Gilbert residents anxious for the town’s first regional mall can mark their calendars: SanTan Village will open on Oct. 26. The streetscape of the 1.2 million-square-foot outdoor mall and mixed-use development is under construction, but its developer is turning its attention upward, and plans to ask Gilbert town officials to let it build a planned hotel and condominium buildings taller than it is allowed to now.
Buildings on the site can’t rise more than 60 feet, but Phoenix-based mall developer Westcor is seeking to nearly double that height limit, said Garrett Newland, assistant vice president of development for Westcor.
"If we do six or eight or 10-story buildings, we’d have to go over 100 feet (in height)," Newland said.
Westcor has not yet applied for the height extension. Having condos and a hotel on the site are part of Westcor’s goal to make SanTan Village a place where people live, work and play. Offices are already being built above some of the shops and will open along with them. A hotel and condominiums are planned for later phases.
Gilbert spokesman Greg Svelund said that town officials have been pushing for more varieties of housing and mid-rise buildings in certain areas, including the corridor where SanTan Village is located. Without knowing specifically how much taller Westcor wants to build on the site, Svelund said, the company’s plans seem to fit with town officials’ wishes.
"That’s something that would probably be looked at pretty favorably," Svelund said.
The outdoor shopping hub is under construction at Loop 202 and Williams Field Road, and includes 18 buildings in a town-center setting, with a movie theater, fire pit and other outdoor gathering areas in addition to shops and restaurants. A food court will be the only enclosed building that houses multiple retailers.
One wing of the mall is devoted to clothing, accessories and entertainment options for teens, "which we know is very hot, particularly in the Southeast Valley with all of the families," said Sheila Hunter, SanTan’s property manager.
"We will be the fashion center for Gilbert," Hunter said.
Harkins Theatres’ 16-screen cinema will be the first tenant to open, on March 30.
Westcor on Tuesday announced more tenants for the center, including Anchor Blue, Claire’s, Finish Line, Forever 21, Industrial Ride Shop, Johnny Rockets, Journeys, Sunglass Icon, Torrid, Wet Seal and Zumiez.
The mall’s roughly 100 shops and restaurants will begin opening seven months later, and will be anchored by Dillard’s and, mostly likely, Macy’s.
Newland said Macy’s will likely open at SanTan in 2008, making it the second department store there, although it is not formally listed as a tenant.
Main Street Commons, a competing project that is under construction about two miles away, also will open in phases beginning late this year.
Planned tenants include Dolce Salon & Spa, Kona Grill and Brighton.
Officials from Woodbine Southwest Corp., the Phoenix-based developer of Main Street Commons, weren’t available for comment on Tuesday.
SanTan Village will be the first of five Westcor malls to open on the fringes of the Valley over the next several years. Others are in development stages and will open in north Phoenix, Goodyear and Surprise.
Erica Sagon
Apr. 13, 2007 10:52 AM
