One major Gold Canyon commercial building project is nearing completion while another has hit a snag. Construction on Shea Commercial’s Gold Canyon Suites, a nine-building office condo-retail project at Kings Ranch Road and U.S. 60 is expected to be completed by mid-September.
But developers of LaFontana, a 65,000-square-foot high-end retail project at Kings Ranch Road and Alameda say they have run into problems with other developments and have put the 5.2-acre LaFontana site up for sale.
Craig Cote, a spokesman for Shea Commercial, said four of the seven office condos in the Gold Canyon Suites project have been sold. “Keller Williams Real Estate bought one, Gold Canyon Fitness Center bought one and a private investor bought two which he plans to convert to office for professionals, such as lawyers, accountants and architects,” he said. “The seven buildings will give Gold Canyon 43,400 square feet of new office space.” John Martin of John Hall and Associates, who is leasing the two 7,735-square-foot retail buildings in the project, said he expects to have the buildings 100 percent preleased. “We’re at 80 percent now, and we have other good prospects so I expect it to be fully leased when the retail buildings open in November or December.”
He said three eating establishments have signed leases – a Chinese restaurant, a franchise pizza parlor and a smoothies and sandwich outlet. Other businesses that have signed leases include a tanning salon, a beauty shop, an online trading post, a home décor shop, and a hearing center. Hall said he is also negotiating with an outdoor furniture shop and a bookstore.
The Gold Canyon Suites was originally scheduled to open in fall 2005 but fell behind schedule because of traffic concerns, Cote said. “We spent five months negotiating with the Arizona Department of Transportation over curb cuts and traffic acceleration lanes,” he said. “Then when we finished with them we had to start over with Pinal County. We’re thrilled that the project is near completion.”
Meanwhile, P. J. Thomas, a Scottsdale developer who this spring announced that he would break ground for LaFontana, an $8 million retail complex to be anchored by a bookstore, has instead put the property up for sale. “I’ve run into a cash-flow problem with some of my other developments and selling the Gold Canyon property is one possible solution,” Thomas said. “I still believe in the project, and I’d like to see it revived. I’ve put a lot of money into it already. But at this point I’ve got to raise money or get some new investors.”
Special for The Republic Aug. 19, 2006
if(ScriptsLoaded) stInit();
