Originally published in So Scottsdale Magazine.

Since 1988, Corritore has been shaping the retail landscape of the greater Scottsdale area, launching his specialty real estate firm, The Corritore Company. “I feel fortunate to have had an effect in shaping Scottsdale and the retail environment that it is today with the work that The Corritore Company has done,” says visionary John Corritore, president.

The Corritore Company’s first project was leasing Tempe’s Mill Avenue (Centerpointe), creating a thriving, vibrant destination. He soon moved to Scottsdale, having been brought in as a third-party leasing consultant to work with Westcor, which then owned Scottsdale Fashion Square, The Borgata and The Shops at Hilton Village. Corritore not only began leasing those three retail centers, but moved his office to The Borgata, where he remained for the next eight years.

In addition to leasing projects, Corritore had another niche—helping build brands nationally by expanding them into locations across the country. His first client, which he would eventually expand to 92 locations coast-to-coast, was Z Gallerie.

“In traveling to work on these expansion locations, I learned about the streetscape shopping center format,” Corritore explains. “And so I was brought in to do a feasibility study to determine if there was a market for that type of project in Kierland Commons.”

After the project was deemed feasible, The Corritore Company was then hired to handle the leasing of Kierland Commons. Corritore was so confident in the streetscape concept that he even brought in two of his expansion clients—Z Gallerie and Lucky Brand.

“Kierland Commons went on to become one of the most successful projects of its type in the United States,” Corritore shares. “We created an outdoor streetscape with all the cutting-edge retailers of that time, and we brought a majority of first-to-market tenants such as Anthropologie, Sur la Table, Tommy Bahama and Brighton Collectibles to the location.”

Scottsdale Quarter quickly came next, with The Corritore Company becoming instrumental in both selling the land and leasing the project.

“In all, I spent 15 years leasing both projects, creating an urban style shopping hub in Scottsdale,” says Corritore.

Once the company achieved those successes, it was hired to do most of the other specialty retail projects in the Scottsdale/North Phoenix area, including Scottsdale Waterfront, Market Street at DC Ranch, Chauncey Ranch, The Summit, The Seville, La Mirada, The District at Desert Ridge, Marketplace at Lincoln, and most recently, The Shops Gainey Village. Most projects were leased from the ground-up.

In addition to helping shape Scottsdale, The Corritore Company has impacted the Valley as a whole, leasing Tempe Marketplace, Westgate Entertainment District (Glendale), Dana Park (Mesa), Casa Paloma (Chandler), Village at Arrowhead (Glendale) and Parkwest (Peoria), as well as consulting on SanTan Village (Gilbert).

The Corritore Company continues to operate from Scottsdale, having moved to The Shops at Gainey Village after 14 years at Kierland Commons.

“As a local, I love that I can go to these locations and experience them with my family,” Corritore says. “You put your heart and soul into these projects and you always care about them, even after you’re done leasing them.”