A shopping center at Alma School and Warner roads in Chandler that sat mostly vacant for years is finally coming back to life, with new anchor tenants and local businesses filling in space that has stood empty since a Fry’s Food Store closed roughly 13 years ago. PetSmart has already opened its doors, while Ross Dress for Less and Burlington are expected to open in October, and the center — now rebranded Desert Palms — is about 75% leased.
According to ABC15 Arizona, the property changed hands in 2024 when Arizona Partners took ownership of the shopping center, previously known as Sun Village Fair. That deal, worth $12.5 million and finalized with seller LNR Partners, is detailed by Kidder Mathews. Arizona Partners is now executing a $20 million renovation in partnership with the City of Chandler to revitalize the 160,000-square-foot center, according to the developer’s own project materials.
Splitting Up a Dead Grocery Store
The center’s long slump traces back to the closure of an 84,000-square-foot Fry’s Food Store, which sat empty for about 13 years before redevelopment work began, as reported by YourValley.net. Rather than seek another single big-box tenant, developers subdivided that footprint into three smaller anchor spaces to accommodate PetSmart, Ross Dress for Less and Burlington. The same outlet’s reporting shows how the re-tenanting strategy was designed to replace one giant vacancy with several active storefronts instead of leaving the space to sit empty any longer.
The 2024 sale did not include every parcel on the corner — a Walmart Supercenter, FirstBank and Wendy’s sit on adjacent parcels that were excluded from the transaction, per The Chandler Local. Even so, Walmart is coordinating its own store and exterior updates alongside the broader overhaul, giving the whole intersection a simultaneous facelift.
A Longtime Diner Owner Sees Opportunity
For Skip Chase, who owns Chase’s Diner and has operated at the Alma School and Warner intersection for nearly 30 years, the investment could not come at a better time. Chase said the shopping center’s investment will benefit his business, according to ABC15’s report. A local restaurant is also moving into Desert Palms, along with a salon, adding to the mix of businesses returning to the corner…