The Arizona Center has seen busier years, but the property management company that operates it and its tenants are optimistic about the mixed-use development’s future.
The Arizona Center remains very active with the Downtown Phoenix Partnership, the Greater Phoenix Convention and Visitors Bureau and many other downtown organizations that help promote the center, said Brett Barendrick, senior property manager at the center.
In October, Corner Bakery Cafe opened its doors. The eatery plans to be a long-term addition to center, according to catering sales manager Sarah Miller. She said Corner Bakery focuses on downtown businesses, convention-center traffic and the students in the area.
“It’s important for us to be driving business downtown, and letting people know we’re here, and what else is downtown,” Miller said. “Downtown used to be the place to come to, there were restaurants and bars everywhere, and now it seems to be revamping.”
Barendrick said the cafe’s opening and the renewal of many other tenants has set up the center for ongoing success.
Many of the development’s stores have been in the center since it opened more than 20 years ago. Original tenants like Sid Ismail, owner of Flag World, understand Arizona has suffered economically in the past few years, but his business continues to survive. He has seen some negative impact, but continues to make money.
“My business doesn’t depend on Arizona Center, and the open vacancies don’t reflect on my business,” Ismail said. “Much of our business comes from people coming to the center to look for specific products that aren’t offered many other places.”
In 2003, the center closed the doors on its large second-story food court, reconfiguring the spot to house the Phoenix regional office of the Detroit-based architectural firm SmithGroup.
“Business has been rough for the last five years, whether other stores in here have been open or not,” Ismail said.
But other companies feel like the vacancies impact its business. Arizona Beach Company, also an original tenant, has seen its business affected by the lack of other stores in the center, according to Maricella Navarro, an employee at the retailer for the past four years.
“We’re definitely less busy right now in comparison to when the center had more open stores,” Navarro said. “A lot of people will come and see there really isn’t any other shopping in the mall and not come back.”
Leaner business isn’t just a problem for stores at the Arizona Center. It has spread much further than that, Ismail said.
“If you look at the downtown as a whole, it’s a depressed industry, and if you look at Arizona as whole, there are people going out of business every day,” Ismail said.
In April 2009, the Arizona Center filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which allowed it and its previous parent company, General Growth Properties Inc., to develop a financial reorganization plan while being protected from creditor lawsuits.
In March 2011, the center was sold by General Growth Properties Inc. to CommonWealth REIT.
Through restructuring, the center has been able to stay profitable, but more importantly, to stay in business.
“Arizona Center continues to look at many of the attractive retail concepts to further enhance the offerings at the property as well as in downtown Phoenix,” Barendrick said.
Ismail continues his business, fully recognizing that the economy can go up or down at a moment’s notice.
“Of course business is a little bit harder when the center isn’t as full of businesses right now, but hopefully they (will) eventually get filled up,” Ismail said. “But Arizona as a whole, has been a roller coast. When the economy goes up, we go up, and when the economy goes down, we go down.”
Contact the reporter at ryan.d.clark@asu.edu
