"Location was key," Gordon Raguse, a senior vice president with Grubb & Ellis/BRE Commercial, tells GlobeSt.com. "It's in an area that has a lot of residential growth."

Curves franchisee, Jodie Walleson, opened her first center two years ago at 9832 N. Hayden Road in McCormick Ranch. Raguse says he's negotiated 12 Phoenix-area leases for franchisees of Curves International Inc., the second-fastest growing franchise business in the country behind Subway.

Located at 10135 E. Via Linda Dr., the Mercado at Scottsdale Ranch features 182,000 sf of upscale shopping and restaurant destinations, with AJ Fine Foods and Walgreens as the anchors with Starbucks Coffee as an added draw. A portion of the center includes second-story office suites. The Mercado's rent averages $21.34 per sf, a fairly standard price for retail in the Scottsdale market, says Raguse who negotiated against an in-house broker for Mercado owner, Danville, CA-based Rassier Properties.