As reported in the Jan. 16 East Valley Tribune, Phoenix-based Vestar Development Co. says weaker-than-expected population growth thanks to the housing market and competition from new retail openings has put the brakes on the planned Ironwood Towne Center and Vinyard Towne Center.
We're not sure if anyone cares about this news, especially since it has no impact on us in Oro Valley.
However, we find it interesting that the Vestar project manager stated: "The appetite for additional retail is not what it was 12 or 18 months ago."
What we do care about is the cannibalization we are experiencing here in Oro Valley where Vestar pockets almost 1/2 of our sales tax revenue from their OV Marketplace that opened in Oct. 2008, but is more empty rather than full, even with their main anchor, Walmart.
Here's the article:
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/134209
