Several new businesses opening up along Camelback

Friday, March 5, 2010

Several new businesses, including a grocery store, a bookstore and a variety of restaurants, are opening on Camelback Road between Central Avenue and 40th Street.

Retail brokers say the market is showing more activity, as retailers that once couldn’t afford to locate in the Camelback Corridor are finding good buys there during the recession.

“Welcome to the new decade, where rents are advantageous for renters,” said Larry Ortega, senior vice president of retail properties for Colliers International in Phoenix.

Todd Folger, senior vice president of SRS Real Estate Partners in Phoenix, said rents along Camelback are down on average between 10 percent and 15 percent, compared with 35 percent to 50 percent in outlying areas of the Valley.

Although rents haven’t declined nearly as quickly as they have in other neighborhoods, the Camelback Corridor has become accessible to some retailers that wouldn’t have considered it before.

A case in point is Half Price Books, which opened last month at 2102 E. Camelback Road in a former snowboarding shop.

“Three or four years ago, we would not be able to find a home for them in the Camel­back Corridor because rents were so inflated at the time,” said Folger. “Obviously, with the recession, they were very excited to take advantage it.”

This is Half Price Books’ third location in the Valley. The Dallas-based retailer has about 100 stores in 16 states.

A franchisee for Culver’s, a Wisconsin-based burger and custard chain, was able to secure an empty lot at 825 E. Camelback through an unconventional transaction.

James DeCremer, vice president of Strategic Retail Group in Phoenix, represented an investment group that wanted to sell the promissory note attached to the property. After determining the best use for the property might be a fast food vendor, DeCremer made a connection with a Culver’s franchisee.

“This is not a typical cookie-cutter real estate deal, but this particular franchisee was a little less risk-averse,” DeCremer said.

The franchisee purchased the note and built the restaurant within about a year, opening in early February. Culver’s now has five locations in metro Phoenix and about 400 across the country.

Another burger joint is scheduled to open March 10. Smashburger, which already has two locations in the Valley, has opted for a site at the Camelback Colonnade, at 1949 E. Camelback.

At the southwest corner of Camelback and 40th Street, a Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market is moving into the space once occupied by Wild Oats. The small neighborhood shopping center is undergoing an exterior remodel, with Fresh & Easy being the focal point.

At the Esplanade on the southeast corner of Camelback Road and 24th Street, two new tenants have signed leases. Picazzo’s Gourmet Pizza, Salad & Pasta will open by summer, and City Market & Deli should be open within a month, according to Summer Davis, a senior associate with Cushman & Wakefield of Arizona, which participated in the deal.

Perhaps the biggest action along the Camelback Corridor is the new Camelback Toyota dealership being built on the northwest corner of Camelback and 16th Street. The $20 million facility will open in May, according to Michael Pacheco, director of real estate construction for Van Tuyl Group, owner of Camelback Toyota.

Pacheco said another dealership the company owns will move into Camelback Toyota’s current location at 1333 E. Camelback Road.

David Vine, director of real estate for Smart & Final, said the company will open a grocery warehouse in September at 20th Street and Highland Avenue, in the former Linens ‘N Things site.