By Lindsay Walker | Your Valley (Photo via Desert Sky Mall Facebook)
The death of the Phoenix retail market has been greatly exaggerated.
That’s according to Valley retail and shopping center experts who say that brick-and-mortar shopping centers are definitely not on their way out, despite having in-person experiences temporarily limited by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Desert Sky Mall, the Southwest Phoenix shopping center on 7611 West Thomas Road owned by Macerich, was 96.5% leased with few vacancies as of Dec. 31, according to the company’s most recent SEC filings.
Macerich has owned the neighborhood shopping center since 2002. According to Laura Crossman, a spokesperson for the mall, occupancy and traffic are in line with pre-pandemic levels.