Listen to this article 5 min
A new Home Depot and Dick's Sporting Goods could be the next major tenants for a planned shopping center west of Phoenix.
The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) started a preliminary application process in March for a new store at Buckeye Commons, according to public documents and a city of Buckeye spokesperson. Plans for a Home Depot store will be processed administratively and not require a public vote.
Dick's Sporting Goods could also be adding a new store at Buckeye Commons next to Costco, according to marketing documents for Buckeye Commons dated February 2024.
Buckeye Commons, anchored by the Costco store that opened in 2023, will total 410,000 square feet with several major stores along Interstate 10, as well as shops and retail pads along Roosevelt Street near Verrado Way.
San Diego-based retail developer Sunbelt Investment Holdings Inc. (SIHI) broke ground earlier this year on the first phase of the Buckeye shopping center, located near the entrance of the master-planned Verrado community.
SIHI declined to comment on questions related to Home Depot and Dick's Sporting Goods.
The first phase of Buckeye Commons includes the shops and retail pads, which will feature new tenants Over Easy, Starbucks, Jimmy John's, The Joint Chiropractic, State Farm and DIP Nail Bar. The first stores are anticipated for a mid-2025 opening.
Buckeye Commons' second phase to begin this summer
The brokerage team handling leasing for the project includes Teale Bloom, Greg Laing and Zach Pace of Phoenix Commercial Advisors (PCA).
They're currently in negotiations for an additional eight tenants. Between leases and negotiations, about 60% of the shops and pads have committments.
Bloom, an assistant vice president for PCA, said the diversity and massing of all commercial development at Verrado Way has turned the area into a regional destination.
"When Costco opened, everyone noticed, and it has been embraced by the Verrado and greater Buckeye residents," Bloom said in a statement. "Retail is finally catching up to all the rooftops, and tenants don’t want to miss the opportunity to get in.”
The second phase of Buckeye Commons, which includes the major tenants, is expected to start construction in the summer. SIHI is also developing Buckeye Commons West across Verrado Way, which will add 42 acres of retail to the area.
Chasse Building Team is the general contractor for Buckeye Commons, which was designed by Butler Design Group.
The shopping center is one of several defining commercial developments that's set to transform the Interstate 10 and Verrado Way intersection.
The new Costco store revived plans for the Buckeye Commons Center after previous plans for the center fell through because of the Great Recession. Home Depot was one of the tenants first proposed in the 2000s.
Across I-10, Vestar is also building a new 500,000-square-foot center with a Harkins, Target, Safeway and more.
Banner Health and Abrazo Health are developing new medical campuses at the intersection, which the city sees as an entrance into Buckeye. SimonCRE has plans to develop a nearly 100,000-square-foot shopping center nearby.
The Verrado area is expected to see more than 3 million square feet of commercial space come online in the next several years following development of these major projects.
Dick's Sports Goods is also planning to open a new store at the Village at Prasada power center in Surprise and is bringing its new House of Sport concept to Glendale's entertainment district.
Separately, Home Depot is building a hardware store in the city of Maricopa, south of Phoenix. The new store will total 108,000 square feet with a 30,000-square-foot garden center at Stonegate Shopping Center.
