As a public service, I thought a list of Vestar's projected retailers would be helpful to note at this time.
Take a look at the "upscale' & "unique" shopping that David Malin & Vestar will be bringing to Oro Valley.
Here's a Quiz. The first person who can find one "upscale & unique" retailer in the group listed will be declared the winner. You need not be present to win. Your prize? A chance to visit the Marketplace at 3:00 AM when none of your neighbors will see you there.
Obviously---- The main anchor that we all can't wait for-------A 24/7 Super Wal-Mart with all their lead based Chinese imports!
Let's not forget Best Buy with their "blended in" BLUE & YELLOW sign.
Need shoes or clothes? You'll have Famous Footware, DSW Shoes, Tilly's Shoes & Clothes & Old Navy.
Need something for your dog? Forget Petsmart who pays OV 2% sales tax. You'll soon have a Petco, where Vestar will pocket almost 1/2 the sales tax revenue.
Then there's Michaels, Staples, Cost Plus, Linen & Things & Ulta for cosmetics.
Dicks Sporting Goods which will compete with The Sports Authority & Big 5 Sports. The latter two pay Oro Valley 2%. Like all of the Marketplace retailers, Dicks will end up giving almost 1/2 of our sales tax to Vestar.
If you need wine & liquor, you'll have Bev Mo, and Danny's Gourmet Market to get a pizza and have your car washed.
In case we don't have enough banks, Chase Bank will be there.
And finally, the reason why many voted for Vestar to pocket half of our tax dollars --- a Cinemark movie complex. (Hopefully the OV police will keep an eye out for your car while you enjoy the movie!)
There you have it. Twenty three million, two hundred thousand dollars of OUR TAX MONEY, for this.
Anybody think Malin & Vestar snookered the citizens of Oro Valley?
Maybe the Oro Valley First group won't have to convince you to stay away. After all, there doesn't seem to be anything that would necessitate you shopping here.
8 comments:
Nothing much there to entice me.
I will shop at stores that contribute their full share of the tax money to OV.
As of today, this mall is destined
to be just another same old, same old
shopping area.
By the way, Danny's gourmet market, is neither a "market" nor gourmet it consists of packaged sandwiches, etc.
Vestar lied, why mince words!!!
WAIT'LL YOU SEE THE TRAFFIC - the Movies let out, the shoppers race is on to get home for dinner, Harpold needs to get some ashes to the cemetary with a police escort, the car-wash kids need to go across town to go home, it's 5 o'clock and Ventana and Sanofi are 'releasing' their employees, the rush from Tucson to Catalina is in place, the 'dinner' houses are firing up, and, in addition to having been placed at a 'T' corner, there will be some more stoplight intersections added - WHEW!
In June 2006, David Malin stated that Vestar would "provide periodic updates" on the mall. He also stated, "We will be making announcements as we receive commitments from tenants." Yet we have not seen any tenant announcements since the summer of 2007.
Is this because they have not been able to secure any tenants since the announcement of the Wal-Mart anchor? Or is it because OV1st wrote letters to the tenants that Vestar DID announce, informing them of Vestar's bait and switch and informing them that over 3,000 people had signed a pledge not to shop at this mall as a result? Maybe Vestar took a lot of heat from the tenants that OV1st informed so now Vestar is refusing to announce any more tenants.
In August 2007, after OV1st had an opinion piece published in the Explorer about Vestar's refusal to give an updated presentation, David Malin responded with his own opinion piece. He ended it with the words, "Thank you for the chance to provide an update." What update??!! His "update" only talked about the Century Theatres, restoring the riparian area and creating a water-harvesting system. We already knew about those things. They were mentioned in every Vestar flyer that arrived in the mail.
So, where's our REAL update?
I came up with two possible reasons why Vestar is not announcing any further tenants.
(1) The tenants that they DID announce became very angry upon learning that Vestar had pulled a bait and switch and angered an entire town, and
(2) Vestar is having trouble securing tenants since announcing the Wal-Mart anchor.
Can anyone else come up with any other plausible reasons why Vestar has been silent for over 6 months regarding tenant choices.
After all, they PROMISED to keep us updated. So what's the big secret??!!
I have to admit that I'm taking great pleasure in knowing that the efforts of OV1st made a definite impact on Vestar. Their 6-month long silence speaks volumes!
Perhaps they confused 'letters of intent' (not worth the paper it's printed on) with 'signed leases' - ha!
I don't know how many of you have seen this website or these proposed plans but here is some info on the "Oro Valley Marketplace" that may interest you......
http://volkco.com/PDFs/OroValleyMarketplace.pdf
http://www.orovalleyhomes4sale.com/oro-valley-living/oro-valley-marketplace-update/
Websleuth,
I know that everyone from OV1st has seen the Volk website. If I remember correctly, Volk is the leasing agent for Vestar. You gotta love the line that says: "Vestar has earned a reputation for creating unique destinations with a sense of place."
Well, they've earned a reputation, all right, but that certainly isn't it!
Volk is also the leasing agent for Steam Pump Village where nothing seems to be happening. The 'hotel' sticks out like a sore thumb while
standing incomplete (should have been painted a darker color which at least would have subdued and blended this boring square tunnel) and there seems to be no visible indication of further construction other than the 'opportunity' signs.
So what gives? Are we going to be left staring at an unruly mess for
whenever they decide to get off the
can? Of course, what can we expect when a small town thinks it can attract retail away from as far away as Texas (well, at least Snottsdale). In the past years the 'big head' has gotten away from the 'little brain'. Congrats to Loomis and Parish, the deal makers.
Post a Comment