The Desert Ridge Marketplace, a 110-acre retail development that has 800,000 sf of power center and neighborhood grocery center and another 350,000 sf of lifestyle entertainment space. The center, nearly 100% leased, won't fully open for another six months.

"It's just been mind boggling how fast this market has popped," says Darren Pitts, a retail broker with CB Richard Ellis. "It's filled up that quick. There is such demand up there." He and CB Richard Ellis' Dave Cheatham are the listing brokers for the property.

The project is going up at the northeast corner of the Loop 101 Freeway, also known at the Pima Freeway, and Tatum Boulevard in the heart of the master-planned community of Desert Ridge. The project is about two miles from the Scottsdale border.

An Albertsons grocery store and Osco drug store will anchor the neighborhood center, while a Target, Office Max, Ultimate Electronics and Old Navy, among others, will anchor the power center. The 350,000-sf entertainment element, called The Village at Desert Ridge, is an open-air retail center with an 18-screen AMC Theater at its center. Joining Romano's Macaroni Grill and California Pizza Kitchen are new lessees, Bahama Breeze, 9,500 sf; Pacific Sunwear, 4,150 sf; World Noodles, 2,650 sf; Panda Express, 2,240 sf; and Jamba Juice, 800 sf.

Retailers have been attracted to the project, which is being developed by Scottsdale-based Vestar Development, for a number of reasons, Pitts says. First is that the November completion of the section of the Loop 101 that runs from 56th Street to Interstate, which will make the area that much more convenient to access. There are more than 15 major parcels north of the Loop 101 that are expected to be auctioned by the state in the coming years for residential developments, each of which could support 5,000 homes or more, Pitts says.

Also, the city of Phoenix has designated an adjacent area as "downtown north," where the city wants to foster job creation and bring in companies and corporations. Last week, Phoenix-based Discount Tire announced it is moving into a build-to-suit office building in the corridor.

Desert Ridge Marketplace should also attract shoppers from the nearby Marriott Resort, which is just north of the site. The resort, with 1,000 rooms and another 500 timeshare condominiums, will be the largest resort in the western US, outside of Las Vegas, when it opens in late 2002.