lightheart at higley
retail shell
lightheart at higley pavilion is a new single-story multi-tenant commercial shell building within the larger higley pavilion retail center at the northwest corner of queen creek road and higley road. the higley pavilion master development, prepared for kornwasser shopping center properties, llc, comprises approximately 33.94 gross acres of new retail with related site improvements. this narrative addresses the lightheart shell and its associated site improvements within that approved framework; tenant improvements will be permitted separately. the building is organized as three tenant suites of approximately 1,500, 1,750, and 1,750 square feet (roughly 5,000 sf total), each given an individual material and formal identity while unified beneath a continuous, deep, wood-lined canopy. submitted documents are schematic and preliminary.
- location
- gilbert, arizona
- year
- 2026
- square footage
- 5,000 sf
- scope
- new retail park
- status
- schematic design
- architect of record
- west design studio
- collaborators
- tbd
set within gilbert's transformation from agricultural heartland to a maturing east valley community, the pavilion is conceived as a shaded, light-touch structure mediating between sun and shelter. the composition reinterprets the gabled vernacular of the region's agrarian past through a refined modern palette, pairing a prominent standing-seam metal volume in a deep, earth-toned bronze with crisp smooth-finish eifs masses and a textured masonry wing. weathered bronze, warm wood-lined soffits, cream-toned block, smooth white eifs, and broad expanses of glass establish both visual contrast and a quiet rootedness in the sonoran landscape. the bronze tone draws from the rusted hues of the desert floor and the patina of weathered agricultural structures, anchoring the building to its regional lineage, while the clean planes of eifs offer a contemporary counterpoint that lets the more textured elements take center stage.
solid massing is treated as a composition of distinct volumes, with three tenant bays expressed as individual blocks beneath deep, wood-lined canopies. the pronounced shed-roof form anchors the entry sequence while the flat-roofed eifs and masonry volumes step in and out to articulate each tenant's identity. steel-framed awnings extend the building outward, casting protective shade across walkways and storefronts, and a living wall of trailing vegetation breaks the mass of the rear elevation. glazing wraps each tenant frontage to dissolve the boundary between interior and landscape.
