Whole Foods, Sierra to fill long-vacant Cottonwood Corners spaces

Two long-empty Cottonwood Corners storefronts are finally getting new tenants, a move that could shift more shopping traffic to 3741 Ellison Road NW and give West Side shoppers a closer grocery option. Sierra Trading and Whole Foods Market are set to fill the former Toys ’R’ Us building and the old Legacy Furniture space between Michaels and Best Buy, with both stores aiming to open by early 2027.

The deal gives one of Albuquerque’s most visible shopping centers fresh momentum after years of vacancy in some of its largest boxes. SimonCRE bought Cottonwood Corners in 2024 and says the redevelopment plan includes building additional spaces, reconfiguring existing spaces and bringing in new tenants. After the Sierra lease, the company said occupancy at the 218,144-square-foot center was above 90 percent.

Whole Foods will occupy 39,546 square feet, according to a memorandum of lease filed with the Bernalillo County Clerk’s Office. It will be the chain’s third Albuquerque store and fourth in New Mexico, a notable expansion for a brand that local reporting in 2016 said had once looked at a Cottonwood-area site but decided it was too small. Sierra’s Albuquerque store is expected to take about 20,000 square feet in the former Toys ’R’ Us space.

For longtime Cottonwood-area shoppers, the practical payoff is simpler errands and less cross-town driving. One West Side shopper told KOB that having Whole Foods on that side of town would save a trip to the Heights, and that kind of convenience is exactly what national retailers are betting on. Leasing materials describe Cottonwood Corners as drawing about 7.38 million visits a year and serving a trade area of more than 173,000 people within five miles.

The openings also matter for the surrounding retail corridor near Cottonwood Mall, where a stronger anchor mix can mean more foot traffic for nearby stores and restaurants. Spirit Halloween will have to find another spot for its seasonal pop-up this year, but SimonCRE has said it is still talking with other retailers and expects more announcements soon. If those leases land, Cottonwood Corners could turn two of its longest-vacant spaces into a stronger draw for shoppers on Albuquerque’s West Side, where demand for grocery and specialty retail has long pushed residents to drive farther than they should have to.