich Co., is expected to bid on leasing the Palisene site later this year when it is auctioned by the Arizona State Land Department.
The Thomas J. Klutznick Co., developing CityNorth, has its contractor doing site improvements on the 144-acre site, nearly four times larger than Kierland Commons. Vertical construction is expected to start soon on 11 buildings in the first phase of the project.
That will include CityNorth’s High Street area. The 1,200-foot stretch of buildings of three and four stories will include retail shops and restaurants at street level, with offices and condominiums on the upper floors, said Klutznick executive John Klutznick.
CityNorth has already signed Nordstrom as an anchor for the project. The 144,000-square-foot department store is set to open in fall 2009.
Klutznick said CityNorth is modeled after Newberry Street in Boston and Oak Street in Chicago, both of which are the Rodeo Drives of their respective cities, with top luxury retailers, boutiques and one-of-kind restaurants.
Peter Corbett for The Arizona Republic
This article was found at: http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/0323sr-borderwars0323insideZ3.html
