By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
Capital Allocation Partners has proposed an 80-unit townhome apartment development at the NEC of 73rd Avenue and Thunderbird Road on a 6.23-acre Maricopa County island site in Peoria.
To proceed with The Ville, the developer is seeking a rezone from rural to R4-RUPD, which allows for lot sizes of 2KSF per dwelling and a residential unit plan of development. If the rezoning is approved, the owner will seek to have the cite annexed into Peoria and will pursue a formal site design review there. Annexation is necessary for the public utility and City services required in an urban density development, according to the County staff report. The owner has already begun the annexation process.
Construction on the site will consist of five- and 10-unit buildings, and each unit will have its own two-car garage. Possible amenities could include a clubhouse, pool, dog park, “tot lot,” and barbeque area, along with both private and common open space.
The developer is asking for variances in the RUPD standard to reduce the back yard size requirement along the north side of the property to allow for at least 20 feet of buffering between the townhomes and adjacent residences and streets. It is also limiting the building heights to 30 feet to ensure the buildings will blend with the one- and two-story homes in the immediate area.
(CUT THIS PARAGRAPH IN THE ONLINE VERSION) Capital Allocation Partners is the project owner. Design services are provided by CCBG Architects, Inc. The landscape architect is Design Ethic, and the civil engineer is Jacobs Wallace LLC. Gammage & Burnham, PLC is the project representative.
Opposition and Support Already Received
Since May, County staff has received six letters of opposition and two letters of support of The Ville.
One supporter was the CEO of a nearby Christian community center saying he was, “excited to see this unattractive, vacant lot developed. I think that the developer’s plans to build a townhouse style community that is limited to 2-stories will fit nicely with the neighborhood. I am impressed with the thoughtful layout and treatment along 73rd Avenue that the developer is proposing with those units side-facing the street and the developer making improvements along 73rd Avenue.”
The other was from the management firm for a commercial shopping center west of 75th Avenue and Thunderbird. The letter said, in part, “We welcome the developer’s plans for The Ville to build a 2‐story townhouse style community, which will be a tremendous and very attractive improvement (instead of the current vacant lot), and enhance business and residential opportunities for everyone in the area.”
The statements in opposition cite traffic impacts and potential harm to property values or neighborhood character as their primary concerns. One comes from a resident whose family has owned the parcel where his 1943-constructed home sits for more than 80 years and whose property abuts the proposed development.
Of the remaining opponents, one home was built in 2001 and sits on a one-acre lot, according to information from the Maricopa County Assessor’s Office. The other four were built on quarter-acre lots between 2019 and 2020.
P&Z Results and Next Steps
The staff analysis of the proposal was highly supportive. The recommendation to the Planning and Zoning Commission said, “R-4 RUPD zoning will create opportunity for infill development and a housing option that is different from a traditional single-family home. Arguably, the townhome community will address what planners call the ‘missing middle housing’ issue, where finding housing option with less maintenance that differs from large areas of detached single-family homes or high-rise apartment towers, such alternatives are often difficult to find.”
The analysis goes on to say the site provides adequate access to public transportation and utilities and that the developer’s requests for variances in the RUPD standards exceed the County’s requirements and are more restrictive, allowing for appropriate buffering between the development and neighboring properties.
It also reports, “…this site is adjacent to a fully developed part of Peoria with access to employment, educational institutions, recreational and entertainment venues.”
The Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed and recommended the project for approval on Sept. 22.
The case now advances to the Board of Supervisors for consideration at its Oct. 19 meeting.
