The Phoenix-based Cornerstone has tapped Retail Brokers Inc. to lease the Shops at TC Village, an upscale retail and office mix planned for a 14-qcre tract at the gateway to an emerging urban core. "There are some deals working right now," says Bret Williams, a retail specialist for Scottsdale, AZ-based RBI. He tells GlobeSt.com that talks have begun for "two or three pad sites" and three retail spaces--all national names in the industry. "We're hitting the nationals first," he emphasizes.

The lifestyle center is envisioned as "one of the most high-end projects in Casa Grande," James Hayden, president of RBI's Arizona office, says in a press release. The center could end up with as many as nine restaurants in addition to boutique shops at the corner of Trekell and Cottonwood roads.

The Shops at TC Village will roll out in two phases and include five pad sites, ranging from 22,830 sf to 66,016 sf. The first phase will have a pair of 10,440-sf designs, one building with 8,000 sf and another with 5,000 sf. A second phase, slated to go up after the first one leases, will add a third 10,440-sf design and a 14,075-sf structure.

Williams says the developer has paid particular attention to devising a site plan with spec buildings at the rear of the acreage, but with clear visibility despite pad site development. Inline space is tagged at roughly $25 per sf and pad sites at $24 per sf to $26 per sf. The goal is to start opening some doors in late summer 2008 and the balance in time for the holiday shopping season.

Williams says the lease-up strategy is just being formulated because the assignment's just rolled in the door. As deals get made, he says a niche line-up could result, but it's too early to tell right just how it will play out.