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Upscale shopping center planned in Gilbert
by David Woodfill
Tribune
June 15, 2007
An upscale shopping center with clothing stores, restaurants and offices is planned for the corner of Warner and McQueen roads in Gilbert. Francis Meram, president of the Scottsdale-based development firm Meram Building Co. said plans are still preliminary for the Shoppes at the Islands. Company officials met with city design staff on Thursday about the project.
Meram said the site could include some major national tenants and may include some stores that are new to Arizona.
The center will be located near The Islands, a master-planned community that's bordered by Elliot, Ray, McQueen and Cooper roads.
The development's seven buildings could range from small boutique stores to a larger anchor tenant.
Plans also call for outdoor seating areas and water features, Meram said.
"It's going to be more than your typical strip center," he added.
The plaza may include a spa, bank and childcare center, but Meram didn't specify any names. Officials hope to break ground in about four months and finish construction in about a year.
Meram Building Co., which was headquartered in Detroit before relocating to Scottsdale over a year ago, is also developing three other centers in the Valley.
Meram said the area is ripe for the kind of shopping amenities such as spas and salons that the Shoppes at the Islands would provide because the area has a high annual per capita income.
"There is quite a bit of demand from what I hear," he said.
Greg Tilque, economic development director for the city, said he hadn't heard of the plans for the center, but said there's a limited amount of shopping amenities in the area.
"I think there's a need," he said.
Cathy Everett, a Gilbert resident who was shopping at a sparsely populated strip mall anchored by a Goodwill across the street from the planned plaza, said she is excited to hear that some nicer stores may be coming to her neighborhood.
"I like the idea about the spa," she said.
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