At the corner of Houghton and Old Vail roads, a grocery store is about to open next to a set of empty pads. Sprouts holds its grand opening tomorrow, Friday, October 30, with activities for families and kids planned through the weekend. The store is the first visible sign of a larger change. Over the next year or so, the stretch of Old Vail Road just west of Houghton is set to become the area's main errand corridor. It is happening in stages, and each project is at a different stage of approval.
For anyone who lives in Rancho del Lago, Rita Ranch, or Corona de Tucson, or along Colossal Cave Road, the dates matter more than the store names. One store opens this week, a retailer that bought land in July is still in permitting, and the largest project is waiting on city review.
Sprouts Opens First, and Its Neighbors Come in 2027
The Arizona Daily Star reported that Sprouts would anchor a center at Houghton and Old Vail roads, which local developer Larsen Baker was marketing to smaller tenants. The Phoenix-based chain has about 500 stores in 25 states.
Sprouts won't have neighbors right away. The Vail Voice reports that First Watch and the rest of the retail on the next-door pads are planned to open in the first quarter of 2027. The Vail Voice article doesn't list store hours. For the opening-weekend schedule, it points readers to its Facebook page.
The same article quotes Ted Herman of Larsen Baker, who argued that the corridor is just getting started:
"this a major trade corridor period. Hands down. Another developer is planning to bring in more stores. And with those stores will come more sit-down eateries."
Herman also told The Vail Voice that Sprouts saw southeast Pima County as "extremely underserved," and he expects Old Vail Road to get a complete makeover once a Walmart Supercenter and a Costco join it. Those two projects decide whether that makeover actually happens. Their timelines are very different.
Walmart Is Moving Up the Road, and Its Old Building Gets New Tenants
Walmart already has a store at Houghton and Old Vail. On July 2, 2026, it closed on 33.23 acres at 10052 E. Old Vail Road for $6.99 million, and it plans a Supercenter of more than 170,000 square feet there, according to Real Estate Daily News. The land is a large share of what remained undeveloped in Houghton Town Center's second phase. The new store will include a fuel center near East Old Vail Road.
Walmart is seeking permits, and construction is expected to start in the first quarter of 2027. The current store stays open until the new Supercenter opens. After that, the old building is expected to be divided and leased to two or three retailers. That adds another round of storefronts at the same intersection.
Costco Has the Least Certain Timeline
The Costco site is immediately west of the Walmart land. The City of Tucson's entitlement record for 9748 E. Old Vail Road describes a warehouse and fuel facility of about 162,000 square feet on 22.35 acres. The record's status is "In review." The latest review entry in that record is dated August 12, 2026, and it is also marked in review. Earlier coverage gave a different address and a smaller building, 9688 E. Old Vail Road and 158,000 square feet. The city record has the newer figures.
The city has already worked out the financial terms. In April, KGUN 9 reported that Tucson will repay Costco over time from part of the store's sales tax revenue, up to $4 million. Additional revenue is set aside for Old Vail Road improvements. A traffic study found about $3 million in needed upgrades, including a new signal and a turn lane. Mike Czechowski of the city's economic development team told KGUN 9 that the store could open before the signal is finished: "We would just have to deal with some traffic issues during the first week, month, whatever time frame if the traffic signal is not ready to go."
KGUN 9 reported a goal of finishing construction by mid-summer 2027. That is a target. No opening date has been announced.
Here is where each project stood as of late October 2026, from most certain to least:
- Sprouts at Houghton and Old Vail opens Friday, October 30, 2026.
- First Watch and the other pads next to Sprouts are planned for the first quarter of 2027.
- Bisbee Breakfast Club at Mary Ann Cleveland Way and Colossal Cave Road is planned for spring 2027.
- Walmart Supercenter at 10052 E. Old Vail Road is in permitting, with construction expected to start in the first quarter of 2027. The current store stays open until the new one opens.
- Costco at 9748 E. Old Vail Road is still in city review, with a reported mid-summer 2027 construction target.
The Mary Ann Cleveland Hub Gains a Breakfast Spot and Loses a Clubhouse
The Vail Safeway center at Mary Ann Cleveland Way and Colossal Cave Road is still part of the picture. Bisbee Breakfast Club has leased a pad at the southwest corner of that intersection. Construction was expected to start in September 2026, and the opening is scheduled for spring 2027, according to a Real Estate Daily News lease roundup. That would give the older hub a sit-down breakfast option around the same time First Watch opens to the north.
Del Lago is moving the other way. The Vail Voice reported that the golf course's last day was Sunday, August 9, that the pro shop had closed, and that the restaurant was expected to close by August 31. KOLD reported at the time that it wasn't clear whether Hacienda Del Lago would be sold along with the course or run on its own. The Vail Voice described an HOA committee as the next step for exploring options with the owners. No sale or redevelopment plan has been reported.
That means the area loses a restaurant and gathering spot inside a neighborhood just as new dining is planned along a commercial corridor a few miles away.
The Roads Between the Two Hubs
Some routes to Houghton and Old Vail are already easier. The Regional Transportation Authority lists the Valencia Road project from Kolb to Houghton as complete as of September 2026. It is now a six-lane parkway with bike lanes, sidewalks, and drainage. The October Ward 4 update in The Vail Voice says the first RTA Next project, rebuilding and repaving Irvington Road between Houghton and Kolb, is underway. Farther north on Houghton, the stretch from 22nd Street to Irvington is in utility relocation, and roadway construction is expected by the end of 2026 or early 2027.
Mary Ann Cleveland Way connects the two shopping hubs, and its widening is further off. RTA Next includes widening it to four lanes from Houghton Road to Colossal Cave Road. It also includes a grade-separated railroad crossing and a four-lane divided road on Colossal Cave Road from I-10 to Camino Loma Alta. Both are scheduled only for the plan's "second and third periods," with no start date. The stores will open well before the road between them is widened.
The Calendar Through Mid-December
Several of the season's events are close to the new corridor:
- VailFest 2026 runs Saturday, November 7, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Old Pueblo Hall at the Pima County Fairgrounds, 11300 S. Houghton Road.
- Greater Vail Chamber November Breakfast is Wednesday, November 18, from 7:30 to 9 a.m. The location had not been announced on the event page.
- Regional Impact Agenda is a free virtual Chamber session on Thursday, November 19, from 7:30 to 9 a.m. You need to RSVP to get the Zoom link.
- Standing Tall | Celebrating Our Heros runs Saturday, November 21, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at American Legion Post 109 in Corona de Tucson.
- Colossal-Vail 50/50 is Saturday, December 5, at Colossal Cave Mountain Park. It offers 50-mile, 55K, daytime 13-mile, and nighttime 13-mile races, all starting at La Posta Quemada Ranch.
- The 21st annual Vail Jingle Trail is Saturday, December 12.
If you'd like to know how the new stores along Old Vail Road, and the changes at Del Lago, might show up in a valuation of your own Vail home, the team at Ernest Hernandez can walk you through it at your own pace. Start with a free home valuation.
