Empty parking lots around malls in the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ area could some day become new residential developments.
Big box departures from malls have created the obsolete space and they are located on main streets with nearby transit.
When national retailers consider entering the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ market, they are on the lookout for nearby rooftops.
Now, developers are adding multifamily housing in what were formerly known as shopping centers — they are now referred to as multi-use centers because of added services beyond shopping, such as medical, dental, entertainment and residential.
And the new owners of the shuttered Sears at 5950 E. Broadway are eyeing the possibility of a multifamily development on the massive parking lot at Park Place, with more than 1,000 parking spaces.
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Park Place Partnership LLC bought the former Sears building last year and plans to build climate-controlled self storage in the basement of the main building, Nancy McClure, first vice president with CBRE ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, said in her annual Big Box report on retail spaces over 10,000 square feet.
Grand opening of the Sears department store before the build out of Park Mall on Broadway in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ on Sept. 1, 1965.
The ground-level space will be for retail, restaurants and entertainment uses.
“They’re very sophisticated and very excited about this location,†she said in an interview with the Star. “They’re looking at some multifamily development there ... that’s what’s happening in big cities.â€
McClure said Broadway has always appealed to national retailers and having adjacent residents would add to that appeal.
“I’m hopeful that the city and the public agree it is good to add some bodies to the back of that area because we have to think bigger,†she said. “Where we can do infill and create density in the middle of town is going to be exciting ... part of it is political will.â€
Local developer Bourn Cos. has already embraced that concept.
Two of its multi-use centers are getting apartment complexes.
Construction is underway on an apartment complex at The Bridges, at 36th Street and Park Avenue, which has both office buildings and retailers such as Walmart and Costco.
A man walks past rows of housing under construction at The Bridges, a 350-acre multi-use development, along Park Avenue just south of 36th Street.
Another apartment complex is going up at The Landing, on Irvington Road and Interstate 19, next to restaurants, shops, medical clinics and a grocery store.
“We are a big proponent and place a heavy emphasis on having residential living within our larger mixed-use developments,†said Alan Tanner, partner with Bourn. “Having amenities, like groceries, restaurants, entertainment, health and wellness and work environments, all within walking distance from where you live is very desirable.â€
He said it is a trend being seen around the country and one which “we expect to continue into the foreseeable future.â€
ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Mayor Regina Romero said she supports the notion of exploring residential units on the former Sears parking lot.
“I love it,†she said. “I would love to see that idea expanded to places such as El Con Mall and ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Mall where there is so much parking that is not being used.â€
Romero said “corridors of density†at such places, which are along transit routes, would go a long way to alleviate the housing shortage.
Allowing density translates into less costs and the city can incentivize creating affordable units within those developments with zoning.
But, Romero recognizes the struggle of getting such projects up and running because of pushback from neighborhoods.
“Yes, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ans love the idea of transit and walkability and to save the beautiful desert around us from development,†she said. “But not when it’s built next to their neighborhoods.â€
El Con Mall in 1978, at peak popularity with thousands of parking spaces.
A second chance for big box spaces
Whether residential is part of the equation, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s empty department stores and big box spaces are expected to garner interest from national retailers.
“I believe we will see several new retailers enter the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ market as well as a number of existing retailers add to their Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ store count in the next year to 18 months,†Tanner said. “The availability of existing well-positioned vacant real estate, like the current Bed Bath & Beyond locations, will accelerate the expansion due to the high cost of new construction in ground up locations.â€
Bed Bath & Beyond has announced three store closures in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, at 5225 S. Calle Santa Cruz; 9590 E. 22nd St. and its Buy Buy Baby brand at 7475 N. La Cholla Blvd.
Last year, metropolitan ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ had about 348,043 square feet of new leases signed in spaces of 10,000 square feet or greater, McClure’s report shows.
“The biggest sector winners in 2022 were beauty supplies, fast food, and sit-down restaurants, likely an indicator that people gained confidence in leaving their homes to dine with others and wanting to look good doing so,†she said. “For the entertainment-type businesses, gyms, bowling alleys, indoor trampoline parks, and others, they rebounded with vigor in 2022.â€
There are currently 30 vacant big box spaces of 10,000 square feet or more in the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ area, totaling 144 million square feet.
Among the top big box transactions last year were 44,130 square feet for self storage in the basement of Sears at Park Place; 40,000 square feet in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Spectrum by Burlington and Parts Authority at Fort Lowell and Oracle roads absorbed 21,750 square feet.
Seven Cups Fine Chinese Tea shop opened its doors at this new location, 2510 E. Fort Lowell Road in October 2022. Austin and Zhuping Hodge, co-owners, purchase high-quality teas directly from tea makers in China. Video by Mamta Popat, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.
Photos: Sears stores in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ since 1928
The Sears store on 6th Avenue in downtown ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ in June, 1965.
The ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Hotel, center, to the left of Sears, in 1965.
Sears Roebuck & Co in downtown ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, 1947.
Sears Roebuck and Co, downtown ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, 1940.
Clyde A. Mowrey, far left, manager of Sears in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, poses with other employees and Jeane Milinchuck and Cori Cruz (who added "class," according to the original caption), during groundbreaking for a 60,000-square-foot Sears warehouse at 820 S. Euclid Ave. in 1957. The building is now occupied by Global Investment Recovery, which handles scrap and waste materials.
Hundreds of people gather at the site of a new Sear's store on ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥'s Eastside (now Park Place) in July, 1964,
Officials from Sears, Roebuck & Co. grab a three-handled spade during the official groundbreaking for a new Sear's store on ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥'s Eastside (now Park Place) in July, 1964.. From left, Clyde A. Mowrey, current store manager in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥; Wade Hampton, Phoenix, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ zone manager; Joseph Metcalf of Ventura, Calif., who became the manager of the new store.
Grand opening of the Sears department store before the build out of Park Mall on E. Broadway Road in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ on Sept. 1, 1965.
The new Sears store on the Eastside of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, at Broadway and Wilmot (now Park Place) on Aug. 30, 1965, before the grand opening. The downtown Sears store on 6th Ave. closed permanently on Aug. 28 and merchandise was moved to the new store.
ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥'s second Sears store at 5950 E. Broadway, a day before opening on Sept. 1, 1965. The property is now Park Place.
Sears, Roebuck & Co. company officials at the grand opening of the new Sears store on the Eastside of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, at Broadway and Wilmot, on Sept. 1, 1965.
Linda Barrow, Miss Teenage ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ of 1965, and Sears store officials greet shoppers at the new Sears store on the Eastside of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, now Park Place, during the grand opening on Sept. 1, 1965. Barrow graduated from Palo Verde High School and went on to the University of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥. She died in 2008.
Oh, the humanity. Shoppers mob the entrance of the new ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Sears department store on E. Broadway Road and S. Wilmot Road on Sept. 1, 1965. Note the forlorn mannequin at left.
The Soto family shops for the new school year at Sears at Park Mall in August, 1975
The Soto family shops for the new school year at Sears at Park Mall in August, 1975
The Soto family shops for the new school year at Sears at Park Mall in August, 1975
Leetz Shultz operates the "magic wand" attached to an "electronic" cash register at Sears on E. Broadway Road, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, in August, 1977. The wands cost $1,000 each, according to the manufacturer, Recognition Products, Inc., of Dallas. The wand records price, stock number and inventory control information and transmits to a store server, which communicates with a regional server.
Leetz Shultz operates the "magic wand" at Sears on E. Broadway Road, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, in August, 1977
Despite the many TV in the electronics area of the Sear's Park Mall store there were few people watching Clinton's Grand Jury testimony in September, 1998. Customer Kathy Kenny and sales Mike Kent talk over a service question.
Bob Vila, home remodeling guru poses in the Craftsman tools department at Sears, Park Mall, in 1998.
Sears and K-mart announced the closure of 120 stores across the country on December 27, 2011. The Park Place store in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ closed in 2018.
Rents in the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ area temporarily settle down
