Oak Brook, Illinois-based Kensington Development Partners, along with IM Properties, have acquired Phase I of a prime 30-acre infill land parcel in Gilbert for an upscale development called Signature at SanTan Village.

The high-end retail center will sit within the SanTan Village retail, restaurant and entertainment corridor. Early anchor tenant commitments already have been secured by Whole Foods Market and a Dick's Sporting Goods House of Sport.

When all 30 acres are developed, Signature at SanTan Village will host approximately 300,000 square feet of retail, grocery, restaurant and entertainment on the northwest quadrant of Santan Village Parkway and Williams Field Road, directly west of the SanTan Village regional mall.

Signature at SanTan Village will be developed in joint venture partnership with long-time Arizona landowners and developers, SanTan Development Group, with an approximate project cost of $145 million.

Construction on Signature at SanTan Village Phase I begins immediately and will include:

•  43,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market offering natural and organic foods from this leading grocer. The store will join more than 350 Whole Foods stores across the U.S., Canada and U.K.

•  119,397-square-foot House of Sport, a rapidly growing retail concept by Dick's Sporting Goods combining a wide assortment of sports-related products with in-store experiences like a climbing wall, golf simulation bays, multisport cages and an attached outdoor field available for open play, clinics and sports leagues.

•  Three stand-alone pads. Lease negotiations are already underway for these sites, with potential tenants representing the latest in restaurant, retail and business services.

“Signature at SanTan Village’s strong commercial dynamics and customer base make it a truly exciting undertaking for the entire development team,” Kensington Development Founding Principal John Schoditsch said in a release.

Schoditsch and Kensington Development Partner Jared Eck are leading the project’s land acquisition and development.

“We’re thrilled to break ground, knowing we already are bringing two sought-after anchor retailers and have even more buzzworthy users to come," Schoditsch said.

A future Phase II at Signature at SanTan Village will add approximately 115,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, including stand-alone buildings and junior anchors.

Western Retail Advisors and Phoenix Commercial Advisors support the ongoing leasing activity at the development.

Signature at SanTan Village sits within a nearly 600-acre master planned parcel that, once fully built out, will encompass 3 million square feet of retail, restaurants, entertainment, office, residential and hospitality uses.

The site shares a signal intersection with SanTan Village, an open-air, super-regional lifestyle center that spans 1.2 million square feet.

It is surrounded by nearly 287,000 residents within a five-mile radius and benefits from exposure to approximately 58,000 vehicles per day along Santan Village Parkway and Williams Field Road.