Residents of one of Buckeye's fastest-growing communities may soon have a long-awaited grocery store and a new retail destination.
Arizona-based Pederson Group today announced plans to construct Festival Ranch Marketplace, a $45 million, 114,000-square-foot shopping center planned for the northeast corner of Canyon Springs Boulevard and Sun Valley Parkway.
The retail center will be anchored by Safeway and include additional retail stores and service businesses designed to serve the rapidly expanding Festival Ranch area, which has been underserved by commercial amenities, according to a prepared statement from the City of Buckeye.
The project is expected to open during the fourth quarter of 2027.
Pederson Group recently purchased the site from Pulte Group, developer of the 10,105-acre Festival Ranch master-planned community.
Buckeye Mayor Eric Orsborn said the announcement answers one of the most frequent requests from residents.
"For years, one of the most common questions we've heard from Festival Ranch residents has been, 'When are we getting a grocery store?' Today, we're excited to finally share that answer," Orsborn said. "The arrival of Safeway is a major milestone for this community, bringing convenient access to groceries while also attracting the services and amenities that help create a complete community and improve the quality of life for the residents who call this area home."
The development marks another milestone in the continued transformation of the Sun Valley Parkway corridor, an area long viewed as a future growth center for the West Valley.
Originally constructed in 1989 as a four-lane, 30-mile highway west of the White Tank Mountains, Sun Valley Parkway was built by private investors who envisioned large-scale residential and commercial development in what was then largely undeveloped desert.
Today, the corridor is home to several master-planned communities, including Festival Ranch, Sun City Festival by Del Webb, Festival Foothills and the massive Teravalis development, where plans call for approximately 100,000 homes across 33,000 acres.
Festival Ranch Marketplace will be developed, owned and managed by Pederson Group, which specializes in grocery-anchored shopping centers. The company has developed retail centers across the Valley, including Stetson Village in north Phoenix, Hayden Peak Crossing near Scottsdale Airpark and The Trailhead mixed-use development in Peoria.
Jeff Manelis, president of Pederson Group, said the project is intended to meet the needs of one of the Valley's fastest-growing areas.
"We look forward to bringing a thoughtfully designed center with an architectural flair and much needed amenities to one of the fastest-growing areas of the West Valley," Manelis said.
Butler Design Group is serving as architect for the project.
