Holiday at Kierland

Photos by Lisa E White

Sorry to include shopping centers two days in a row, but if you haven't finished Christmas shopping, you will find the open air Kierland Commons to be very pleasant, if you can find parking.  I love the way the center is designed like a small town, with Main Street and a town square next to coffee and Cold Stone Creamery.  And the little shopping bear and skating bear holiday decorations make me smile.  Kierland Commons was the first "lifestyle center" in Arizona when it opened in 2000.  With 75 mainly upscale stores such as Coach, Crate & Barrel, Sur la Table, Anthroplogie, Michael Kors, Chicos and White House/Black Market, the center also has upscale loft condominiums and connects to the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa with its 27-hole golf course.  The dining choices range from the Cheesecake Factory and Zinc Bistro to the fine-dining of North, the Greene House, Maestros and Mortons.  Kierland won the Urban Land Institutes Award for Excellence in 2009 for this multi-use urban plan, as well as awards for landscape and environmental excellence.  I didn't see that they earned any parking lot awards.