By Roland Murphy for AZBEX (NOT BEXclusive)
A long sought after, much delayed mixed-use project once envisioned for a multi-use campus in Maricopa with a new hospital, luxury condos and a hotel almost got a third shot at life this week.
Almost.
This would have been the third attempt to create a facility at Copper Sky Medical Campus near State Route 347 and Bowlin Road. The first agreements with former prospective developer S3 Biotech fell through because the company repeatedly missed development deadlines, ultimately leading to the City canceling the plan and trespassing S3 employees from the site.
The City Council’s Jan. 21 agenda had three entries concerning updated agreements that would have led to a potentially new project getting underway there. According to City entries and local news reports, Maricopa plans to enter into an agreement with real estate and development firm BR Red Copper Sky under which the company would buy the site and develop the property.
Under the new contracts, 9.5 acres at the SEC of John Wayne Parkway and Bowling Road would be rezoned to planned area development to allow for design and use flexibility. Rather than requiring a 150KSF hospital as was included in the original agreement, the plan could now include a smaller hospital or a new medical office building.
If the hospital were to be built, it would be either two or three stories and total approximately 60KSF. If the developer with the MOB, it would have an initial phase of 40KSF, followed by a second phase of between 20KSF and 40KSF.
The updated agreements have no mention of the condominiums or the hotel, but they would give BR Red Copper Sky the option to include an unspecified residential option at its discretion.
The contracts specify rezoning must be completed by the beginning of August. If the developer chooses to build the hospital, it would have up to three years after the zoning approval to start construction. If the developer goes with the MOB, the timeline to start building shortens to 18 months.
For the moment, however, all those plans are in limbo.
After first moving the contract approvals from the consent agenda earlier in the week to the regular agenda to allow for discussion, Council went into executive session during the Tuesday hearing. After returning to regular session, members voted to table the item to an as yet unannounced later date.
