Dennis Barney and Vestar Development Co. are developing a retail power center in Gilbert at the corner of Power and Ray roads. The partnership plans to take a 70-acre parcel, which is about a half mile south of the San Tan Freeway alignment, through zoning in the near future.

Barney is one of the most active developers in the East Valley. He developed the Circle G, a popular residential development and has partnered with Westcor on a regional mall at the corner of Greenfield and Ray roads.

Barney says the partnership hasn't secured an anchor tenant yet, but that the rapidly expanding population base makes the center more than viable. The increasing population, along with their high average income and job growth, makes the project attractive, he says.

The power center will be about three miles south of the regional mall that Barney is developing. Construction is set to begin on the regional mall and an adjacent hospital and office space, with completion of the San Tan Freeway through Gilbert in early 2007.

The demographics show signs that the mall and power center will be successes when they come on line. Already, 82,000 people live within a five-mile radius of the mall site, most of them are young and more than half are younger than 30 years old. The average household income in $75,672, Barney says, and nearly 40% of the households report incomes higher than $75,000.