Townhome Development Planned for Gilbert

By Cecilia Chan for Gilbert Sun News 
A developer wants to build a gated 207-unit townhome community at the SWC of Lindsay and Germann roads on land zoned for office use. 
The applicant, Norris Design, is seeking a minor General Plan amendment and rezoning of the 14.53 acres currently used for agricultural, according to staff at a Planning Commission study session. 
The site is located within the Gilbert and Loop 202 growth area, which identifies areas that are particularly suitable for multi-modal transportation and for uses such as residential, office, commercial and industrial, planner Keith Newman said. 
He said constraints on the site – such as a lack of frontage along Germann Road, poor access and close proximity to an existing apartment complex – make developing an office park challenging.  
He added that property owner Nothum Properties LP has owned the site for 35 years and during that time has been unable to attract interest from employers. 
According to the applicant, the proposed townhomes would fit the area because they would be a better buffer to the existing single-family homes to the south and planned employment uses to the north and west. 
Newman said seven property owners voiced concerns with the project in a virtual neighborhood meeting on June 18.  
They were concerned with lighting from the site shining into homes if balconies face the houses to the south and wanted assurances that leaves from trees proposed next to a wall along the southern boundary won’t fall into the pools of nearby homeowners. 
According to Norris Design, the townhomes would be built by Family Development, an award-winning development firm with a proven history of building high-end luxury communities throughout Arizona and California.  
Town on Germann is anticipated to have luxury townhomes with two-car garages and private patios or stoops.  
Read more at Gilbert Sun News.