By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
Evolving market conditions and product appetites have led IDM Companies to update longstanding plans for a 171-acre property at the SEC of 99th Avenue and Thomas Road in Phoenix.
In a stipulation modification request submitted to the Phoenix Planning Hearing Officer, project representatives discussed the history and evolving visions for the Sheely Center Planned Unit Development, which was originally approved in January 2013.
“The Property is optimally situated at the western gateway to the City, with nearly one mile of freeway frontage – boasting high visibility and superior access for future users,” the submission says. “The Sheely Center PUD contemplates the Property as providing a mix of uses including corporate headquarters offices, large and small businesses, retail commercial, entertainment, flex-office/industrial, office/showroom, hotel and high-density residential uses, and more, to ensure a live-work-play environment.”
Some parts of the PUD have already been developed or are in process. IDM bought 32.6 acres of the property from the Sheely family in 2020 for a 678-unit apartment development called Meritum Sheely Farms, which is currently under construction. (AZBEX; June 20, 2022).
With the help of a development agreement reimbursement plan approved in June 2022, IDM undertook significant improvement efforts on the site to extend a water main under the Loop 101 freeway in conjunction with the apartment development. This has, in turn, opened up the rest of the site for potential building.
The property is divided into three primary sectors:
- North Area: 112 undeveloped acres;
- Center Area: 32.6 acres for multifamily, and
- South Area: 21 acres of residential and commercial.
According to the submission, a grocery-anchored shopping center with quick-service outlets and restaurants is in development on the southern 21 acres of the PUD. A multifamily component is also planned, and the master street plan for the PUD has been updated to reflect both the built and planned developments.
Now, IDM is proposing “additional development of the Property with a multi-phased mixed-use commercial and employment offering along the north undeveloped portion of the PUD that furthers the intent of the Sheely Center PUD while responding to the needs of the market.”
Sheely Farms Uses
In considering its potential future plans, IDM realized changes would be needed to the conceptual plans originally filed and approved for the PUD.
The submitted request seeks to update the conceptual plans in the Sheely Center PUD “with current, market-driven and realistic plans. This request does not seek modifications to the permitted use list, development standards, or other items that would otherwise require an amendment to the PUD; rather, it seeks to provide updated concept plans and current maps that are consistent with the Sheely Center PUD narrative. Ultimately, IDM looks forward to bringing forward quality development in a collaborative, thoughtful manner.”
Elsewhere in the submission, IDM says the property has been reimagined as a horizontal mixed-use development, rather than the vertical mixed-use originally envisioned. The original concept had a much more intense and urban vision that has proven inconsistent with how the market has developed outside of the city’s urban core.
Under the new conceptual plan, the North Area will feature commercial and retail uses along Thomas Road, two soccer fields and a commerce park in the southern portion of the North Area.
The commerce park is imagined with three buildings, one of 156.4KSF and two of 160.8KSF each, as well as their supporting utility infrastructure.
“The North Area will further the employment and commercial objectives of the PUD within a campus-like setting that is envisioned to include extensive walking paths, enhanced landscaping and open space amenities (active and passive), and meaningful opportunities to enhance the social fabric of the area through connections,” the submission says.
IDM has requested changes to the original PUD stipulations from 2012 to include the new conceptual imagery.
To date, no final or more detailed plans have been submitted, nor is there more specific information about timelines or development team composition.
IDM Companies is the developer. The original conceptual plans were created by Greey | Pickett. The project is represented by the law firm of Withey Morris Baugh.
