The company is looking for a grocery store to anchor the retailcenter, says Aric Adams of CB Richard Ellis, who representedBrookstone in the purchase. Brookstone could be under constructionon the neighborhood center within the next 12 to 18 months,depending on how quickly a grocery store anchor is found, Adamsnotes.

The corner parcel is near Parkwood Ranch, a 1,500-home,master-planned community that is nearing buildout. It is also aboutone-half mile from the Superstition Freeway, the main thoroughfarethrough Mesa and the rest of the East Valley.

Mesa is the largest suburb of Phoenix, but most of the newdevelopment in the greater metropolitan area is occurringelsewhere, where available land is close-in, toward the core of theValley. Over the past few years the majority of new housingdevelopments have in located in Chandler, Gilbert and Scottsdaleand more lately in the West Valley. "Mesa's hot and cold onretail," says Adams. "If you find a good parcel near a newdevelopment, that is going to be attractive to any developer. Youdon't get too many of those in Mesa."