Laveen Traded Its Planned Movie Theater for a Target, and the Rest of the Loop 202 Plan Is Heading the Same Way
October 8, 2026
October 8, 2026
Kitchell Development's Laveen Park Place sits off the Loop 202 and Baseline Road. Its western half is the part residents have been told to watch for years, because a plan the city approved years back put a Harkins Theatres there as the anchor. That plan changed in September. Target is now slated to anchor the next phase, and the theater is gone from the plan.
If you heard that news as a straight trade of one big name for another, the rest of the corridor tells a different story. Look at the Park Place swap next to the tenant list Vestar has signed a few exits south at Dobbins Road, and both projects point the same way. Laveen's next wave of retail is being built around weekday needs: groceries, breakfast, a workout, a haircut, a bank. A big-screen night out is no longer in the plan. And the changes most likely to show up before the end of 2026 are two restaurants on Baseline and 59th Avenue, not either of the big projects.
There was no press conference. The change showed up in a narrative filed with a request to modify the site's existing zoning approvals. The Phoenix Business Journal reported on it, and ABC15 and KTAR picked up that report. The key line from the filing:
"Since the rezoning approval, market conditions have evolved and the previously contemplated movie theater with a second major tenant is no longer proposed."
The original plan called for a theater plus a second major tenant. The new plan has one large store. Connect CRE reported that the Target would be 140,395 square feet on the western half of a 16-acre site. For scale, Vestar describes the entire Laveen Towne Center as a 500,000-square-foot project. One store at Park Place would cover more than a quarter of that footprint.
The Target joins anchors that are already open. Sprouts Farmers Market, T.J. Maxx and Michaels are all operating at Laveen Park Place. Once the Target is built, the center will be almost entirely errand-and-shopping retail: groceries, discount apparel and home goods, crafts, and a general-merchandise anchor.
The public coverage so far doesn't say whether Phoenix has approved the zoning modification. It also gives no construction start and no opening date for the Target. For now, the swap is a filed request.
Vestar's Laveen Towne Center is planned for the southeast corner of the Loop 202 and Dobbins Road. In June, Vestar announced its first round of tenant commitments. Grouped by what you would actually go there for, the list looks like this:
Vestar describes the lineup as a mix of "dining, entertainment, health and wellness, financial services, and everyday conveniences." Kean Thomas, the company's vice president of finance and development, said the brands "will serve residents' daily needs." The release lists entertainment as one of the categories but doesn't say which tenant fills it or what form it takes.
Put the two projects side by side and the shared direction is clear. Park Place has groceries, discount retail and now a Target. Towne Center so far has a breakfast spot, dessert, fast-casual food, a Pilates studio, personal care and a credit union. These are places you stop at on the way home from work, and they cut down on trips out of Laveen for everyday things.
Laveen Towne Center has already cleared one of its biggest steps. The Phoenix City Council approved its planned unit development, Case Z-29-25, on November 5, 2025, and the city's case register lists it as complete. The approval covers more than the retail. It allows up to 530,000 square feet of commercial uses and up to 1,456 residences across the larger site. That's somewhat more commercial space than the 500,000 square feet Vestar uses in its own announcement.
An approved PUD still isn't a construction site. Here is the order of steps between the 2025 approval and a first meal at First Watch, based on the city ordinance and the developer's announcements:
The groundbreaking date has already slipped once, from summer to fall. Vestar's June release didn't repeat an opening date. Treat late 2027 as an older estimate, not a firm promise. The release does say more leasing announcements are expected as the project moves forward, so the tenant list may still grow.
| Project | Location | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Sprouts, T.J. Maxx, Michaels | Laveen Park Place, Loop 202 and Baseline | Open |
| Target | Laveen Park Place, next phase | Announced September 2026; no schedule reported |
| Laveen Towne Center | SEC Loop 202 and Dobbins Road | PUD approved; groundbreaking scheduled for fall 2026, not yet confirmed |
| Mesquite Fresh Street Mex | 5535 W. Baseline Road | Reported as opening later this fall |
| Buffalo Wild Wings | 7780 S. 59th Ave. | Announced April 2026; no opening date |
Neither big project will open a door in 2026. Two smaller ones might.
Mesquite Fresh Street Mex is planned for 5535 W. Baseline Road. In September, Arizona Digital Free Press reported it would open later this fall. WhatNow Phoenix covered the same expansion and described it as the chain's 11th Valley restaurant. Neither outlet gave a specific date, and no opening notice had appeared as of early October.
Buffalo Wild Wings announced a location at 7780 S. 59th Ave. in April. The Arizona Republic placed it near Baseline Road, just east of the Loop 202, but gave no opening date. The chain's Phoenix location directory doesn't list that address yet.
You may recognize that 59th Avenue address from the fall calendar. The 2026 Annual Laveen Turkey Trot is listed at 7780 S. 59th Ave. for Thursday, November 26. Registration details are on the Laveen Community Council's race page.
One newer amenity already open nearby is Laveen Heritage Park, which the city celebrated with a grand opening in September 2025.
The next real news will come from the city process, not from store signs. That means a decision on the Park Place zoning modification, a Master Street Plan filing for Towne Center, or a groundbreaking announcement from Vestar. The Laveen Community Council's calendar lists a public meeting on October 13. The Phoenix planning department's PUD case page tracks Z-29-25. Whatever happens, the plan on both sides of the freeway already favors weekday stops over weekend outings, and that direction no longer depends on any single tenant.
If you own a home near Baseline or Dobbins and want to know how these projects might fit into your next sale, Cynthia Brown can walk you through what is approved, what is pending, and how to present that timeline to buyers. Get your free home valuation and a clear read on where your property stands today.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
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