(By Steve Shadley)

Wal-Mart is opening a store at Metrocenter in northwest Phoenix. It’s welcome news to investors who’ve been trying to attract retailers and customers back to the aging mall.

Time hasn’t been kind to Metrocenter. It opened to a lot of fanfare 40 years ago, but competition from nearby malls and the recession drove Metrocenter into bankruptcy. Now, Wal-Mart said it will start construction on a so-called Supercenter grocery store at the site early next year with completion expected in 2016.

"It took us a while to get Wal-Mart to make a commitment, but now that they have we think this is the catalyst that will bring other retailers to Metrocenter as well as increase the consumer base,” said Warren Fink of Carlyle Development, the New York company that bought Metrocenter two years ago.

The Broadway Southwest Department Store that closed 10 years ago will be demolished to make way for the new Wal-Mart store.