Sprouts Is Only the First Opening on Old Vail Road: Here's What Comes Next, and When
October 15, 2026
October 15, 2026
At 6:45 a.m. on Friday, October 30, Sprouts cuts the ribbon at 10015 E. Old Vail Road. That makes it the first new name on this stretch to actually open its doors. The next set of openings is due in early 2027. The biggest names on the list, Costco and a new Walmart Supercenter, are both still working through approvals and permits, and the road work meant to handle their traffic is tied to Costco's own future sales tax.
If you live in Vail, Rita Ranch, or Corona de Tucson and run your errands at Old Vail and Houghton, the order matters. These openings arrive one at a time, and how certain each one is drops sharply as you move down the list.
One geography note first. On City of Tucson records, the Old Vail and Houghton commercial parcels sit inside the city, in Ward 4 and the Rita Ranch registered neighborhood. This is where much of Vail drives to shop, but it isn't Vail itself, and that's why the City of Tucson is the one making the decisions below.
Sprouts lists this location as Store #58, Tucson–Rita Ranch, and has posted a three-day grand opening schedule:
Sprouts notes that the giveaways are in-store only and while supplies last. Regular weekly hours aren't on the store page yet, so check back before you plan a regular shopping trip.
In an October 2 report in The Vail Voice, Ted Herman of Larsen Baker said Sprouts saw southeast Pima County as "extremely underserved." He told a story about a friend who moved to Vail and found the school supplies sold out everywhere he went. That's the gap this first opening is meant to fill.
Everything announced for this stretch falls into one of three groups. The first group is open or nearly open. The second has signed leases or issued permits. The third has bought land or filed plans but has no confirmed opening date.
| Business | Address | Where it stands | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sprouts Farmers Market | 10015 E. Old Vail Rd. | Opening date posted by Sprouts | October 30, 2026 |
| First Watch, Nothing Bundt Cakes, JA Ramen, Chipotle | Pads next to Sprouts | Leases signed | Planned for Q1 2027 |
| Mountainside Fitness | 10084 E. Old Vail Rd. | Building permit issued, groundwork begun as of August | No opening date reported |
| Costco | 9748 E. Old Vail Rd. | City approval still "In Review" | Estimated mid-to-late 2027 |
| Walmart Supercenter | 10052 E. Old Vail Rd. | Land bought, permits being pursued | Construction expected to start Q1 2027, no opening date |
The restaurant lineup comes from The Local Loop Tucson. Reporter Sheri Esparza visited the site in June, and The Vail Voice's Lucretia Free confirmed the tenants with the builder. The Vail Voice later reported that First Watch and the other pads next to Sprouts are planned for the first quarter of 2027. Real Estate Daily News reported in August that Mountainside Fitness had its building permit for a 40,579-square-foot gym and had started groundwork.
From top to bottom, the businesses get bigger and their dates get less certain. The two stores that would bring the most traffic to Old Vail Road are the furthest from opening.
Costco is planned for the empty field next to Tractor Supply, which sits at 9848 E. Old Vail Road. The City of Tucson's plan file describes a 22.35-acre site in the Rita Ranch Commerce Center. The plan calls for a warehouse of about 162,000 square feet plus a fuel facility, with both entitled together and built in a single phase.
If you've seen a different address or a smaller building in earlier coverage, that's because the site combines five blocks of the commerce center into one lot. KGUN reported 158,000 square feet in January, before the current application was filed. The 162,000 figure is the size in the plan now under review, not a final as-built number.
The city's permit record for 9748 E. Old Vail Road showed this as of October 10, 2026:
Both September filings describe the same first step: mass grading the site and salvaging plants. The salvaged plants go into a temporary on-site nursery, watered according to the grading plan, until they're replanted in the finished landscaping. When work starts on that field, earthmoving and a holding area for desert plants will come first, well before any walls go up.
Opening estimates have shifted. KGUN reported in April that Costco aimed to finish construction by mid-summer 2027. The Local Loop's June report said mid-to-late 2027. Herman told The Vail Voice in October that Costco is "close to being fully permitted," but no newer opening date has been published. Treat any 2027 date as a target for now.
This section has the most direct effect on your daily drive. Because Costco needed a traffic study, the city identified about $3 million in needed upgrades, including a new traffic signal and a turn lane.
According to KGUN's April report, Tucson is using its Site-Specific Tax Incentive Program. Under that program, a qualifying retailer gets back part of the sales tax it generates. Costco's incentive was first estimated at about $7.3 million, and the company agreed to a $4 million cap. The remaining $3.3 million goes to Old Vail Road improvements between Rita and Houghton roads, including repaving.
Mike Czechowski, Tucson's economic development director, summed up the rule in an August KGUN segment: "Development pays for development." The developer builds and pays for the turn lane and signal, and the city pays back part of that cost from the store's sales tax over time.
That arrangement creates a timing question, and the city has been upfront about it. In April, Czechowski said that if the building, landscaping, and parking are done before the signal, "there's a possibility that they could open," and the city "would just have to deal with some traffic issues during the first week, month, whatever time frame." Costco's fuel station adds traffic of its own. KGUN reported 40 pumps back in January, a number the current city plan doesn't specify.
No separate widening project for Old Vail Road has been announced. For now, the planned road work is the signal, the turn lane, and the repaving, all paid for by the stores bringing the new traffic.
The Walmart at Old Vail and Houghton is also moving. AZBEX reported that Walmart paid $6.99 million for nine parcels covering 33 acres in Houghton Town Center. It plans a Supercenter of more than 170,000 square feet with its own fuel center at 10052 E. Old Vail Road, just east of the Costco site.
The current store stays open during construction. Once the new store opens, Walmart plans to close the old one and fill the space with two or three new tenants. A July report said Walmart was pursuing permits and expected to start construction in the first quarter of 2027, with no opening date given. Walmart hasn't commented on its plans for either the new site or the current store.
That puts two big projects on the same stretch of Old Vail Road at once in 2027. Costco is aiming for completion that year, and Walmart is expected to break ground in Q1. Each plans its own fuel station, on neighboring sites. When the Walmart move is finished, the shopping center will still have its current anchor space, just divided among two or three new stores instead of one.
One part of the commute is already easier. The Regional Transportation Authority fully opened Valencia Road from Kolb to Houghton on September 30. The project widened nearly four miles of road to six lanes and upgraded its intersections and traffic signals, along with drainage, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, landscaping, and lighting. If you come from the west side of the valley to shop at this corner, the trip is now six lanes most of the way to Houghton. Once you reach Old Vail Road, though, you're on the stretch where the turn lane and signal are still waiting on Costco.
Sprouts is the one firm date on this list, and the restaurant pads should follow within a few months. The bigger changes depend on permits that are still in review at City Hall.
If all this construction has you wondering what it means for your home, or for the Vail neighborhood you're thinking about, Emma Lee Samaniego is glad to talk it through. She'll walk you through which openings are confirmed and which are still estimates, and answer your questions without any pressure. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
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