Over the past few years, the West Valley has been one of the fastest-growing areas in the Valley. Thousands of new residents now call the area home and with dozens of new construction projects on the docket, more are likely on the way.
Growth and Development
Amy Malloy, Managing Principal of Evolve Ventures, says that the market demand for to-market restaurants and retail in the area is growing. “I feel fortunate to have worked in commercial development for the last 16 years throughout the Phoenix area and to now utilize that experience and contacts to benefit the West Valley.”
Malloy shares that in the post-COVID world with more flexible work schedules, the demand for high-quality, local restaurants and retail available during daytime weekly hours continues to grow. She predicts development will be huge in that sector over the next few years.
The Trailhead
One of the biggest new developments is The Trailhead, a mixed-use facility at the northeast corner of 83rd Avenue/Westwing Parkway and Happy Valley Road.
One of the key players behind this project is Arizona native Jim Pederson, CEO of Pederson Group, Inc. Pederson formed the Pederson Group in 1983, specializing in developing and managing high-end shopping centers. Over the years, he and his team have developed over 30 retail and office projects throughout the state.
Pederson says the objective for The Trailhead is to provide quality retail services to the neighborhood that stand the test of time. "It is important to us to bring a quality tenant mix, including restaurants and specialty retailers. We pride ourselves on creating an innovative, welcoming design that brings a human scale to commercial development, creating an inviting environment.”
The Trailhead project will be a mix of interconnected uses, including a grocery-anchored shopping center with a restaurant and entertainment focus, multifamily residential and a church.
“The retail portion will incorporate a large outdoor amenity area in-between one of the restaurant and shop clusters where people can gather," Pederson explains.
New Homes for the West Valley
Shelby Duplessis, PE, President of Land Development with Empire Group of Companies, says projects are constantly popping up across the West Valley. Her company's latest project will bring new homes to the area. The Village at Pioneer Park is a build-for-rent development of 332 one-, two- and three-bedroom homes.
This new housing development on the southwest corner of 83rd Avenue and Olive in Peoria is aimed at helping with a housing shortage in the area, offering some cool places to live.
This project took a lot of collaboration and effort. “We worked closely with the City of Peoria staff and Councilwoman Vicki Hunt, as it was crucial to us not just to drop our community into the area, but to become a part of the area and capture the farming and irrigation history,” adds Duplessis. “To celebrate and keep some of this history, we incorporated white split rail fencing and wagon wheels as part of our monumentation. We also included community gardens for residents to enjoy.”
Duplessis shares that the group went with the different bedroom and home types to give people options. “Many are choosing a much simpler lifestyle and don’t want to be tied to their home cleaning and yard maintenance, and some don’t want to be in typical apartment-style homes with people living adjacent to them. This has created a demand for a diverse housing portfolio, including build-for-rent developments as well as traditional single-family and multi-family developments."
Finding a Special Place in the West Valley
Many of these projects aim to give residents in the Northwest Valley the feel of a special and unique place. The Carefree Partners Investments team aims to do that with its latest project in Surprise.
“We have the opportunity to create that for residents in Surprise,” says Carefree Partners' Business Development Manager, Rico West. West, a North Peoria resident, and second-generation developer, hopes to help boost the life and livelihood of residents in the West Valley.
“For our Surprise City Center project, we’re approved to develop 33 million square feet of buildings for this project. We can build up to 15 stories, and this will be a premier destination of the West Valley for high-density residential, shopping, restaurants, parks and employment.”
“West Valley cities are investing in the critical aspects of communities, including outdoor and recreational amenities, and strong city services. The sky’s the limit for the Northwest Valley.” — Amy Malloy
"The Trailhead will be a very important component of this thriving neighborhood, bringing much-desired uses and amenities to the community.” — Jim Pederson, CEO, Pederson Group, Inc.
For more information on the latest developments in Peoria and projects in the works, including residential, retail and commercial, log onto the city website at PeoriaAZ.gov.