North Phoenix neighborhood feeling snubbed over shopping center proposal. Here's why

A proposal to develop a grocery store and drive-thru restaurants across the street from Pinnacle High School is leaving its north Phoenix neighbors frustrated and saying their will has been ignored.

Phoenix-based Vestar, a developer of open-air shopping centers including Desert Ridge Marketplace and Tempe Marketplace, submitted the proposal. Vestar seeks to develop a grocery store and smaller shops, as well as three standalone pads for small restaurants with drive-thrus.

Residents concerned over traffic, proximity to school

The development is proposed for a roughly 20-acre site at Black Mountain Boulevard and Deer Valley Drive.

Dozens of neighbors wrote letters to the city opposing the development. They cited traffic backups around the school before and after school hours, and grumbled the development would be out of character with the surrounding residential area.

James Tuffin, who lives on the east side of Black Mountain Boulevard, southeast of where the project is proposed, said he and his neighbors are concerned about an increase in traffic and noise, like the sound from the drive-thrus and increased vehicles in the area during the busiest times of the day.

The site is zoned for residential uses, which Tuffin said is much more appropriate than a commercial center directly across from the high school.

High volume of opposition, support

The city received hundreds of letters and signatures from people both in opposition and in favor of the project.

Hundreds of people signed a petition in support of bringing a grocery store to the area. But many listed ZIP codes from as far from the area as downtown or south Phoenix. Some were even from out of state, including people from California, Texas, Utah and Florida.

In Vestar’s application to the city, it said the development will provide a neighborhood-scale shopping center for residents, as an alternative to the larger Desert Ridge Marketplace. The Albertsons grocery store at Desert Ridge is the nearest grocery store to the project, a little over two miles away.

Tuffin and several other neighbors who submitted letters to the city said the proximity to the school means the center will attract students before and after school who might loiter.

Developer told to go back to village board

When the proposal came before the Desert View Village Planning Committee, an advisory body that gives recommendations to the City Council on development in the area, committee members voted to recommend the council deny the request.

In January, the city’s Planning Commission voted to continue the measure to give the developer a chance to go back before the Village Planning Committee to again present the plans. Tuffin said he and his neighbors were frustrated over the continuance, saying the move was a “delay tactic.”

A Vestar executive said the company is working to improve the proposal and plans to have additional meetings for community input.

"As the North Phoenix community continues to grow, many residents have expressed the need for additional grocery and retail options," Ryan Ash, vice president of development said in an emailed statement.

"While Vestar is committed to addressing these needs, we also acknowledge the concerns raised by some neighboring homeowners," Ash added, noting his team will meet with critics to improve the proposal to deliver the best possible retail center. "We look forward to hosting meetings with various community groups over the next few months to provide additional updates."

So far, Vestar does not own the land where it is planning to build the site. The land is controlled by the Arizona State Land Department, which can sell or lease its land for development.

Vestar previously leased the land for Desert Ridge Marketplace from the state, before buying it at auction in 2022. No auctions have been scheduled yet for the 20-acre parcel.

Reach the reporter at cvanek@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @CorinaVanek.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: North Phoenix shopping center proposal draws neighborhood opposition