(Image source from: Improvements at Dana Park Village Square})
Whitestone REIT in 2012 bought the high-end "lifestyle center" at Dana Park Village Square. It believes that few improvements could attract many customers and can make then stick for long time.
This summer, the corporate strategy vice president Christine Mastandrea told the Mesa Planning and Zoning Board that, "We've taken a real good look at what we feel is the changing economic conditions with retail, and what's happening in the virtual space ... online with shopping and purchases."
"In order to meet the neighborhood needs and also to create a destination and a place (where) people want to be active, there's some substantial changes that we needed to make," Mastandrea added.
Constituted with $100 million-plus investment, the changes into the plaza include:
- New retail and dining space of 70,000 square feet.
- Multifamily residential complex, four-storied, 260- to 320-units, penthouses.
- Movie theater along 40,000-square-foot, to the northwestern corner of the center.
- 102,000-square-foot, six-story hotel
- Additional office space of 153,000 square feet.
These changes are combined with pedestrian-centric overhauls of entrances, walkways and parking lots. These are expected to infuse the center with "an influx of onsite patrons" and "enhance the life and vitality of the project as a whole," said the proposal submitted to the city.
Jeff Brand, architect of Nelsen Partners, told the Planning and Zoning Board that, "The goal was to try to create a more dynamic, a more successful, a more vibrant community area."
"People want to live and shop and play and work sort of all in the same area,” So a residential element targeting affluent families and young professionals is an "important cog in making this a lasting, successful property," Brand said added.
-Sumana
