By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
Carefree Partners is adding to its growing list of planned projects in the West Valley with the recent rezoning of nearly 62 acres in Buckeye for a future light industrial site.
The Buckeye City Council approved a request to rezone the “property fronting onto Arizona State Route 85 (SR85) and just south of Maricopa County Road 85 (MC85) in western Buckeye,” from Rural Residential to Light Industrial in its May 16 meeting.
While Carefree Partners has no immediate plan to start construction and has not provided any timelines, a preliminary site plan shows four buildings of various sizes. Building A is planned for 276.6KSF with a 36-foot clear height. Building B will be 504.3KSF with a 40-foot clear height, and Buildings C and D will both be 98.3KSF with 32-foot clear heights.
The property fronts SR85 to the east and the planned Beloat Road to the south. Both the Buckeye 62 Industrial site and all the surrounding properties are currently vacant and used for agriculture, but all are planned for future non-residential development, according to the project narrative.
The site is situated in Buckeye’s Employment Land Use area, which was the subject of a Major General Plan Amendment last year to position the city as an economic development competitor for industrial and manufacturing development, particularly along SR85/the future Interstate 11 corridor.
The accompanying project description says, “The overall goal of the development team is to provide for a combination of industrial and commercial uses, planned in a cohesive manner, that are viable and contribute to the long-term vision of this future employment growth corridor. Potential uses could include light industrial, manufacturing, business offices, and vehicle related commercial uses that utilize the SR85 frontage. We envision a campus type setting that horizontally integrates the varied uses via consistent architectural design theme, landscaping, and an efficient circulation plan. We believe now is the time to establish the long-term appropriate zoning for the property which will facilitate its potential for development.”
Carefree Partners is the developer. The design firm is LGE Design Group. The project is represented by iPlan Consulting.
Carefree Partners has two other projects in various stages of development in the West Valley. The company is the majority owner of most of the undeveloped land involved in the Surprise City Center master planned project. It also filed a pre-application last year for a mixed-use master planned development called Buckeye Apex that will feature multifamily, retail, office and industrial uses on 280 acres at the SWC of SR85 and I-10 in Buckeye.
