Land primed for north Phoenix shopping center to be sold in June

Article originally posted on AZ Central on April 15, 2026

Vestar, the Phoenix-based developer of Desert Ridge Marketplace, Tempe Marketplace and Verrado Marketplace, is eyeing about 370 acres in north Phoenix for mixed-use retail development.

Vestar has applied to buy two sites, about 187 and 181 acres each, from the Arizona State Land Department. Both sites are along Interstate 17 near Dove Valley Road. The sites are contiguous, connected by a small strip of land along I-17. Auctions for both parcels are scheduled for June 26, with the starting bids of $36.6 million and $36.7 million, respectively.

The southern piece, which is south of Dove Valley Road, was rezoned in November 2025 to allow four hotels, a fitness center, retail and restaurants called Dove Valley Towne Center.

Vestar has not confirmed specific tenants planned for the center, but conceptual renderings show a high-end fitness center, Life Time, as the fitness tenant, and two of the hotels to be a Residence Inn Marriott and a Courtyard Marriott.

The northern piece, which is south of Carefree Highway, totals about 181 acres. But only about 100 acres are developable due to right-of-way along I-17 and other roadways, according to Arizona State Land Department documents. That site was not part of the zoning case in 2025, but is zoned for a planned community district, which allows a variety of commercial and residential uses.

According to an appraisal completed on the site ahead of the land auction, the best recommended use for the site would be mixed-use development, which would likely include retail, restaurants and other uses.

The land is east of where Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is under construction on its $165 billion plant. The plant has been a catalyst for new development in the northern stretches of Phoenix.

Representatives from Vestar declined to comment on the upcoming auction.

Vestar has several other projects underway around the Valley.

It is nearing completion on Verrado Marketplace, a 500,000-square-foot shopping center in Buckeye. Businesses in the development are planned to begin opening in May. Anchor tenants in that center include Target, Harkins BackLot, Safeway, Ross, Marshalls and HomeGoods.

Vestar is also planning to develop Laveen Towne Center in southwest Phoenix. That development, which is a 375,000-square-foot retail project at 59th Avenue and Dobbins Road. The 40-acre retail project is part of a larger, 90-acre development that will include housing.

Vestar has partnered with Brio Investment Group to develop up to 1,456 housing units, which could be apartments, single-family homes or senior housing, according to documents submitted to the city.