New West Side Story
Parke West, a new development of Glimcher Ventures Southwest, promises to transform the “New West” of Phoenix.
Katie Foxworth

When people think of Phoenix, it's likely they actually think of Scottsdale, an affluent community of 200 golf courses and perfect weather east of Phoenix. Everything, including most retail options, used to be centered on the east side of town. The west side — towns like Glendale and Peoria — were perceived by some Phoenix residents as the “wild west” for 30 to 40 years. In the past couple of years, however, that perception has begun to change in a very big way.

Glimcher Ventures Southwest's new Parke West project in Peoria, Arizona, will transform the west side of Phoenix when it opens next year.

Today, the New West is being transformed by explosive population growth in middle- to upper-income families, as well as new development such as the Glendale Arena and The Ellman Companies' adjacent Westgate City Center. In Glendale's sister city of Peoria, Glimcher Ventures Southwest has broken ground on a new outdoor lifestyle and entertainment project to serve west-siders: Parke West. The $250 million mixed-use project will combine 370,000 square feet of retail space, 100,000 square feet of office space, 215 multifamily residential units, and a hotel component. Parke West broke ground in early October at Loop 101, the main interstate loop around Phoenix, and Northern Avenue, the area's main east-west thoroughfare.

“Parke West will be a lifestyle, fashion and entertainment experience,” says David Glimcher, president and co-founder of Glimcher Ventures Southwest. “It is the first urbanized major mixed-use development going into the area.”

Parke West also exemplifies how well a partnership can really work. The city of Peoria was instrumental in establishing an infrastructure development agreement, which allowed GVSW to create significant road improvements in the area.

“The city bent over backwards with us, working overtime day in and day out in order to create this relationship,” David Glimcher recalls. “They really look at this as the front door to fashion and entertainment in the city of Peoria.”

Peoria's growth has been astounding. According to David Glimcher, two brand-new high schools have been built over the past 18 months, each school already with 2,500 students. The nearby Glendale Arena, the new home to the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes and the National Lacrosse League's Arizona Sting, has come online at Westgate City Center. Adjoining Glendale Arena is a new 63,000-square-foot stadium for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals. Millions of square feet of new office space have gone up. New zoning was recently approved for over 40,000 new housing units in the area. Parke West will be the heart and focal point of all this new growth and activity in Peoria-Glendale.

“The city of Peoria is looking at receiving $50 million in fiscal benefits over the next 20 years [from Parke West], which they're ecstatic about,” David Glimcher says. “That revenue would come in the form of everything from impact fees to real estate taxes to sales taxes. Also about 3,000 jobs will be created, of which 1,200 to 1,400 are permanent.”

No longer will west-siders have to travel northeast to Scottsdale for all their shopping needs. Parke West will offer west-side residents high-end retail shops, restaurants and a dynamic entertainment component anchored by a new state-of-the-art Harkins Theatre megaplex. In addition to Harkins Theatres, GVSW has secured commitments from As You Wish, Blue Wasabi, Brighton Collectibles, Christopher & Banks, Francesca's, Hot Topic, J. Stephens Shoes, PacSun, Sandbar Mexican Cantina and Sunglass Hut.

“We have a lot of the upper-end tenancy of Kierland Commons, probably the nicest [Phoenix-area] center in terms of higher-end lifestyle tenancy, and we have an entertainment piece,” David Glimcher says. “We've combined both of those elements on the west side.”

The design of Parke West is a unique combination as well. “When you come out to Phoenix, most shopping centers have this really desert-themed, Tuscan feel,” Nick Glimcher says. “Our team sat down and decided how we should differentiate ourselves — not only be the lifestyle center for the West Side, but also be the project that speaks for Phoenix. So we created what I like to call ‘modern meets Santa Monica, California' feel.”

The design incorporates many different materials that aren't typically mixed together, such as stained siding and stone, stamped concrete and tile. “It's going to be a really unique plan that the Phoenix market hasn't seen yet,” Nick Glimcher says. “It's going to get away from the perception that all Phoenix retail is desert-esque and hard to differentiate from each other.”

Parke West is expected to open in fourth quarter 2006.

GLIMCHER VENTURES SOUTHWEST: FREE AND FLEXIBLE David Glimcher Scottsdale, Arizona-based Glimcher Venture Southwest (GVSW) was founded in 2001 by father-son team David and Nick Glimcher and partner John Schottenstein. The commercial real estate company specializes in the development of boutique lifestyle and entertainment centers in the Southwest, as well as some acquisitions and redevelopment. Above all, the company prides itself on being able to make decisions swiftly and decisively, get the job done, and then move on to the next project. “The nice thing about our company is we're not tied to a specific criteria of development,” Nick Glimcher says. “We're not stressed because we always have to do major $250 million lifestyle centers. We have many options; that allows us to adapt to market conditions. We don't have to answer to Wall Street.” Nick Glimcher Projects that normally take companies 36 to 48 months, Glimcher Ventures Southwest can generally do in 12 to 18 months. “We have a very aggressive approach,” David Glimcher says. “We're not tied to the requirements of public companies; therefore, it allows us to make a lot of decisions on the move that larger companies can't make as effectively.” David Glimcher certainly understands public vs. private companies. In his “other life,” as he calls it, he was president and CEO from 1993 to 1997 of Glimcher Realty Trust, a New York Stock Exchange company he co-founded. Glimcher is also president of the David J. Glimcher Company, a private development firm he founded in 1988. Recently, Glimcher moved his company headquarters from Columbus, Ohio, to Scottsdale, Arizona, where he can work on GVSW projects full-time. His son, Nick Glimcher, has been working in Scottsdale for 5 years, while longtime family friend and business partner John Schottenstein, co-founder of GVSW, moved to Scottsdale in 1979. “John and I go way back; we grew up as kids together in Columbus, Ohio,” David Glimcher says. “But he's been out here [in greater Phoenix] since 1979. He was the smart one. I stayed in with the gray skies!” Today, however, all three GVSW partners are in the same city and putting their heads together in the same room to make key business decisions. “I love having my son in the business, us being able to work together, and our tight-knit organization,” David Glimcher says. “We're doing as much shopping center development as companies that have 60 people — and we have nine. It's a whole different format. We concentrate on how to get from A to Z in a very quick fashion. We're here, we look at it, we bounce things off each other, we make decisions, and we move forward.” Moving forward, GVSW expects to continue the two development niches in which it primarily works: (1) smaller, unanchored boutique centers that range from 10,000 to 30,000 square feet; and (2) major 100,000-square-foot to 1 million-square-foot lifestyle/entertainment/power centers. GVSW generally sells 80 percent of the smaller center developments as 1031 exchanges in the investor market. GVSW's other business — developing major centers like Parke West — is its bread and butter. The company holds on to those for the long haul. — Katie Foxworth