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PHOENIX-Vestar Development Corp.'s announcement that its 1.3-million-sf Tempe Marketplace has hit 95% occupancy, with one year to go before it opens, is news. But to those who follow the retail trends, the quick lease-up isn't surprising.

Tempe Marketplace, Vestar's 1.2-million-sf Desert Ridge and Macerich's one-million-sf Biltmore Fashion Park renovation are prime examples of the industry's ability to move from traditional power centers and enclosed malls to heavily landscaped, open-air venues with lifestyle components such as dining and entertainment. "We call it a power center on steroids," says Tom Wood, senior vice president of marketing for Colliers International Inc. in Phoenix.

Regardless of the product label, experts say large lifestyle developments are becoming increasingly popular with consumers, which means they're also in high demand by retail tenants. But it hasn't always been that way. David Larcher, executive vice president of Phoenix-based Vestar, recalls when Desert Ridge was introduced to the area just a few years ago. Retailers, he says, were skeptical because it was considered out-of-the box thinking. "One, we were going outside the enclosed mall structure, in the middle of the desert," he tells GlobeSt.com, "and two, we were demonstrating specialty stores surrounding the traditional big-box stores."