TEMPE, AZ-Stein Mart Inc. has signed a 10-year lease for 28,000 square feet in Tempe Marketplace to relocate its existing store. The national retailer will backfill a vacant Linens ‘N Things in the 130-acre, 1.3-million-square-foot project.

Stein Mart’s existing lease at 6426 South McClintock Dr. was up for renewal, and the chain, which is best described as a hybrid between an upscale department/specialty store and a traditional off-price retailer, decided against renewing. Instead, it chose to move just a few blocks away to the state’s third-busiest intersection, says David Malin, senior project manager for Vestar Development Co., the Phoenix-based developer and owner of Tempe Marketplace.

Located at the Southwest corner of Loops 101 and 202 on McClintock Drive and Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe Marketplace opened in 2007 and receives drive-by traffic of 650,000 cars daily. The project boasts more than 120 retailers, restaurants and entertainment destinations including Target, Best Buy, J.C. Penney and Harkins Theater, the state's number-one performing movie theater.

“Because Tempe Marketplace is such a large project, we had nearly every retail category already represented, and the challenge was to find a tenant that didn’t duplicate uses,” Malin tells GlobeSt. “It wasn’t really an issue of exclusivity, but the idea of putting together the most dynamic tenant mix possible. We are long-term holders, and we want to create projects that stand the test of time.”

With the Stein Mart lease, Tempe Marketplace is 99% occupied with only a couple of inline spaces available. Tenant improvements are expected to begin in early summer, and the new store will open this fall.

“In our mind, there’s only one Stein Mart – no other retailer does what Stein Mart does or does it nearly as well,” Malin says. “It has a kind of a cult-like following throughout the country and certainly here in the Phoenix area. We’re excited to have them.”