SURPRISE, AZ — The city of Surprise and a landowner are working to attract new restaurants and entertainment to its proposed City Center as they continue reviewing conceptual plans for the one-square-mile property.

At Surprise’s Planning and Zoning meeting on Oct. 21, Scott Phillips, vice president of Phoenix-based Carefree Partners, which owns the land, reviewed plans for the massive project in Surprise.

Multiple mixed-use areas will be developed by Surprise Center Development Co. on a property about the size of downtown Phoenix, according to the company. Overall, the massive project is slated for new retail, entertainment, office, medical and residential uses.

The developer envisions the project as a downtown core that will serve a population expected to eventually exceed 1 million people, according to city documents.

Surprise is a fast-growing suburb located northwest of Phoenix with about 150,000 residents. Its City Center is currently home to Ottawa University, a spring training residential facility, city buildings, retail and amenities such as parks and tennis courts, but those developments are still surrounded by vacant land.

Phillips told the Business Journal that the plans presented in October were a mix of preliminary concepts and real projects for review and ultimate development. While the plans were part of a quarterly update, Phillips said the goal is to show real developments and get ongoing feedback.

Read more of this story from the Business Journal.