Flagstaff retail is on the rise

New centers of retail and housing growth are starting to pop up in Flagstaff, but not in the usual places.

According to the book, Mountain Town, Downtown Flagstaff was the hub of business for the community since before 1897. In the 1960s, stores started moving out of the downtown area because of a lack of space to expand and parking. They were replaced beginning in the 1990s with a variety of boutiques and small restaurants.

Flagstaffs new business hubs started congregating on Fourth Street, East Route 66, South Milton Road, the Flagstaff Mall and Woodlands Village Boulevard.

The mall still has room to expand, but for now at least one new center for shopping is growing closer to the downtown area.

Another is ready to build for the first time on the south side of East Route 66 in the space opened up by the construction of the Fourth Street overpass.

And a third is set for Country Club Drive and Soliere Avenue.

APARTMENTS OVER STORES

RED Development is starting construction on the first phase of the Village at Aspen Place. Perhaps drawn by the more than 5 million tourists that visit each year and more than 20,000 students at Northern Arizona University, the complex is located near Butler Avenue and Lone Tree Road. The project includes 222 one- and two-bedroom luxury apartments situated over more than 30,000 square feet of retail. It also includes a five-level parking garage.

The first series of apartments are expected to be finished in the summer of 2015 with three additional phases to be completed in September 2016 and January 2016.

At the same time, RED continues to expand the shopping options at its retail shopping center, Aspen Place at the Sawmill. The shopping plaza is expected to have more than 135,000 square feet of retail and restaurants when it is completely built out.

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Flagstaff retail is on the rise