Planning and Zoning Commission Approves Oro Valley Village Center

Project approval process moves forward

The Oro Valley planning and zoning commission approved (5-1) the conceptual design of the Oro Valley Village Center at its special session public hearing of January 6. Oro Valley Village Center is the new name of the Oro Valley marketplace. Their approval now moves this project to the next level of evaluation. This will be done by the Town Council.

The approval includes not only the design of the conceptual design of the project but the rezoning of this property from commercial use to residential and hotel use. In addition, the commission approved rezoning a draining area for entertainment use.

Town Staff: A regional commercial center is not feasible

Town staff reported at the meeting their conclusion that a regional commercial center is not feasible (see panel). A total overhaul of what was planned for the Oro Valley Marketplace is required. As we reported last week, town staff enthusiastically supports the proposal.

Town West: Reimagining is essential to the future of the site
Speaking at the meeting, Jim Horvath, Town West's Chairman and Founder, said that the ability to attract tenants to the Marketplace depends on the reimagined plans of the Oro Valley Village Center.

“We commit to our projects. We work with the Community towards success. Our centers operate generally at a very high-level of occupancy in the 95 to 98% range. We worked in partnership with Town of Oro Valley to attract Ashley Furniture into the Dick’s Sporting Goods space. We have brought new business like Tuc Tuc Thai, Peach Wave, Lewis + Ivy Salon, Back Benders Chiropractic and H&R Block to the marketplace.”

He continued: “We are working to save the movie theater, Best Buy, and the Red Lobster who have all struggled. We have new tenants coming into the center including Happy Vine and Pima heart, who are in the planning and construction phase. And several other tenants are in the process of negotiating leases or letters of intent.

This renewed activities is directly related and attributed to the reimagined plans for the Oro Valley Village Center.”

Neither Horvath nor his son Toby, Town West President, live in Oro Valley.

The Oro Valley Village Center is an "ecosystem"
The highlight of the reimagining the “Entertainment Center.”  Speaking at last week’s meeting, Kerri Silvyn, of Town West's law firm Lazarus and Silvyn, stated that:

 
“One of the things to understand is that this really is an ecosystem. In order for this to be successful, in order to create the space in the middle- which is the cool space that I’m going to start with because we’re excited about it -we really need the densities on the site. We need the people here that’s going to help create the success of the retail; it’s going to help create the financial wherewithal to be able to bring forward all of the really cool stuff that were we want to bring forward.”

Wednesday: “The Entertainment Center”

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