News and Updates

Once described as an area of town, with “severe limitations“ for success, a development on Tucson Tucson’s south side is now the side of thriving retail, businesses, entertainment, venues, and now homes.

The Bridges, bounded by Park Avenue, Keno Boulevard, 36th street and Interstate 10, will add nearly 550 residential units to the mix of stores entertainment and office buildings that have gone up in recent years.

The transformation of the parcel, that once was Tucson’s downtown airport, recently saw apartment complex completed and now single-family homes for rent and homes for sale under development.

Local homebuilder, Pepper Viner, has broken ground on The Pearl at the Bridges, a 12 acre community with 126 homes to be built for sale.

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By Don Day – BoiseDev editor | boisedev.com
FEBRUARY 5, 2021

Albertsons says it will break ground on a new store location in Star, Idaho – one of three new locations the Boise-based grocery giant has in the pipeline in the area.

The company said it would turn dirt to start construction next week. BoiseDev broke news of the new store location in February 2018. The company bought a parcel on the corner of Highway 44 and N. Highbrook Way.

Albertsons said the new store will include its usual array of departments, as well as a pharmacy with a drive-thru, Starbucks kiosk, and a service deli with indoor and outdoor seating. Site plans show the store will measure 63,500 square feet.

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By Patty Bowen | idahopress.com
July 18, 2019

The MKA Office Building at Trackside is phase one of three phases planned for the site. The other two buildings most likely won’t be designed until after the MKA building is completed, said Eric Davis, founder and president of Retail West Properties. The three buildings will lease space from the Union Pacific Railroad company for parking.

Neither the MKA building or the other two buildings have been approved by the city of Meridian. A formal application has not been submitted for the project and a public hearing has not yet been scheduled, according to Chris Johnson, Meridian city clerk…

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By Gabriela Rico | Arizona Daily Star
October 28th, 2018

Work is underway on a new regional office for one of Tucson’s largest employers. A $26.5 million building permit has been issued for a 200,000-square-foot office building to house Geico, which has been in Tucson since 2003 and employs more than 2,000 workers. Local developer, The Bourn Companies, is building the project on 20 acres at The Bridges, near 3 6th Street and Kino Parkway. The Bridges is comprised of the retail center, Tucson Marketplace and the University of Arizona Tech Parle Bourn further plans to develop more office space, multifamily units and a community park on an additional 95 acres there in the future. Geico will be the first corporate employer in the development and will consolidate its employees in the new office and add about 700 positions over the next few years. The new regional office is expected to be completed by mid-2019, at the earliest.

Anne Wallace Allen | August 27, 2018

Commercial real estate developer Eric Davis grew up near Cleveland and studied construction technology and business at Ferris State University in Michigan. He spent six months working as an engineer in a power plant before moving in 1978 to Homart, a Chicago shopping center development company building regional malls around the western U.S.

Davis continued working in retail with a position with Price Development Company in Salt Lake City before moving to Cantlon Properties in Boise to build big-box shopping centers in Idaho, Utah, Oregon and Washington. Davis started his own company, Retail West, in 2000. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute and the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Davis spent some time talking to Idaho Business Review about retail real estate. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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Jeff Gardner – June 8, 2018

The next few years will be big for the UA’s Tech Park, and big for Tucson’s southern reaches in general. Over a billion-dollars-worth of construction is planned for the Tech Park in two new locations: The Bridges and The Village.

“These are both long-term projects,” said incoming UA Tech Parks Board Chair Tom Warne. “It’ll cover quite a few large-scale buildings.” 

The Bridges constitutes 65 acres of land, two miles south of the University campus, at the convergence of Kino Parkway and Interstate 10. The site is planned as a technology hub, modeled off of innovative districts from other universities in the nation. The Bridges will have over 2,000,000 square feet of lab and office space.  (more…)

David Wichner Arizona Daily Star May 25, 2018 

Office buildings will finally start going up at the UA Tech Park at the Bridges on Tucson’s south side, and planning is underway for a mixed-use “urban village” development for the Tech Park on Rita Road, according to plans unveiled by the University of Arizona Thursday.

Tech Parks Arizona announced Thursday that it has picked The Boyer Co., a Salt Lake City company, as a development partner to design and develop a new “Technology Precinct” at The Bridges, at South Kino Parkway and East 36th Street. The first development in the Technology Precinct is expected to be the Innovation and Technology Complex, initially anchored by a four-story office building that will house the UA’s technology-commercialization operation, Tech Launch Arizona, as soon as early next year. (more…)

More than 1200 jobs alone have been created at the Bridges due to the continued collaboration of Ward 5 council member Richard Fimbres, the surrounding four neighborhood associations and the developer. In a unique relationship, the neighborhood and Ward office communicate actively with the Retail West and Projects International in identifying the retail and job needs of the local neighbors. The adjacent low income neighborhood had no local grocery store, pharmacy or nearby job opportunities. Through the collaborative relationship, the group worked to bring in and support new retailers, restaurants and services including two big box stores historically protested within Tucson City limits. In an unusual situation, the four neighborhoods continue to engage with the developer, serve on the Design Review Committee and meet with City staff regarding ongoing development at the Bridges.

By Karen Schutte – July 8, 2016

Planet Fitness purchased an anchor pad at Tucson Marketplace at the Bridges, located at the northwest intersection of Interstate 10 and South Kino Parkway, for $1.18 million ($9.85 PSF) for construction of a 25,000-square-foot building. The approximately 2.75 acre parcel is northwest of Walmart and northeast of McDonald’s on Park Avenue.

Tucson Marketplace at the Bridges is a 114 acre project with approximately 1 million-square-feet of shops, pads, entertainment and anchors when fully completed. Current anchors include Costco and Walmart with such other tenants as McDonald’s, Great Clips, Mattress Firm, Sports Clips, Sprint, Verizon, and Starbuck’s. (more…)

By Gabriela Rico Arizona Daily Star Jul 22, 2017

For more than so years, Willie Blake lamented that he had to leave his own neighborhood to buy his groceries. The head of the Western Hills Neighborhood Association, on South Park Avenue, near Interstate 10, also worried about the area’s youngsters and the lack of activities for them.

When Blake, the business representative for Teamsters Union Local 104, retired in 2000, he joined the Kina Weed & Seed Project, an effort to rid the neighborhood of crime and identify economic opportunities. (more…)

November 07, 2016

PLANO, Texas (BUSINESS WIRE) Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK), a leader in the motion picture exhibition industry, will open a new 14-screen theatre in Tucson, Arizona, on Thursday, November 10. Located at 1300 E. Tucson Marketplace, the new Century Tucson Marketplace and XD will feature Cinemark’s NextGen cinema design concept, Luxury Lounger electric recliners in all auditoriums, a Cinema Café and a Cinemark XD auditorium.

“We are proud of the four neighborhoods of Pueblo Gardens, South Park, Las Vistas and Western Hills, as well as city staff, Cinemark and the developers for their work on the development and construction of this wonderful 14-screen theatre located in Ward 5 and the South side”. Tweet this
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Tucson, AZ

Dave and Buster’s is opening at the Tucson Marketplace on Monday, April 3. The restaurant is bringing more than just entertainment to Tucson, it is also a sign of economic growth for the south side.

Dave and Buster’s, along with other businesses in the area, is one of the first things out-of-town visitors are going to see when they hop off the plane and make their way into Tucson. Dan Gibson with Visit Tucson said it is a great first impression.

Gibson said the south side is growing and Dave and Buster’s choosing that side of town evidence of that.

“The opening of Dave and Buster’s is a tremendous signal in two different ways,” said Mike Varney President and CEO of Tucson Metro Chamber. “More national companies are choosing to locate in Tucson and the fact they selected the rapidly growing region of Tucson’s south side is a very good sign of economic growth in that area.”

“If you live in Star, you won’t have to go far the next time you need to see a doctor.

Saint Alphonsus Medical Group opened its first clinic in Star today next to City Hall. The clinic offers urgent care for minor to moderate conditions seven days a week, and will soon expand to offer family medicine. Nine exam rooms, a procedure room, an X-ray unit and lab testing are all on site.

“Accessibility is the biggest deal, especially with the older population not being as mobile; being able to provide them with clinics that are much closer to home,” said Saint Alphonsus Director of Operations Joel DeBlasio. “There’s just a real need over here on this part — Middleton, Star, that whole area. Emmett, even. We’ll be drawing from quite a few locations.”

Idaho Gov. Butch Otter, who lives in Star, was among the visitors at today’s ribbon cutting ceremony. Saint Alphonsus now has clinics in more than 60 locations in southwestern Idaho, eastern Oregon and northern Nevada.”

Idaho Press Tribune, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015 – by Torrie Cope
Saint Alphonsus plans new Nampa medical office

Saint Alphonsus Health System plans to open a new 10,000-squarefoot medical office building at the corner of Karcher and Middleton roads in Nampa. It will include pediatrics, family care and urgent care services, Saint Alphonsus-Nampa CEO Karl Keeler said. It’s expected to open early 2016.

Keeler said the building’s location will make it easier for patients in rural areas to get care and will help to further the health system’s goal of having a physician within 15 minutes of home. (more…)

TUCSON (KGUN9-TV)

A major boom in the local economy on the south side as more major businesses move in bringing hundreds of jobs. Dave & Buster’s is the latest business set to open Monday. A company spokesperson says there was a huge demand from Tucson residents wanting a Dave & Buster’s in the city. This is the first one in Southern Arizona. It offers over 135 games and has already brought over 240 new jobs to Tucson.

“We just really wanted to be within the community and wanted to be a central location,” explained Amy Delao, Dave & Buster’s assistant general manager. “So the northerners can come down and everybody on the south side can come up and every body on the east and west, we are really a central location for everybody.”

In the past couple months a Century Theatre, Planet Fitness and Lin’s Grand Buffet opened up. Ward 5 Council Member Richard Fimbre’s Chief of Staff says a Popeyes Kitchen will be opening next in the Tucson Marketplace located near South Park Avenue and Interstate 10 and they are working on bringing more restaurants and retail to the area.

Click here for more information on Dave & Buster’s grand opening and a link to apply for a job.

The Arizona Daily Star – July 26, 2017
Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star

Call it reverse NIMBY-ism.

When residents of the South Park, Western Hills and Pueblo Gardens neighborhoods were first approached in 2005 to talk about a planned retail and entertainment development in their backyards, their response was overwhelmingly positive.

Even as time went on and what eventually became the Tucson Marketplace at The Bridges faced project-killing hurdles, neighbors stood strong in their support, thanks to consistent communication from the developers, who from the earliest stages asked for neighbor input and have kept them involved in the process. (more…)

By Anne Wallace Allen – October 31, 2014
Idaho Business Review

Saint Alphonsus Health System is building a new clinic that will house urgent care and primary care facilities on 1.3 acres in Bown Crossing in east Boise. The 13,200-square-foot building, which Saint Alphonsus calls a “health plaza,” will include room for adding specialty medical services later, said spokesman Josh Schlaish. Saint Alphonsus owns hospitals in Boise and Nampa and in Baker City and Ontario, Ore., and about 60 clinics in the region between Boise and Baker City.

The new facility will be larger than the typical Saint Alphonsus clinic, and will include physical therapy and a rotation of specialists such as cardiologists and orthopedists, said Mike Chidester, director of real estate for the health system. (more…)

The bar and video arcade chain Dave & Buster’s will open its first Tucson location inside a south- side shopping center in 2016, confirmed City Councilman Richard Fimbres. The chain recently filed an application for a liquor license in the 1400 block of East Tucson Marketplace Boulevard, inside the Tucson Marketplace at the the Bridges shopping center near Interstate 10 and South Kino Parkway.

Fimbres said the building will be located just east of the 14-screen Cinemark Theatres, which is expected to open this summer. The Dave & Buster’s building will be about 30,000 square feet and will employ about 50 people, Fimbres said.

The quickly developing shopping center will also soon host a Starbucks, which is going into a parcel north of the Costco anchor. A Verizon Wireless and a Chinese buffet called Lin’s Grand Buffet are also expected to open.

“It’s the continued Renaissance of the south side,” Fimbres said. “[The Center is] about five minutes away from downtown, so that’s gonna be great. It’s a hop, skip and a jump.”

The Marketplace at the Bridges is a 350-acre property currently being developed by three separate entities: Scottsdale-based Genesis Tucson South, New York-based Eastbourne Investments, and Boise-based Retail West Properties.

Retail West Properties has successfully delivered a new 1,880 square foot Starbucks Coffee shop under a Lease Agreement with Starbucks Corporation. Located in the Tucson Marketplace at the Bridges, Tucson, Arizona, the store features both indoor seating and a full drive-thru facility.

Retail West Properties’ work on the project included securing all entitlements and managing all aspects of the site and building development and construction. The location is supplemented by connection to a county-wide pedestrian and bike trail and desert themed landscaping to match Shopping Center Design Guidelines.

Retail West serves as the development partner for the Tucson Marketplace ownership entity, Tucson Retail, LLC. The Tucson Marketplace is a 108-acre shopping center that is anchored by Costco, Century Theater and a Walmart Supercenter.

After nearly a year of lease negotiations and preliminary design, a new 14 screen Megaplex Century branded theater will soon join Tucson Marketplace under a lease with Cinemark, USA, Inc. of Dallas, Texas. Retail West Properties is performing all Landlord’s Work including entitlements, design, site and hardscape construction and landscaping for the 8-acre site located between Costco and Walmart and with high visibility from Interstate 10.

The 57,000 square foot theater anchors Tucson Marketplace and serves as the entertainment hub of this destination shopping center serving Tucson and Southern Arizona. Ancillary food services and entertainment-based retailers are joining the center.

Retail West Properties serves as the development partner for the Tucson Marketplace ownership entity, Tucson Retail, LLC, and had direct responsibility for negotiating Landlord obligations including budgeting, scheduling and execution of the work for Cinemark.