Other articles by Rob O'dell:

Wider 22nd St., with alignment shifted, is OK'd Council to decide on proposal for realigned 22nd St. bridge City could appeal ruling on demolition Pima library contingent honored at White House Graffiti removal faces cut 'A' Mountain plan is aimed at restoring its natural splendor City Council agrees to create regulations on plastic shopping bags Passage of ordinance on demolition codes ruled illegal City quietly cuts services used by many residents City looks to put lid on plastic bags

Education
Yavapai College
Teachers Retail
TOTAL WINE & MORE
WINE TEAM MEMBERS, CASHIER & STOCK MEMEBERS Health Care
Freedom Manor
Caregivers General
Prestige Maintenance USA
Area Manager General
GROUNDS CONTROL
LANDCAPE FOREMAN & LABORERS Health Care
Carondelet Foothills Surgery
Pre-Op Nurse Technical
Yavapai College
Analyst Banner Programmer

Now that the city allowed a new Wal-Mart, another big-box could be headed to town — to a proposed "power center" on the Southeast Side at the UA Science and Technology Park.

A deal is in the works, although not yet finalized, to sell or lease as much as 100 acres of the Tech Park to Phoenix-based commercial developer Vestar Development Co.

The company would build nearly 1 million square feet of retail, possibly anchored by a SuperTarget and a new movie theater.

SuperTargets, typically 175,000 square feet, have large grocery sections. Some SuperTargets are two stories tall. This would be Tucson's first SuperTarget; the closest one to us now is in Gilbert, according to Target Inc.'s Web site.

Some of the land for the retail center would come from the University of Arizona, with the remaining property — between 40 acres and 70 acres — being sold by KB Home, said John Bremond, president of KB Home's Tucson division.

KB Home had planned to build nearly 600 homes on 124 acres at the park that was acquired in a complicated land-swap that paved the way for two huge research parks involving the university.

Bremond said KB still plans to build 600 homes on the land remaining after the sale, in the form of higher-density residential areas planned at the northeast corner of Interstate 10 and South Kolb Road.

"We are considering bringing in a retail developer to develop that corner," Bremond said. "It's a consensus — everyone believes it's a good spot for retail."

Bremond said KB Home would like to work out a deal "as soon as possible," but he wouldn't name the commercial builder KB is negotiating with.

The university has held talks with both Vestar and KB Home to develop some or all of the UA's 45 acres near the corner of I-10 and Kolb, said Bruce Wright, UA associate vice president for economic development.

He also said the UA has talked with other commercial developers about the property but wouldn't name who.

The UA wants to see commercial development to serve tenants of the Tech Park, a new hotel to be built just north of the 45 acres, and future residents there.

Several Vestar officials did not return repeated calls for comment.

However, City Councilwoman Shirley Scott, who represents the area, said Vestar is interested in being on the Southeast Side, and has been in talks to locate at the Tech Park.

Many city officials along with neighborhood residents said they had gotten wind that the new retail supercenter could be built at the Tech Park.

City Manager Mike Hein said he's heard of the proposal but that no paperwork has been submitted to the city on a Southeast Side power center. Given the slow housing market, he added, he isn't surprised to see KB trying to sell off land.

Mayor Bob Walkup said he, too, has heard of the proposal, but nothing definitive has "crossed my desk."

Tentatively dubbed "The Marketplace at Research Place," the power center would have 1 million square feet of retail featuring large-format stores, lifestyle entertainment stores and restaurants as tenants.

Speculation from city officials centers on the main anchor tenant being a SuperTarget.

Four of Vestar's Arizona commercial centers that have more than 900,000 square feet are anchored by Target stores — or will be when they are completed next year. Vestar has a Target in Tempe Marketplace and two SuperTargets in developments that are scheduled to open in Queen Creek and Goodyear in 2008. It also has a large "Target Greatland" store at Desert Ridge Marketplace in Phoenix.

Scott said she expects the commercial development at the Tech Park to be "significant" but that she's unsure if that means a big-box Target.

Local Target officials didn't return calls for comment, while a Target Corp. spokesman said corporate real estate officials were unavailable.

Margie Hildebrand, a Rita Ranch resident, said she's heard of the potential deal because she's active in the community. She said she would support it because the area needs shopping options.

"The growth on the Southeast Side is unbelievable," Hildebrand said. "The commercial (construction) has not kept up with it. A Target would be great."

The land swap was a critical piece in securing approval for the city's annexation of the western 573 acres of the Tech Park off South Rita Road and a planned 350-acre project at East 36th Street and South Kino Parkway.

The 36th/Kino site would feature a big-box store, an upscale housing development by KB Home and a 65-acre UA biosciences park.

KB swapped the 65 acres at 36th and Kino to the UA for the biosciences park. In return, the UA gave the 124 acres at Tech Park for the KB subdivision.

For two years, the Tech Park was bogged down in a fight over annexation into the city and a proposal to water a golf course there with drinking water.

The 36th-and-Kino project, dubbed "The Bridges," was also sidetracked by a bitter fight over a big-box Wal-Mart store to be built there, but both projects later gained City Council approval.

UA's Wright said the future of that golf course at the Tech Park isn't clear. "The golf course is a planning concept. We are not moving forward with a golf course at this point," he said.

Bremond said KB Home envisions another land swap where KB would give more land at 36th and Kino to the UA, in exchange for its land at the Tech Park. The Arizona Board of Regents would have to approve such a deal, and a board official said the board has received no information for a land swap as of yet.

Wright said the UA's plans aren't concrete, and it is considering both selling the land or ground-leasing it for the commercial development.

If there was a ground lease, the university land wouldn't be subject to the city's zoning code, Hein said, while if the land was sold, the city's zoning laws would apply.

Could the big box be back as an issue for the council if the land is subject to city zoning rules?

Councilwoman Karin Uhlich, the only council member to vote against the big-box Wal-Mart at 36th and Kino, said she hoped any store at the site would comply with Tucson's big-box ordinance, which attempts to mitigate the impacts of the stores. The city waived portions of the ordinance for the 36th and Kino Wal-Mart.

Uhlich said other Targets in the city have complied with the ordinance.

"Anything that doesn't comply will get an added layer of scrutiny," she said.

But Walkup said he felt the city is past the bitter big-box debates of the past.

"I think the community has matured to the point where every one will be judged on its own merit," the mayor said.

On StarNet: Is the UA tech park at I-10 and Kolb a good spot for a large retail outlet? Take our survey at azstarnet.com/dailystar