The Arizona State Land Department has set Dec. 22 as the auction date for a nearly 4,754-acre industrial property it controls in Pinal County.
AZBEX was the first outlet to report on the plan when ASLD requested a non-major Comprehensive Plan amendment and rezoning for 4,695.89 vacant and undeveloped acres north of Skyline Drive Road and Highway 79 east of San Tan Valley. (AZBEX; Sept. 8)
The Pinal County Board of Supervisors approved the requests earlier this month. The industrial rezoning prohibits stand-alone data centers and utility-scale solar plants.
The minimum bid price for the auction has been set at $46.5M.
Now referred to as Project Paperclip, the potential end use of the site is drawing speculation. Hypersonic missile startup Castelion had considered 1,105 acres in the area for its Project Ranger development and testing facility before ultimately selecting a New Mexico site instead.
ASLD records show the Project Paperclip use vision is also defense related, a local news outlet reported. The article adds ASLD staff sought to add land to the original application and consolidate properties to hold a single, larger auction.
It is unknown as of press time whether Castelion is involved with the expanded application. When the company announced its decision to build in New Mexico last year, it did not rule out the possibility of an Arizona facility as well.
