New Shopping Center to Set Sail in Surprise

Thursday, May 01, 2008

-Commercial Executive Magazine-John Machay, Photos courtesy of Eric Cassee

When Surprise city officials signed off on plans for a new shopping center near their northeastern border, they hoped the upscale strip mall would serve as an alluring gateway to the blossoming municipality. What they're getting however, is more akin to a port of call.

With a trio of billowing sails suspended from a towering 50-foot mast in the central plaza, portholes in place of windows and the tranquil sound of cascading water resonating from a majestic, state-of-the-art fountain, patrons of the Bell Mar shopping center are apt to feel they're casually strolling around the deck of a luxury ocean liner-and not bracing the heat in the northern reaches of the Sonoran Desert.

The maritime motif of the shopping oasis is the brainchild of Gary Arnold, president of Esterra Developoment and co-founder of TAG Commerical, the exclusive leasing agent for the soon-to-be-opened property.

"We wanted to do something special, a little more upscale than other commerical properties in the area," Arnold said of the project, which is docked-located on the northeast corner of Bell Road and Avenue of the Arts. "And the city of Surprise wanted something really eye catching, a gateway, because it will be the first thing people see as they enter the city."

Make that a lot of people. Studies conducted by Surprise engineers and the Maricopa County Association of Governments reveal that upwards of 70,000 vehicles pass the site every day, ranking the intersection among Arizona's busiest.

"A lot of people drive across our eastern border every day, but I'm not sure how many of them even realize when they're crossing over into Surprise," said John Hagen, Surprise's Economic Development Director. "I think a lot of people think Surprise actually starts further down Bell Road, on the other side of the river bed. So we'd been looking for something that would be an identifiable landmark at our border for sometime. We were hoping for something that would attract attention; something innovative.

And that's exactly what they got. Offering 72,5000 square feet of mixed use retail, restaurant and office space, the good ship Bell Mar is brimming with innovation. In addition to its attention-grabbing mast and sails, the chic shopping covers 40 feet of terra firma. Created by Phoenix's Aquatec Fountains, the cutting edge objet d'art will boast stainless steel spillways, a built-in sound system and color laser components that will synchronize the water, lights and music to render a radiant display of sights and sounds for visitors to enjoy.

"There are other shopping centers with fountains, but none like this," said Mike Rose, Esterra's vice president of operations. "And none where the fountain and other plaza features were specifically designed to complement the restaurants.Most of the time people don't get the benefit of a feature like a fountain until they walk out and have already paid their bill. But they don't go there specifically because they get to sit where and look at the fountain while eating. Here, they can."

Yet another innovation will come in the form of underground heating, which will keep patrons of Bell Mar's two planned restuarants warm and cozy when dining outside during the cool winter months.

"We took into account the comfort levels of people sitting outside near the fountain and we determined that under-slab heating would work best," Rose said. "This way, you don't have the overhead heaters, which create hot spots in the area near them and blow your papers and napkins all over the place. We're going to heat the concrete to 100 degrees with hot water, which will be piped directly under the concrete. Since heat rises, you'll be sitting there on a chilly night feeling toasty and warm-and since you won't see any heaters, you might not even understand why it's 40 degrees outside but you're nice and warm."

Diners won't be the only clientele not left in the cold. Bucking the tradition of tucking away office space tenants in inconspicuous nooks and inconvenient upper levels, Esterra's architects have infused the structure with yet another innovation, which the TAG team refers to as the "reversible belt" design.

"The side that faces to the north, which is where the offices will be, is designed with an office look," said Aleta Ruark, TAG's Designated Broker. "They have monument signage that's dedicated to them, their own entrance and exit, and their own identity. Because a lot of mixed use centers treat the office people like second-class citizens, this was planned so they could still have something that looked like an office, but still have the same amenities as the retail center."

Considering the property's prime location, it might surprise some people to learn that the ship's captain stumbled upon it almost by accident. Arnold-who made a name for himself in technology before selling his company, Virtual Cyber Systems, in 2000-accidentally stumbled upon the premium property while tooling aroung the West Valley in 2005.

"One day I was out driving around, like a good broker, and I saw the site," he remembered. "One of my investor friends had been looking for a property to do something on, so I brought it to his attention and we put it into escrow. Then he got involved with another site in Chandler, so we ended up pulling it out of escrow."

Ever the entrepreneur, Arnold by that time had become so convinced of the site's potential that he couldn't let it go. After claiming the land for himself, he began pulling demographic studies, examing traffic pattern reports and reviewing environmental assessments of the area. The data appeared to support Arnold's gut instinct that the barren piece of land was a potential retail goldmine.

After earning overwhelming approval of Surprise officials, Arnold and his crew enlisted the aid of an architect and began brainstorming ideas for the shopping center. But, as it turned out, the project that was to become Bell Mar soon took on a life of its own.

"The architecture evolved into something more dynamic than we initially thought or planned on," Ruark said. "The original idea was to put up shades to block the sun for the restaurant areas, but somehow that evolved into a mast with sails and it became a really amazing feature of the project.Then we added the fountain, which turned out to be much more than we ever imagined. It all came together very well."

But it soon became apparent that winning over potential tenants was going to take some work. Although Surprise-which ranks third on Forbes magazine's list of the nation's fastest growing cities-has seen its population skyrocket from a paltry 4,000 residents in 1985 to its most recent headcount of more than 100,000, many retailers maintained the belief that the West Valley municipality remained "a small, sleepy community," said Tina Law, partner and associate broker of TAG.

"A lot of people also think the area has an older demographic, when in reality it's become much more family oriented," Law said of the city, which currently has a median age of 35.4, according to statistics provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. "It's definitely changed a lot. And the people in the surrounding areas, the neighbors, have been very receptive to this shopping center: They are welcoming the restaurants and retail. Actually, they're begging for the restaurants because that area is very underserved. People outside of the area just aren't aware of that." Refusing to throw in the towel, the TAG sales team attempted to allay the apatheitc response with a change in its marketing plan, Law said. "What we're trying to do as of late is target users thaat already have a presence in the West Valley-be it Glendale, Peoria, Avondale, Goodyear-because they know the demographic has changed and continues to change," she said.

The plan seems to be working. Arnold said he and his associates are "working closely" with a number of retailers and businesses that have expressed a strong interest in the sea-worthy project. While a specific line-up has yet to be revealed, Esterra officials have hinted that, in addition to a pair of chef-drive restaurantts, the mix could include an upscale clothing boutique, a jewelry store, a home decor specialist, a shoe retailer and a handful of neighborhood service establishments such as a dry cleaner, a dog groomer, a nail salon and a package delivery business.

"Leasing a retail center is a really hard science," Arnold said. "The restaurants want to have traffic, so you've got to make sure that the other stores draw foot traffic during the day. You want to have businesses that complement each other."

Bell Mar, which is in its final phase of contruction at 11310 W. Bell Road, is expected to open its doors shortly before the 2008 holiday season.

"We're looking very forward to it," Hagen said. "For us here in Surprise, it's going to provide some much-needed amenities for our residents. Plus, when people driving on Bell Road come over the hill toward our eastern border, the first thing they'll see are the lights and all of its features. It's real different looking, and I think people are going to say, 'Wow! Whats that?' I think it's going to help give more identity to Surprise."

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