A Tucson developer has teamed up with a local homebuilder, as a growing trend of developing housing within shopping centers and entertainment venues.
Bourne Cos has acquired homebuilding company Pepper Viner Homes.
Founded in 1985, Pepper Viner has built more than 40 new housing communities with more than 2,500 homes, including several homes on the campus of the now-closed Tucson Unified School District.
Vaughn is developing approximately 6 million square feet of mixed-use development, including retail, food and beverage, entertainment, hotel, office and residential projects.
Projects include The Landing at Irvington Road and Interstate 19, The Bridges near Park Avenue and Interstate 10 and the former Foothills Mall on Ina Road that has been rebranded as Uptown.
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Vaughn is also working on similar projects along Interstate 10 and Colossal Cave Road in Vail, and along Swan Road and Golf Links Road in Midtown.
The pair’s first collaboration is The Pearl, a residential development within The Bridges project.
The gated, 12-acre community will have 126 one- and two-story homes for sale.
Construction is underway, with the model scheduled to open in spring 2025.
“We had a positive experience with the Vaughn team in planning and developing The Pearl, so a long-term relationship seemed like a natural fit,” said Bill Viner, CEO of Pepper Viner.
He said the homebuilding development would retain the Pepper Viner name and its 16 current employees would be absorbed into Vaughn.
Viner said the merger will mean housing will be more prominent in future Vaughn projects.
“You’re going to see more creative, thoughtful and environmentally conscious projects,” he said.
Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
Three of Vaughan’s larger, active development projects all include housing: The Landing has an apartment complex under construction, Uptown has a 157-unit apartment complex, The Bridges has an apartment complex, single-family homes for rent, and the upcoming Pearl development has homes for sale.
At Pearl, 126 homes will be available for sale in one- and two-storey models.
Courtesy of Bourn Cos.
“Having had the privilege of working with Bill and the incredible Pepper Viner team over the years, I couldn’t be more excited about this acquisition,” said Don Vaughn, CEO of Vaughn Cos. “We share a mission to develop world-class places to stay, whether it’s to work, play or live, and this acquisition will add value not only to our company, but to the entire community.”
The idea of adding housing to shopping center and mall sites is emerging across the country, with owners seeing it as a way to help struggling retailers regain customer loyalty, according to the Urban Land Institute.
“Transforming what was once a sea of asphalt and concrete and giant windowless shopping mall buildings into welcoming mixed-use residential areas often poses challenges, but architects and urban theorists portray it as an opportunity to bring walkable urbanism to the suburbs and ease housing shortages,” the institute noted.
These renderings show the $500 million Bourn Companies project planned for the former Foothills Mall site. Photo courtesy of Bourn Cos.
Reporter Gabriella Rico can be reached at grico@tucson.com.
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