Phoenix developer Vestar cleared a key hurdle this month to develop its 195-acre Maricopa Towne Center project, receiving unanimous approval from the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission to rezone the property at John Wayne Parkway and Farrell Road.

While no national brands have been confirmed, one familiar name — that of Vestar’s most visible commercial partner — may be in the mix.

“We hope to bring a grocery store or large retailer to the project,” Vestar spokesperson Carli Richards told InMaricopa Wednesday. “However, [we] do not have any tenants to announce at this time.”

That may sound vague, but Vestar’s portfolio offers a clear pattern.

Across Arizona, the shopping center developer has launched nine projects with “Towne Center” in the name. Six of those — in cities like Chandler, Gilbert, Queen Creek and Goodyear — are anchored by a Target.

The three outlying Arizona “Towne Center” developments are anchored by Walmart, Home Depot and Ross superstores that already anchor other retail plazas in Maricopa.

Most recently, Vestar announced its upcoming Vineyard Towne Center in Queen Creek will include a 147,000-square-foot Target. In Buckeye, its Verrado Marketplace — while not branded as a Towne Center — is also bringing in Target.

That track record makes the company’s vague “grocery store or large retailer” language feel more like a placeholder than a guess.

Whether Maricopa gets its own Target remains to be seen. But if Vestar sticks to form, the odds might be better than average. Especially considering that while big-box retailers such as Costco still fall short of population thresholds to expand into the city, Maricopa is more populous than seven of the 20 Arizona cities with Target stores.

Still, some Maricopa residents are skeptical about the scale of the Maricopa Towne Center, which will also include housing units. Residents in the adjacent Palo Brea neighborhood have cited concerns about increased traffic and the introduction of apartment buildings. Even so, city officials gave the green light, with one commissioner noting that market forces would ultimately decide what fills the space.

Will it be Target? If not, Vestar needs to go an entirely new route or commit to another duplicate like the city’s second Goodwill, which is anchoring Legacy on Porter in the city’s emerging secondary commercial corridor across from Walmart.