Defunct malls among top redevelopment projects in the Valley

January 31, 2022 - Phoenix Business Journal

Defunct malls have been the focus of some of the biggest redevelopment efforts in the Valley, including the reuse of the former Park Central Mall as a primarily office mixed-use campus, and now two groups are gearing up to take on the repositioning of Metrocenter and Paradise Valley Mall.

“Paradise Valley Mall is a great location,” Mike Ebert, founding partner of Phoenix-based RED Development, said at a recent panel discussion hosted by Valley Partnership. “We started working on it about 10 or 12 years ago, but it wasn’t the right time. I’m super thankful that it didn’t work out 10 years ago.”

The 100-acre site is larger than Scottsdale Quarter and Kierland Commons combined, Ebert said.

Ebert’s firm is now working on the redevelopment of the mall into a mixed-use location that will be heavily focused on residential uses, with retail and restaurants. The first phase of new developments at the former mall, located at Cactus Road and Tatum Boulevard, will include a Whole Foods, an apartment complex and several restaurants. The first phase is planned to be open in about two years.

Debra Stark, the Phoenix City Councilwoman whose district includes Paradise Valley Mall, said RED Development has been able to get community support for its redevelopment plan, which was unanimously approved when it went before the council.

“One of the big concerns was traffic,” Stark said. “But I’d say, “Do you remember the mall in its heyday? There was a lot of traffic, and we dealt with it.”

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