Construction has started on a $100 million mixed-use project, Northside at SanTan Village, in Gilbert, Arizona. The development will include upscale retail, dining, and a Marriott hotel. The first phase is set to open in late 2025, bringing new leasing opportunities and community spaces to the area. The project aims to enhance the lifestyle environment in the region.
Photo courtesy of Aline
SanTan Village will be a new mixed-use development that will bring high-end retail, restaurant and hotel amenities to the area, southeast of downtown Phoenix.
Ground was broken earlier this summer in Gilbert, Ariz., on Northside at SanTan Village, a new mixed-use development that will bring high-end retail, restaurant and hotel amenities to the area, southeast of downtown Phoenix.
The master plan includes shared community spaces and a walking loop, providing added amenities for all patrons.
The first phase of the $100 million project is due to open in late 2025, according to its development team, made up of Okland Capital and San Tan Development Group.
Northside at SanTan Village is along Santan Village Parkway between Williams Field and Ray roads. Its planners noted that six retail and restaurant buildings within the development could eventually be occupied by 12 businesses, creating leasing opportunities for new tenants and serving as the vibrant heart of the Northside master plan.
The Arizona Republic noted in late July that construction crews were already building the project's planned 37,245 sq. ft. of shop space.
Bryan Babits, a broker with Phoenix's Western Retail Advisors, the firm handling leasing for the project, said in a statement that his company is seeing strong interest from businesses in leasing a space in the new development but did not specify any stores or restaurants that will locate there.
The next piece is a 134-room Marriott Springhill Suites hotel, which began construction in August and is expected to open after Northside at SanTan Village's shops and restaurants are completed.
In 2021, the project's developers received zoning approval for the 20-acre site fronting Arizona Highway 202, known as the Loop 202 freeway, to include shops, restaurants and a hotel, according to Vizzda, a real estate database.
At the time, the plan included zoning for up to 245,000 sq. ft. of office space, the Phoenix news source noted, but that part of the development is not included in the first phase.
Future phases are still being designed, according to the project's developers. Office construction has slowed greatly since the beginning of the pandemic with few office buildings beginning construction in the Valley of the Sun over the past three years.
"Our mission is to create remarkable experiences for the communities in which we develop and build," Blake Bunker, Okland Capital's managing partner, said in a statement. "Northside is a perfect example of the types of projects we strive to deliver. The retail and restaurant phase will be unique and welcoming. It features patios and shared outdoor spaces that inspire guests to gather, relax and connect.
"We're excited to be building in Gilbert and appreciate the collaboration we've had with the town and the community," he added. "We are confident that residents will love this first phase of Northside, with more to come as the remainder of the project unfolds."
Bunker's project colleague, Ty LeSueur with San Tan Development Group, believes that "Northside will continue the long tradition at SanTan Village of offering a lifestyle environment for families and individuals to enjoy while delivering first-class amenities not found in other mixed-use developments."
Upscale Project Incorporates Ease of Movement
Tempe's Okland Construction is the general contractor at Northside, while Aline Architecture Concepts in Scottsdale serves as the retail center's designers.
On its website, Aline described the Northside project's design as one that organizes the development's buildings in a way that optimizes external exposure while forming internal courtyards. Two parallel four-story office buildings will make up the east end of the loop, while the adjacent hospitality cluster forms a series of interconnected courtyards surrounded by its half-dozen buildings.
Additionally, the retail and restaurant space within those structures will create an enclosed and lively atmosphere in the central plaza, the architectural firm noted. Nestled in the central plaza will be a courtyard sized to accommodate a wide range of community programming. With the restaurants and courtyard in the heart of Northside, a hotel building will anchor the north end of the site.
Aline's team of architects designed the entire project to allow for vehicle traffic to easily move about once drivers access the main entrance from SanTan Village Parkway. Parking will be available at several new Northside lots — each providing quick access to the development's various restaurants and retail stores.
"The Northside project brings an attractive, refined and much-desired amenity into Gilbert's SanTan Village corridor," Gilbert Office of Economic Development Director Dan Henderson said. "We continue to see increased demand for hospitality product in Gilbert and we anticipate that the addition of Northside's restaurant, retail and lifestyle components will blend seamlessly into the fabric of Gilbert's upscale offerings."
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