Sprawling suburban Sahuarita wants to keep its rural ambiance, but with all the urban conveniences:
Sahuarita goes shopping
Centers going up and expanding as they prepare to serve booming town
By Levi J. Long
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
11.20.2005
New activity is stirring beyond Sahuarita's mature pecan groves and its exploding subdivisions.
On the town's southwestern edge, five new shopping centers are either getting ready to break ground or will expand in the next two years. Along Duval Mine Road, a new Wal-Mart Supercenter is scheduled to open by February, replacing an older Wal-Mart in the town. So far, Walgreens, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Carl's Jr., Fletcher's Tire & Auto, and a gas station have all signed leases or purchased pads at the shopping center.
Farther south, more development is happening, as more than 12,000 square feet of retail space is being added to the Safeway Shopping Center at 1301 W. Duval Mine Road. A full-service restaurant, a nail salon and a hair salon, are expected to occupy the space and open by January.
The commercial development responds to the hopes of town residents, whose numbers have swollen from about 3,000 in 1999 to approaching 13,000 today. A survey by the town government, which included responses from nearby Green Valley, showed that locals really want to shop near home. They listed as priorities a department store, a home-improvement store, an outlet store and a specialty foods store.
Some residents, like Aaron Brown 35, a four-year resident of Rancho Sahuarita, have even simpler hopes.
"One of the things we really need is a gas station and convenience store," Brown said.
Recruiting businesses pays off
Brown's getting that and much more, thanks in part to the laws of supply and demand, but also to the efforts of town officials and business people.
For the past two years, the town of Sahuarita and developers of nearby subdivisions have been reaching out to regional business leaders and retail companies, recruiting businesses and services for the town's growing population.
This year the town hired Kathy Ward to devise a strategic economic development plan. She said long-term plans call for diversifying the local economy and bringing high-wage jobs to the area.
"But for now, we're concentrating on the short-term economic needs," Ward said.
And that means stores and services.
The national economy has been good for retailers looking to expand and build new stores, Ward said.
"It's just a matter of attracting the stores here, and getting onto their radar," Ward said.
An old Kmart building has been leased to a new home-furnishings store, moving in by the end of the year.
Sahuarita Plaza, on Duval Mine Road, was recently bought by three Tucson partners. They are currently negotiating leases for the existing Wal-Mart space and are planning a new facade and plan to add new landscaping.
Another 19 acres across Duval Mine Road just closed escrow for another shopping center. Development plans are in the process and the center may have a national retailer as an anchor tenant.
24-acre "village"
In addition to these shopping centers on the southwestern edge of town, a new 24-acre retail development, near I-19 on the northeast corner of Rancho Sahuarita Boulevard and Sahuarita Road, is expected to break ground in early 2007.
The Village at Rancho Sahuarita, an "urban retail village" with restaurants, retail stores, and entertainment venues will be part of the Rancho Sahuarita Marketplace, which will be anchored by a 104,000-square-foot grocery store.
Court Chalfant, senior vice-president of the Sahuarita Companies, which is developing the project, said there has been tremendous demand from both residents and retailers.
"We haven't done much to recruit retailers," he said. "We have a long list of people, waiting to get in."
Chalfant declined to say which retailers they would like to attract, but said they have taken note of a 2004 survey conducted by the town of Sahuarita's Economic Development Commission.
The survey asked Green Valley and Sahuarita residents, what kinds of retail stores and restaurants they would like to see built. Some names mentioned in the survey included the Olive Garden, Romano's Macaroni Grill, Trader Joe's and Barnes & Noble.
Serving residents isn't the town's sole motive for helping bring retailers to town. Tax revenue figures show that since 2000, while population has quadrupled, sales tax revenue has not risen proportionally, which suggests that residents are making purchases outside town.
Looking for sales tax revenue
"The Town Council recognizes that increased sales tax revenues are a key factor in the town's ability to continue to provide excellent service to its residents," said Mayor Charles E. Olham.
Sahuarita's growth has been anchored by Rancho Sahuarita, which accounts for about 55 percent of the town's population. The master-planned community plans to add 11,660 new homes in the next five years.
The other master-planned communities of Quail Creek, Stone House and Madera Highlands, are also adding more than 6,400 new homes to the town. And looming in the future is another master-planned development of 10,000 new homes, expected to break ground outside the town in the next few years.
By 2010, town officials estimate that more than 26,000 people will reside in Sahuarita. And an estimate by the Pima Association of Governments (PAG), said by 2025 more than 250,000 people could live in the region south of Tucson, an area of land outlined as far as east as Arizona 83 and south to Sahuarita Road, a figure Ward said isn't so far-fetched.
"Right now, we're booming, which is good for the area. But we still have a lot of planning to do to get ready for the future," Ward said.
And though most residents and town officials want to keep the area's rural feel, they understand that growth is inevitable, and in some ways desirable.
"I'm torn," said Tom Brunner, a 57-year-old resident of the Los Colonia development. "On one hand, I'd like it to stay small. But I would like to see a Circuit City in the area."