Located in the Southeastern portion of the Valley of the Sun, Chandler has long been recognized as a hub of diverse business activity with an historic downtown district, and near-perfect weather, but recent accolades and developments have revealed a hip and forward thinking community on the move. Just named as one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People by America's Promise and Alliance for Youth, one of the top 10 Best Walking Cities of 2007 by Prevention magazine, and one of the best cities for seniors by AARP, reveals that Chandler is a great community to visit or call home.
Often described as a big city with a small town feel, nearly 248,000 residents reside in Chandler with 500 new residents choosing Chandler as their new home each month. The City expects to reach 95% of its residential build-out by 2012 with Chandler's last large master-planned community, Fulton Ranch, well under construction and includes neighborhood, lifestyle and power centers all within walking distance of new homes. Other projects include the southeast corner of Price & Queen Creek Roads where it is expected that both Lawrence & Geyser Development and The Gilbane Company will construct separate, upscale residential, office, retail and hotel projects along the water of Ocotillo. These two projects, known as Downtown Ocotillo, home to Starwood's new hotel concept, Aloft, and The Waters at Ocotillo could prove to be some of the most impressive and innovative mixed-use projects ever built in Chandler.
Not too far away, Arizona Village Communities, a fast-growing land acquisition and development company, recently completed the first phase of the Villas At Ocotillo, a unique, custom-built Santa Barbara-themed residential community. This intimate gated property, configured to reflect a genuine village setting, is situated within the premier Ocotillo Golf Resort Community and features immaculate landscaping and maintenance-free lakeside homes geared for a "lock and leave" lifestyle. The upscale homes in this 49-unit community were designed by award-winning architectural firm Carson/Poetzl and built by Kitchell Custom Builders.
Chandler is filled with exciting retail destinations, keeping the discriminating shopper very busy. First and foremost among these is Chandler Fashion Center; a 1.3 million square foot upscale, regional mall anchored by Nordstrom, Dillard's, Macy's, and Sears. Chandler Pavilions and Casa Paloma provide amazing dining and chic boutique shops while the City's Historic Downtown area offers a distinctive experience. The City is excited to welcome Arizona's first PGA Tour Superstore, featuring more than 50,000 square feet of golf and tennis equipment along with professional instruction to Chandler Mercado in Fall 2007.
Chandler is fortunate to continue to maintain its strong growth in industrial and office development. Chandler 101 is in the planning stages for a signature mid-rise office campus totaling 500,000 square feet. The Park at SanTan, a 220,000 square foot office project is nearing completion with a mix of office and retail amenities. Chandler Midway is also nearing completion with the first buildings ready for occupancy. Chandler Corporate Center is soon to be home to two corporate headquarters, while Avnet is also under construction on a 200,000 square foot project in Ryan's Chandler Freeway Business Park.
The Price Road Corridor continues to be one of the hottest markets in the area. Mark IV Capital is under construction with two, 41,000 square foot buildings and Lees Mayfield is in the planning process for two 180,000 square foot office buildings and a hotel project. Cyburt Hall's 98-acre project known as Park Place will soon be home to a compliment of office, industrial, hotel and retail space.
In Chandler's Airpark Area, the drug development firm, Covance, is under construction with a 275,000 square foot biotech campus that will compliment future emerging and high-technology projects in the market. The Rockefeller Group is planning a 70-acre mixed-use office and industrial park, while DWO is taking full advantage of the access to Chandler Municipal Airport with a business park that will provide runway access. Chandler Airport Center, a 228-acre master planned business park with frontage along the new Loop 202 is planned for light industrial, office, retail, hotels and corporate signature space. Many of these lots are now under construction and include developers such as Hewson, Opus, Mark IV, Panatonni and LGE. Chandler First Industrial, a 55-acre business park, is under construction, on the south side of the airport and is sold out.
Historic Downtown Chandler is truly a unique and vibrant downtown with over a 100 businesses filling the square mile that defines Downtown. Featuring over 20 award-winning restaurants with four new hot spots opening in the fall; including a micro-brewery, make this Arizona Downtown area the first to feature both a micro-brewery and Arizona winery, the place to see and be seen. The area has become a hub for the arts and cultural sector with the Chandler Center for the Arts, numerous art galleries and the monthly Downtown Chandler ArtWalk held the first Wednesday of each month. A residential component has been recently introduced into the mix, which includes the San Marcos Commons development with 79 luxury condos under construction. The addition of 200,000 square feet of retail, restaurant, office space and parking garage is set for the second phase, basically doubling the current available retail and office square footage in this area.
The City of Chandler is a proactive partner in the dynamic downtown revitalization effort with it's contribution topping $31 million to date for building renovations, street remodels and tenant improvements. Our private sector partners have contributed to bring the total investment to over $450 million in current and planned projects.
While Chandler is often referred to as a shopper's paradise, Chandler is also known for terrific hotels, a lively dining scene, entertainment venues, award-winning golf, and great parks. Boasting more than 330 days of sunshine and within 20 minutes of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, it is easy to see why so many people plan a trip to our wonderful community. We hope you will take a moment to see for yourself and visit Chandler.
As seen in US Airways in-flight magazine, September 2007.