Content area
Abstract
Tonight the City Council is expected to take the next step in doubling the size of the shopping center at South Interstate 19 and West Irvington Road by rezoning 68 acres south of it for retail use. Harkins Theatres, Old Navy, JCPenney, Best Buy, Sports Authority, Shoe Pavilion and Bed, Bath & Beyond have signed to lease some of the additional 520,000 square feet of space planned south of the existing shopping center, said the Barclay Group, the commercial developer behind the project.
Full text
The Southwest Side is poised to become a destination for people who want to shop at Best Buy, Old Navy and Bed, Bath & Beyond or catch a flick at a new, first-run movie multiplex.
Tonight the City Council is expected to take the next step in doubling the size of the shopping center at South Interstate 19 and West Irvington Road by rezoning 68 acres south of it for retail use.
The Westpoint Crossing Shopping Center would become the largest outdoor shopping mall in southern Arizona under the new name Tucson Spectrum.
Harkins Theatres, Old Navy, JCPenney, Best Buy, Sports Authority, Shoe Pavilion and Bed, Bath & Beyond have signed to lease some of the additional 520,000 square feet of space planned south of the existing shopping center, said the Barclay Group, the commercial developer behind the project.
The first stores are set to open a year after construction begins in January.
They are projected to bring millions of dollars in sales tax into the community and new jobs.
The 81,000-square-foot, 18-screen cineplex would be Harkins' first foray into Pima County. The largest family-owned theater chain in the nation has outlets elsewhere in Arizona and in Texas, California, Colorado and Oklahoma.
Francisco Fernandez, an interpreter who has lived on the Southwest Side for nearly 40 years, said the area needs this kind of shopping and entertainment.
"We have to travel way up to the North Side or the East Side for some of these stores," he said. "We have a lot of people. I think the need is there. We would love anything."
Trey Eakin, senior vice president of development for Barclay, said marketing research shows more than 300,000 potential shoppers live within a short drive of the retail site.
"There's just not a lot of amenities in that south Tucson area," he said. "We're going to bring in a lot of amenities including new restaurants."
Eakin declined until after the beginning of the new year to name the restaurants and other retailers that are expected at the Tucson Spectrum.
Anna Gonzalez, a 35-year-old nurse and mother of two who lives near West Valencia and South Wade roads, said she has to go to El Con Mall, 3601 E. Broadway, to see a first-run movie.
"It's a drive. It would be nice to have a movie theater out here," Gonzalez said. "The community is growing and it needs this. We would definitely come and shop."
The existing shopping center opened in the 1990s and features a Target, PETsMART, Food City, Home Depot and Olive Garden.
"I think (expansion) is a great idea," said Brittani Helgeson, a 20-year-old Pima Community College student. "This place is so busy.
"I think they built the restaurants too small. They're packed all the time. I don't think they realized how busy it was going to be."
Fernandez agreed, saying that there are plenty of people living nearby to support new retailers.
"You don't see stores closing on this side of town," he said.
Eakin said the company had not anticipated the volume of business that comes to the shopping center, adding that a lot of business comes from Mexico.
Ernestisna Bernal drives five hours to get to Tucson's malls from Hermosillo, Son.
She said if the new stores open she will be able to trim time off the trip, which she makes with her family three to four times a year.
"Most of the people here are from Mexico," she said while cramming shopping bags from Target into her small car.
The new development would increase traffic in the area, but Gonzalez and Fernandez said they don't mind the trade-off if it means more shopping and entertainment.
"Of course, traffic comes with growth," Fernandez said. "I think the city has to react to that."
As part of the proposed expansion, two stop lights will be added on Calle Santa Cruz to cut down on the congestion that plagues the parking lot and Irvington Road west of I-19, Eakin said.
The idea is to keep traffic from moving through the existing shopping center into the additions, he added.
*
IF YOU GO
*
What: City Council meeting
Where: Mayor and Council Chambers at City Hall, 255 W. Alameda St.
When: Today. Study session begins at 3:30 p.m., regular session begins at 5:30 p.m.
*
MAP: RANDY HARRIS/Tucson Citizen
An expanded shopping complex at Interstate 19 and Irvington Road would bring in retailers that are new to the Southwest Side but are entrenched in other areas of Tucson. The map shows how far those retailers are from the site that would be known as Tucson Spectrum.
*
Copyright 2006 - Tucson Citizen - All Rights Reverved