Empire Group Eyeing 100K-SF Carefree Retail Project

Empire Group and Diversified Partners are teaming up on a new retail center at Cave Creek Road and Carefree Highway. Empire Group is developing Carefree Quarter, a more than 23-acre new retail center. Empire tasked Diversified Partners LLC with heading up the leasing efforts for the project.

Carefree Quarter would deliver more than 100,000 square feet of new retail space. Diversified is looking at daily-needs tenants like grocery stores, soft goods, fitness users as well as fast-casual and sit-down restaurants.

Construction will likely begin in early 2025. Empire Group has owned the site since 2017.

The town of Carefree has volunteered an incentive plan. Under the five-year terms of the incentive, at least 60,000 square feet must be built by the end of 2026. The incentive is capped at $7M. 

Empire Group, known for its multifamily project pipeline, is working on The Stewart and Aspire Filmore high-rise apartments in downtown Phoenix. The developer is also building thousands of BTR and traditional apartment units in metro Phoenix while expanding outside of Arizona.