By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
The prevailing wisdom was that new development proposals would start to trickle into Apache Junction once the massive Superstition Vistas master plan began moving from grand vision toward reality.
Early activity suggests the prevailing wisdom may have been a tad cautious. In the last several weeks no fewer than five major projects have been submitted to the little city that was, until recently, long considered a country cousin to the Valley’s burgeoning metro area.
As a reminder, Superstition Vistas is a master plan arising from a 2020 Arizona State Land Department auction of nearly 2,800 acres. The sale carried a stipulation that the auction winner had to entitle another 5,300 acres of adjacent Department land to ready the area for future development. Working in partnership, developers Brookfield Residential and D.R. Horton bought the 2,783-acre portion for $245.5M and agreed to undertake the 5,300-acre entitlement. They also agreed to work with Apache Junction to annex all 8,000-plus acres into the city.
More than 10,000 homes are envisioned for the area’s core developments, and projections are it could eventually be home to 900,000 people when all is said and done.
While the five new proposals are nothing more than preliminary plan submittals at this point, they potentially represent an early wave of related new development and may serve as a prognosticative glimpse into the future of the formerly quaint and dusty hamlet affectionately known as “AJ.”
A list of ongoing residential and commercial projects put together by the Apache Junction planning staff shows 30 projects ranging in status from Pre-Application to Under Construction in Apache Junction. Including owner-occupied single-family, townhomes, Build-to-Rent, age-restricted and traditional multifamily, an estimated 2,304 units are in development across 18 properties. The remaining 12 projects are various types of commercial developments and include restaurant, hotel, customer service and retail outlets.
As noted above, the five most recent pre-application submittals are preliminary site plans and short on details. Still, they provide an interesting glimpse into the rapidly accelerating pace of growth for the city and foretell much about likely things to come.
88 North
88 North is part one of a two-phase proposal at the NEC of Idaho Road and Junction Street. Phase I will deliver 24 studios, 54 one-bedroom and 135 two-bedroom apartments, for a total of 213 units on 10.29 acres.
According to the preliminary site plan, the developer is Bela Flor Communities. Woods Associates Architects, Inc. is the design firm, and EPS Group serves as the civil engineer, landscape architect and planner.
Townhomes at 88 North
Phase II of the 88 North development will provide 172 townhome units on 11.87 acres immediately north of the Phase I apartments.
Both projects share the same development team.
Sunset Vista Estates
Located at the NEC of Junction Street and Winchester Road, Sunset Vista Estates plans to put 94 senior living units totaling a built area of 96.8KSF on 15 acres. JES Development Company, Inc., a subsidiary of Missouri-based JES Holdings, is the project owner/developer. The project concept plan was created by civil engineering/surveying/planning/ landscape architecture firm Cole’s Phoenix office.
Goldfield Estates
Mesa-based land entitlement, development consulting and civil engineering firm BFH Group has submitted a preliminary site plan for Goldfield Estates, a 232-unit townhome development on 12 acres at the SEC of Starr Road and 28th Avenue.
Circle Trail Suites
Rounding out the five new preliminary submittals is Circle Trail Suites on Superstition Boulevard between San Marcos and Monterey drives. The architectural site plan calls for 56 three-bedroom, two-story multifamily units on 3.77 acres, 27% of which will be maintained as open space. Gilbert-based EDIFICE Architecture is the architect and submitter.
