National pet products and services retailer PetSmart signed a lease for a new store at Tikahtnu Commons in early April. The 25,000-square-foot PetSmart store will sit next to the Kohl’s department store, on the west side of the retail and entertainment center. Construction of the store began in early May and is scheduled to open at the end of 2010 or in the first quarter of 2011.
“PetSmart is a valuable addition to Tikahtnu Commons,” said Dave Pfeifer, CIRI vice president of real estate. “Its services and products enhance the center’s growing role as a one-stop shopping destination.”
PetSmart has more than 1,149 stores in the U.S. and Canada and more than 161 in-store PetsHotel dog and cat boarding facilities. The retailer offers a variety of pet food and supplies, pet training and pet adoption services. The store at Tikahtnu Commons will include a PetsHotel.
The Phoenix, Ariz.-based PetSmart began in 1986 and went public in 1993. The company generated $5.34 billion in total sales in 2009, an increase of 5.4 percent from the previous year, and $567 million in operating cash flow. Its earnings per share increased from $1.52 in 2008 to $1.59 in 2009. The company distributed $32 million in dividends in 2009.
Approximately half of Tikahtnu Commons’ one million square feet of retail and entertainment space has been built out. The projected $100-million-plus project when completed could include 12 to 15 major stores and 60 to 75 smaller shops, restaurants and other businesses. CIRI Land Development Co. and its partner Browman Development Co. began developing the center in 2007 on a 95-acre parcel of CIRI land in northeast Anchorage.
