Developer Announces Plans for 3 New Outdoor Shopping Malls In Metro Phoenix

Plans are underway for mall operator Vestar to break ground on three new open-air shopping centers in the Phoenix Metro area. Two new malls will be soon underway in Queen Creek and one is coming to Peoria. All of the new projects are on undeveloped land and the projects are scheduled to be completed by late next year or early 2023.

The largest of the three new projects is Queen Creek Crossing at Ellsworth and Queen Creek Roads. The mall will have approximately 300,000 square feet of leasable space. This center is projected to open late next year 2022.

The second Queen Creek development will be named Vineyard Towne Center. This area will feature 270,000 square feet of leasable space and is set to open late 2022 near the intersection of Combs and Gantzel roads.


The northwest valley has been going substantially over the last several years and the community will welcome the Peoria development located near the intersection of Happy Valley Road and Lake Pleasant Parkway. The Shops at Lake Pleasant is also scheduled to open in late 2022 and is planned to have 90,000 square feet of leasable space.

Vestar is the largest privately-held developer and owner of outdoor shopping centers in the western U.S. The company has operations in Arizona, California, Texas and four additional states.

Valley experts say that the population increases, a solid housing market and a strong local economy are the factors spurring mall expansion in the Phoenix market.

Vestar currently operates 18 open-air shopping centers around the state of Arizona. Their largest centers are Desert Ridge Marketplace, Tempe Marketplace, and Crossroads Town Center in Gilbert, each having more than 1 million square feet of leasable space. Approximately 97.5% of Vestar’s leasable space is currently occupied. Vestar’s current shopping-center tenants in Arizona are up 11% from the comparable period in 2019, details estimate that foot traffic is about the same.