Desert Sands Strip Mall | Sims 2 Community Lot

I created this Strip Mall for Strangetown, but it would work for any desert neighborhood. It’s decorated with cacti. But if you wanted it for a non-desert town, you could just remove the landscaping.

It includes a pet store, restaurant, clothing store, and grocery store. Some CC required (linked below). More images at the bottom of the post. 

Features & Amenities

The pet store (Claws ‘N’ Paws), restaurant (Fork ‘N’ Spoon), clothing store (Bella’s Boutique), and grocery store (Corner Grocery) all come fully equipped to function as NPC-run shops. Includes parking, public bathrooms, and vending machines. 

You could have a Sim purchase this lot, but it would take a lot of employees to run. I created the strip mall for players who don’t want to run the businesses themselves and just want a place for playable Sims to shop. 

This lot will spawn NPCs, so it’s probably not ideal for an integrated neighborhood. But if you’re just playing a normal ‘hood and need a quick shopping stop for your Sims, it works great. 

Requirements

I have the Ultimate Collection and I used items from (probably) all the expansion and stuff packs. You will AT LEAST need Pets, Open for Business, Nightlife, Apartment Life, and Mansion & Garden Stuff for this lot to function properly.

For the best experience you’ll need the UC or ALL expansion and stuff packs. 

You’ll also need the following custom content: 

• Decorative Parking Spots
• Parking Lot Supplemental Pack
• Simlish Parking Lot Signs
• Beos Filing Cabinets (2 Drawer)
• Phone Booth (Grey Mesh)
• Pooklet/Mog Shop Signs in Simlish (Make sure you get the mesh AND the recolors.)
• Maxis Match Upper Cabinets (Nightlife, Fat City Cabinet)
• Vintage Food Ads in Simlish 
• Grease Stands Alone Bar Stool Recolors (Blackwood)
• Basic Shelves with Slots
• Nature’s Market Bread Display (I only used the bread, not the rolls.)
• Vegetables Menu
• Stackable Crates
• Decorative Delivery Truck
• Strangerville Desert Plants
• Pet Food Boxes

The following mod is optional but recommneded:

• Ceiling Light Fix (So lights appear as they do in the screenshots and not hanging below the ceiling.)

I built the lot in a clean AnyGame environment and it has never been played. I have play-tested a clone of the lot and found no issues. But watch out for Sims with low hygiene – they may try to bathe in the dog bath. 

Download

I highly recommend you install this lot with Clean Installer and UNCHECK all the custom content – installing ONLY the lot. Then download the CC you need from the list above separately. If you don’t, the game will install the CC with long, indecipherable alpha-numeric names in your downloads folder. 

Click the button below to download. If you have trouble with the download, there’s an alternate link below. 

Alternate Download Link – Mediafire

To install, unzip the package to your desktop. Then right-click on the package file and choose “Open With > “Sims2Pack Clean Installer.” If you don’t have or choose not to use the clean pack installer, you can simply double-click on the package file and wait for the Sims 2 installer to appear.