ON THE HORIZON FOR CENTERPOINT ON MILL

acres at the northwestern corner of Mill Avenue and University Drive, was plagued by vacant storefronts.

The recent uptick in business is a relief for longtime Centerpoint on Mill tenants that watched neighboring small businesses close during the recession.

“I think our outlook is good,” said Todd McNett, general manager for Centerpoint tenant Churchill’s Fine Cigars. “For a while there, we were the only thing open on this strip.”

McNett said the population density and traffic tied to a string of new apartments in » El Hefe Macho Taqueria: expected to open in January. » Zipps Sports Bar: expected to open in February. » Hot N Juicy Crawfish: expected to open in March. downtown Tempe have added a customer base for restaurants and retail shops.

Construction is starting on the Hanover Company’s six-story luxury apartment building, at the southwestern corner of Fifth Street and Maple Avenue, across from Churchill’s and one block west of Mill Avenue.

The market surge downtown is so primed that Scottsdalebased DMB, longtime owner of the Centerpoint complex, recently sold the property to GoDaddy founder Bob Parsons. Parsons’ Mill Avenue Retail group paid $38.5 million for the development.

Charley Freericks, president of Scottsdale-based DMB, said he looks forward to the historic Centerpoint on Mill’s new future.

Before the downturn, DMB planned to build a hotel and conference center on the land. Freericks said those plans didn’t seem feasible when Arizona State University announced a hotel and conference-center development across the street.

But recent interest in Centerpoint space drove the sale, Freericks said.

“Once we had AMC ... on board, ... that was huge,” he said.

The space that AMC will oc- cupy was most recently home to Madcap Theaters, which hosted local entertainment. The Downtown Tempe Community Inc., which manages the Mill Avenue District, managed Madcap after the Harkins Theatre in the space closed.

Nancy Hormann, Downtown Tempe Community president and CEO, has said that the shortterm goal for the closed movietheater space was to draw traffic to the site during the downturn. The new AMCis a boon for those looking for entertainment within walking distance of their downtown apartments, she said.

It is expensive to redevelop a former theater for a new use, so having another theater operator take over was key to paving the way for Centerpoint’s sale, Freericks said.

Freericks said he expects new Centerpoint businesses to be as popular as the Coffee Plantation and other businesses that were favorite local hangouts over the past 30 years.

Ellsworth said he expects the site to keep its longstanding name, Centerpoint on Mill, and the sale will not affect current tenants’ leases.

McNett said the new ownership has not made any major changes to Churchill’s lease.