by Peter Corbett – Nov. 12, 2008 05:07 PM
The Arizona Republic
Shoppers will get their first look this weekend at CityNorth, one of the Northeast Valley’s first big mixed-use projects to open since Kierland Commons arrived in 2000.
It will eventually dwarf Kierland, but CityNorth’s initial phase of 70 acres has about half as many shops and restaurants.
Condominiums, apartments and offices will fill the top two floors above the retailers in nine 3-story buildings along what is called High Street A quarter-mile stretch of High Street, which will open Thursday, is like a linear slice of Kierland with an overlap of seven retailers.
CityNorth on 144 acres at 56th Street and Loop 101 is set to bulk up in two years when it adds three department stores – Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s.
Developed by Related Urban and the Thomas J. Klutznick Co., City North enters the market while Valley retail vacancies are climbing and many retailers are facing a gloomy holiday shopping season.
But the developers appear to be taking the economic conditions in stride.
As the new kid on the block, CityNorth should get more than its share of holiday shoppers looking for somewhere new to spend their dollars, said Najla Kayyem, Related Urban marketing vice president.
High Street will feature 46 retailers, with about 30 open this weekend and the others opening early next year, she said.
Phoenix City Councilwoman Peggy Neely said that there is pent-up demand in the Desert Ridge area for upscale shopping and dining.
And like Scottsdale Fashion Square, CityNorth will draw shoppers from both Scottsdale and Phoenix, she said.
New shops for Scottsdale
CityNorth is about 15 minutes from upscale Scottsdale neighborhoods, including Grayhawk, McDowell Mountain Ranch and DC Ranch. That proximity is likely to draw away shoppers from Fashion Square and Kierland.
CityNorth’s retailers will include Ann Taylor Loft, Bebe, Chico’s, Coldwater Creek, Guess, Talbots and White House/Black Market, which all have Kierland stores.
Among the initial dining options are Ocean Prime and Kona Grill at opposite ends of High Street.
Kona is a popular Fashion Square night spot and Ocean Prime is an upscale seafood and steak concept similar to Ocean Club at Kierland.
It is the fourth Ocean Prime from Columbus, Ohio-based Cameron Mitchell Restaurants.
Tony McMahon, Ocean Prime manager, said the restaurant will have music every night in its piano lounge.
“We’ve added some modern touches to the traditional supper club,” he said. “We like to say that this is the Rat Pack meets Sex and the City.”
Entrees are $25 to $40 and the average dinner bill for a couple will be $140 to $180, McMahon said.
“It is a challenging time economically, but we feel the clientele we are appealing to still want to go out and have a good time,” he said.
Still to come at CityNorth are Blue Martini, the Il Fornaio Italian restaurant and bakery and 25 Degrees, a flashy hamburger joint that made its debut two years ago in Hollywood’s Roosevelt Hotel. It is described as a “bordello meets burger bar.”
The name 25 Degrees refers to the difference in temperature between a medium rare and well-done hamburger.
High Street includes condos
CityNorth’s residential component includes 30 condominiums and 69 apartments ranging in size from 750 to 1,850 square feet.
Rent averages about $2.08 per square foot while condo prices range from $400,000 to $1.1 million, and a two-bedroom condo is $637,000, said Kayyem of Related Urban.
Apartment, condo and office suite models are open at CityNorth.
CityNorth’s first phase has about 2,000 parking spaces, including 1,400 in a parking garage on the south side of High Street.
Phoenix granted the developers a $99 million tax rebate for a parking garage that will be built in the project’s second phase, said Councilwoman Neely.
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