By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
Developers Gehan Homes, Alliance Residential Company and Nico Howard have come together to propose a 40-acre mixed-use residential and commercial development at Indian School and Dysart roads in Avondale.
Known collectively as Ascend, the plan features “a horizontally-integrated residential village core… connected to two commercial areas and located south and east of the southeast corner of Dysart Road and Indian School Road,” according to the project narrative.
Prose at Ascend will feature 432 multifamily units on 19.41 net acres. Villas at Ascend will have 125 single-family homes on 12.5 net acres, and the commercial Shops at Ascend will be built on two parcels totaling 7.8 acres.
In that the project is in the preliminary stages and has so far undergone only an initial review by the Development Review Committee, formal documents have not yet been filed with the City of Avondale to start the review and approval process. Project information was obtained by BEX Companies’ research staff through a standard public records request.
The developers are seeking a major planned area development to replace the existing Palm Valley Avondale PAD. Much of the land under the existing PAD was originally designated medium-high density residential but has instead been developed as single-family, commercial/business park or has become part of a nearby church campus. In seeking to create the new entitlements, the developers plan to add “two distinct residential districts to the existing C-2 uses (that) will bring people in proximity to the retail areas at a location accessible and connected by the City’s bike lanes and transit options.”
The narrative goes on to state the “new entitlement (is) consistent with the General Plan’s Mixed-Use vision for the area, which has long-remained vacant and is now ripe for development in this gateway intersection into the City.”
Prose at Ascend
The Prose at Ascend component features 432 multifamily units in a village concept comprised of three-story buildings of not more than 30 units each. Amenities will be disbursed throughout the village area to provide a more intimate feel, rather than creating large-scale buildings and a sense of density.
Planned amenities include a pool area, ramadas, a dog park, seating areas and landscaped open space.
Villas at Ascend
Villas at Ascend will be a connected single-family subdivision of attached two-story homes targeted toward first-time homeowners, growing families and an older population looking for a low-maintenance residential option with a wide array of amenities.
Planned amenities for Villas include a “tot lot” and play structure, a pool, shade structure, spa area, a game lawn and landscaped space.
Shops at Ascend
The commercial component – Shops at Ascend – is intended to create a retail and services area for residents and the greater community. Plans call for one commercial area on Indian School and two along Dysart that will be split by a secondary access to Prose and create an internal access to the commercial area from within the overall development for an intimate sense of neighborhood scale.
Open Space and Character
Open space incorporation will be distinct for each of the three segments, rather than using an all-in-one community approach. In the Prose District, the amenities network will be interwoven through a 20% open space allotment accessible through an internal pathway system. The Villas District’s 15% open space will focus on a central amenity area with a pool, shade structure and children’s play area.
According to the project narrative, “The Ascend project provides for a comprehensive open space network with planned recreation activities servicing the residents of each community. Residents within each neighborhood will enjoy a trails network which provides clear access to programmed areas and which will also connect to Sage Creek at both 129th Avenue as well as the Shops at Ascend. The open space areas will integrate similar or complimentary materials to ensure the aesthetics of the community are integrated within the overall Ascend project.”
The development will include half-street improvements for Indian School and Dysart roads along the length of the project. These will be completed during the Prose phase of the project.
Ascend will be built in multiple phases. Prose, the multifamily portion, will be Phase I, followed by the single-family portion Villas. Phase III will be the northern portion of commercial development on Indian School Road, finally followed by the two commercial parcels on Dysart as Phase IV.
