By Pinal Central
FLORENCE — As the largest community in the second-fastest-growing county in Arizona, San Tan Valley is “a unicorn” with “an incredible opportunity,” the Pinal County Board of Supervisors was told last week.
Within 10 miles of Walmart at Hunt Highway and Gary Road are 260,000 people earning an average $125,000 annual household income. Within 15 miles are 600,000 people. “These are soundbites that the retailers want to hear,” Jennifer Hill with Locate, a commercial real estate brokerage, said.
But aside from Walmart and a few other national and regional names, San Tan Valley remains way under-served. Within 7 miles of Walmart there’s more than $1 billion in retail “leakage” — or dollars being spent away from home — in every retail category, Hill said on Sept. 19.
Pinal County hired Locate earlier this year to study San Tan Valley’s commercial prospects and recommend strategies for keeping those dollars in the county. The good news is the community is in a great position with the potential to define itself, Hill said.
“It doesn’t have to undo a mess. It’s come into its time. And as new businesses come in and as developments occur and changes evolve, those need to be broadcast with a consistent brand, and that will help attract the retailers.”
But there are precious few places to put them. “There’s no downtown, there’s no community gathering area,” Hill said. She presented a list of 16 active land listings that are zoned commercial in San Tan Valley. Most are 5 acres or less, five are over 5 acres and one is unidentified. “Not a ton of inventory for an area that large.”
