Tikahtnu Commons

 

CIRI Land Development Co. (CLDC) and its partner Browman Development Co. are developing a regional retail and entertainment center on a 95-acre parcel of CIRI land in northeast Anchorage, on the corner of North Muldoon Road and the Glenn Highway.

The $100-million-plus project is expected to include 12 to 15 major retail stores and a total of 60 to 75 businesses, including small shops, restaurants and other service and entertainment businesses. These stores include new-to-Alaska chains. Construction of the center began in 2007 and is expected to last five to seven years.

Tikahtnu Commons will be a one-stop shopping destination for the whole family. The project will distinguish itself through high-quality architecture and construction, including variations in building facades and rooflines, an abundance of color, a pedestrian-friendly design, dispersed parking and screened and/or hidden service entrances.

An aerial view of Tikahtnu Commons (looking west, towards downtown Anchorage), the retail and entertainment center CIRI Land Development Co. (CLDC) and Browman Development Co. are building in northeast Anchorage, next to the Glenn Highway. The west side of the center shows anchor stores Target, Best Buy, Kohl's, Lowe's, Sports Authority and several complexes of smaller businesses. The east side of Tikahtnu Commons shows the construction site of the new 16-screen Regal theater, in the southeast corner, and site improvements. Photo taken September 2009.

CLDC's partner, Browman Development Co., is an Walnut Creek, Calif.-based firm that has worked on many large retail projects across the U.S. Browman manages the Tikahtnu Commons project.

CIRI acquired the roughly 95-acre parcel in 1991 under the federal surplus property provisions of the Cook Inlet Land Exchange as part of its ANCSA settlement.

Anchor tenants

The first anchor tenant to be built at Tikahtnu Commons was Alaska's first Target store. The 176,000-square-foot retail store set an opening day sales record for the company when it opened its doors on Oct. 9, 2008.

Lowe's' 140,000-square-foot home improvement store opened on April 1, 2009. Tikahtnu Commons is Lowe's fifth store in Alaska. Kohl's, a new-to-Alaska national department store chain, opened a 90,000-square-foot store at Tikahtnu Commons on April 1. National sporting goods chain Sports Authority opened a 52,000-square-foot store on May 9, 2009. The store is Sports Authority's fourth in Alaska. Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy opened a 30,000-square-foot store, its second in Alaska, on June 13, 2009.

PetSmart Inc., the world's largest pet services retailer, signed a letter of intent to lease a 30,000-square-foot pet store combined with Alaska's first pet hotel and spa at Tikahtnu Commons. Construction of the PetSmart store has begun, with its opening planned for 2010.

Regal Entertainment Group's new 16-screen theater is nearing completion at Tikahtnu Commons. The theater will include Alaska's first IMAX screen and an enhanced food court. Davis Constructors and Engineers Inc., the general contractor for the project, is building the 72,000-square-foot, $20-million theater on the southeast corner of Tikahtnu Commons. Exterior finish work has begun, and interior construction is underway. The theater is scheduled to open in early June. Photo taken March 2010.

Regal Entertainment Group's new 16-screen theater complex is nearing completion at Tikahtnu Commons. The 72,000-square-foot, approximately $20-million theater, which will include Alaska's first IMAX screen and an enhanced food court, is a prototype for Regal's new theaters nationwide. The theater is being built on the southeast corner of Tikahtnu Commons, and is the anchor for the east side of the retail center. CLDC and Browman will lease the theater facility to Regal. Completion and opening of the theater is scheduled for early June.

Smaller tenants

CLDC and Browman have already leased about 80 percent of the 37,000 square feet of small store space at Tikahtnu Commons. Subway, GCI, Game Stop, GNC, AT&T, Marble Slab Ice Cream, Great Clips, Fruitland Fresh and Sally Beauty Supply.have all opened at Tikahtnu Commons. International House of Pancakes Inc. has opened an IHOP restaurant at the retail center. Other small businesses and restaurants will be constructed as Tikahtnu Commons develops.

Current, upcoming activity

With the completion of the Regal theater in June, more than half of the approximately one million square feet of retail and entertainment space at Tikahtnu Commons will be developed. Construction of the rest of the retail center is expected to take four more years.

Site improvements continue at Tikahtnu Commons, especially on the east side of the property. CLDC and Browman anticipate another surge of interest from potential tenants in 2010 due to the delivery of the entertainment aspect of the retail complex with the construction of the theater and traffic from the anchor stores. Conversations with potential tenants are currently under discussion.

For Tikahtnu Commons leasing inquiries, contact Jim Stephens with Browman Development Co. at (925) 588-2224.