Sprouts Opens October 30 at Old Vail and Houghton. Here's What Comes After It.

Ted Herman, the Larsen Baker developer behind the new Sprouts on Old Vail Road, tells a story about a friend who moved to Vail for the school district. When back-to-school shopping came around, the friend found every store already sold out of supplies. Herman told The Vail Voice the story to explain why Sprouts decided southeast Pima County was "extremely underserved."

That shortage is about to ease on a single corner, and the order matters. Over about two years, a road, a grocery store, a row of small shops and two warehouse-sized stores are all landing around Old Vail and Houghton. Each one sets up the next. The Sprouts opening on Friday, October 30 is the second step, not the first.

Step One Opened Last Week

The first piece was the road. The Regional Transportation Authority's Valencia Road project, which runs nearly four miles from Kolb Road to Houghton Road, fully opened on September 30. Valencia is now six lanes with a median. The work also upgraded the signals and intersections at Old Vail Road and Nexus Road, added drainage for all-weather access during storms, and installed bike lanes, ADA-compliant sidewalks, native landscaping, Dark Sky-compliant streetlights and public art.

Those details matter for groceries. A store that draws shoppers from Vail, Rita Ranch, Coyote Creek and Corona de Tucson needs approach roads that can carry them. The Old Vail intersection upgrade was finished a month before the grocery store opens.

Step Two Is Sprouts, on October 30

Sprouts' own store directory lists this location as Tucson-Rita Ranch at 10015 E Old Vail Rd., Tucson, AZ 85747, at Old Vail and Houghton Roads. The directory gives the date as "Opening October 30, 2026." The Vail Voice reported on October 2 that the grand opening is that Friday, with family and kids' activities running all weekend.

Nobody has published a store-specific list of giveaways or hours yet. The Vail Voice points readers to its Facebook page for the local schedule. As of early October, the safest plan is to check there in the last week of the month before you go.

The timeline also moved up. In its July issue, The Vail Voice listed Sprouts as due in "late 2026/early 2027." October 30 lands at the early end of that window, and that matters for the rest of the parking lot.

Step Three Is the Parking Lot

The two building pads in the Sprouts lot already have most of their tenants. Per the developer, as reported in The Vail Voice's July 2026 issue:

• First pad: Nothing Bundt Cakes, Ava Nails, JA Ramen and Scented Leaf, plus one 2,200-square-foot space that was still unsigned at the time
• Second pad: Pinkberry, Mattress Firm and First Watch

The October report puts First Watch and the shops next to it in the first quarter of 2027. No tenant-specific opening dates have been released.

That mix covers more than errands. It includes a breakfast place, a ramen shop and two dessert stops, all in a lot that will already be busy with grocery traffic. Across Old Vail Road in Houghton Town Center, construction on a Chipotle had already started by July. By early 2027, a quick dinner out could mean crossing the street rather than driving toward Tucson.

Step Four Is Two Warehouse-Sized Stores on One Block

This is where the corner stops looking like a neighborhood shopping center and starts acting like a regional one.

Costco. The City of Tucson's entitlement record describes a roughly 162,000-square-foot warehouse with a fuel facility on a 22.35-acre site at 9748 E. Old Vail Road. That's the field next to Tractor Supply. The permits are still in process. The city's plan record required resubmittals in June and July, and its latest visible entry reads "IN REVIEW," dated August 12, 2026. The city's Design Review Board then put Costco's large-establishment special exception on its August 21 agenda. On October 2, Herman told The Vail Voice he understood Costco was "close to being fully permitted."

The opening date has slipped a bit as details firmed up. In January, KGUN reported a mid-summer 2027 target, a 158,000-square-foot building, 40 fuel pumps and 320 full- and part-time jobs. By June, local reporting had moved to "mid to late 2027" and the larger 162,000-square-foot figure that matches the city record. Treat 2027 as a projection until a building permit is posted.

Walmart. The second big store is a replacement, not a new arrival. AZBEX reported on August 4 that Walmart paid $6.99 million for nine parcels covering 33 acres in Houghton Town Center at 10052 E. Old Vail Road. The plan is a Supercenter of more than 170,000 square feet with its own fuel center. The site sits just east of the Costco parcel.

The current Walmart at Old Vail and Houghton will stay open during construction. Once the new store is running, Walmart plans to close the old one and fill that building with two or three new tenants. Walmart hasn't announced an opening date, and KGUN reported in August that the company declined to comment on either store.

So two fuel centers and two stores of 160,000 square feet or more are planned side by side on Old Vail Road. When the old Walmart building reopens with new tenants, the corner gains even more storefronts without a single new lot being graded.

What Herman Says Comes After That

Herman's view goes further than the leases signed so far. "Another developer is planning to bring in more stores," he told The Vail Voice. "And with those stores will come more sit-down eateries." He also said he expects Old Vail Road to get "a complete make over" once Walmart and Costco are both on it. He didn't name the developer, the sites or the restaurants. For now it's one developer's forecast, but it fits the pattern so far. Each layer on this corner has opened only after the one before it brought in steady traffic.

The Calendar From Here

1. September 30, 2026: Valencia Road, Kolb to Houghton, fully open at six lanes.
2. Friday, October 30, 2026: Sprouts grand opening at 10015 E Old Vail Rd., with family activities through the weekend.
3. Saturday, November 7, 2026: VailFest runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Pima County Fairgrounds, 11300 S. Houghton Road, with food trucks, go-karts, a petting zoo, horseback riding and tournaments. It's a short drive down Houghton from the new store, and its listing doesn't show an admission price.
4. First quarter of 2027: First Watch and the Sprouts pad shops, with Chipotle across the street already under construction as of July.
5. Mid-to-late 2027, projected: Costco at 9748 E. Old Vail Road, pending city permits.
6. Date not announced: Walmart Supercenter at 10052 E. Old Vail Road, followed by new tenants in the current Walmart building.

For years, a big weekly shop from the southeast side meant a drive north or west. On this schedule, by the end of 2027 groceries, gas, a warehouse club, a supercenter, breakfast, ramen and dessert could all sit within a few hundred yards of one intersection.

A corner this busy also changes what's next to it. If you own a home near Old Vail and Houghton and want to know how two years of new stores might affect your home's value, Blaire and the team at Urban Oak Partners are glad to walk you through it. Get Your Free Home Valuation, and we'll give you an honest read on where your home stands as the corner fills in.