By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
When the City of Phoenix narrowed its conditions for acceptable data center development sites in 2025, it put Vintage Partners in a complicated situation.
AZBEX has extensively covered the move to restrict data center conditions in Phoenix and other jurisdictions around the state. Most of that reporting is available here.
Vintage owns a 63-acre property at the SWC of Loop 202 and Lower Buckeye Road. The site, which the company purchased from the Arizona Department of Transportation, currently carries a mix of Commerce Park/General Commerce Park and Light Industrial zoning.
According to a submitted narrative, “At the time of acquisition, the site contained existing transmission lines and an adjacent electrical substation. Based on these site conditions and prevailing City staff interpretations of the applicable zoning districts, the property was well-suited for data center development.”
However, when the City passed its text amendment in 2025 “clarifying” where data center development is permitted, the situation became complicated. Vintage Partners’ research showed data centers had historically been allowed on property with the site’s zoning, so the company moved toward developing a data center there.
As those investments were being made, Vantage was approached by City Council and staff to consider alternative uses. “While Vintage Partners carefully considered this request and the substantial financial impacts associated with a change in development direction,” the narrative says, “Vintage Partners agreed—following coordination with City Council and City staff—to pursue a different development concept.”
As a result, Vintage Partners is now requesting a planned unit development rezoning for the site so it can create a mixed-use community with 1,000 residential units comprised of single-family attached and multifamily units and 22 acres of associated commercial, retail, restaurant and service uses.
Vintage Partners says in the narrative the new plan has been specifically prepared in consideration of the growth along Loop 202 and will advance the City’s planning objectives in providing a development “that is pedestrian-oriented, walkable, sustainable, and an asset to the surrounding community.”
The vacant, undeveloped site is bounded by Lower Buckeye Road to the North, Loop 202 to the east, 63rd Avenue to the west and single-family homes to the south. The planned retail and commercial portion would be on the northern end of the property and bounded by 63rd Avenue, Lower Buckeye Road and Loop 202.
The developer is planning multiple access points to the site, including a signalized intersection at 63rd Avenue and Lower Buckeye and a second full-access point on Lower Buckeye halfway between 63rd Avenue and the freeway. A future study will determine if a traffic signal is required at that location. There will also be two right-in/right-out driveways along Lower Buckeye and additional access points along 63rd Avenue.
Notably, the State Route 30 corridor is planned half-a-mile south of the site and will eventually provide another major point of access and egress for the overall development area.
The commercial section will conform to the development standards of C-2 zoning. The residential portion will conform with R-5 zoning, which is a high-density zoning designation that includes apartments, condominiums and townhomes with a density of 43.5 units/acre, according to the City guidelines.
Addressing the residential development character goal, the narrative says, “Multifamily residential buildings will be designed with a focus on comfort, style, and community living. These structures will incorporate a range of architectural features, including balconies, courtyards, and shared amenities, to foster a sense of belonging and enhance the overall quality of life for residents and greater community.”
Development is planned to take place in multiple phases. Phase I will include all the necessary off-site improvements along Lower Buckeye Road and 63rd Avenue. Vintage also plans to participate in the installation of the traffic signal at 63rd Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road.
Vintage Partners is the owner and developer. RVi Planning + Landscape Architecture is handling land planning and design. Precision Civil is the civil engineer; Lokahi is the traffic engineer, and Gammage and Burnham PLC is the law firm representing the project.
