’22 in review: The rise of the apartments

The single-family home is king in Maricopa.

But a housing shift is beginning. More options are coming — in the short term and long term — for people who want to move to this growing patch in the desert. Apartments, homes for rent and affordable housing define the shift.

In 2022, single-family homes represented most of the residential construction in the city, and most of it was expansion of established communities. Of the 19 HOAs in Maricopa, only two-thirds are fully built. In the others, foundations were being poured or earthmovers were grading hundreds of acres for new houses.

In fact, homebuilders pulled nearly 1,150 permits for single-family residences in 2022.
Multiple companies are building in The Lakes at Rancho El Dorado. On the east side of town, new homes are coming to Tortosa South and the Trails at Tortosa, where homes and a community center are under construction along recently paved streets. Nearby, new phases of construction are underway in Sorrento and Rancho Mirage.

Elsewhere in town, homes for sale are also rising in Palo Brea, Santa Rosa Crossing, Santa Rosa Springs and Province.

And new single-family communities are already beginning to sprout — with more on the drawing board.

At the new Anderson Farms subdivision at Bowlin and Hartman roads, where nearly 2,000 houses will be built on 566 acres, roads are in and walls are going up.

Nearby, additional single-family homes are planned at two developments: Maricopa 40 and Murphy and Farrell. In other parts of the city, thousands of homes are proposed at Hogenes Farms (1,600 homes), Santa Cruz Ranch (6,600 homes) among others.

Some of these communities may not see building begin this year.

All told, more than 110,000 single-family homes are approved for construction, city officials have said. That includes 41,096 within city limits and a staggering 72,129 in unincorporated Pinal County.

Those numbers do not include apartments.

The rentals are coming
For now, there is just one occupied apartment complex in town.

Oasis at The Wells opened in August 2021 with 120 units along Porter Road. Those units filled very quickly.

But many, many more apartments are coming in short order.

In 2022, in fact, hundreds of apartments and single-family homes for rent began to rise at Bungalows on Bowlin, FlatZ 520, Hampton Edison and other developments. Projects with hundreds more were approved by City Council and are in various phases of pre-construction planning.

Porter Road will become the nexus of rentals, with more than 1,240 apartments planned between Bowlin and Farrell roads.

At Copa Flats, construction is underway at the 312-apartment affordable-housing complex at Porter and Applegate roads. Tenants could be ready to move in this spring. Up the street, at REV@Porter, a mix of single-family and multi-family rental homes are going in at Porter and Bowlin roads.

In between those developments will be the city’s largest apartment complex when it opens. Home at Maricopa will have 536 units across three four-story buildings and three five-story buildings.

The project was approved by City Council in May over significant opposition from residents, who said they had great concerns about safety along the thoroughfare. (See story, page 28.)

All told, about 6,000 more future residents — and their cars — will settle on that half-mile stretch of Porter Road.

Joining the apartments are single-family homes for rent, like those to be offered at Bungalows on Bowlin and Hancock Gunsmoke. Local developers are getting in on the build-to-rent trend that was sparked during the Great Recession and then took off during the COVID-19 pandemic with soaring demand for single-family homes and suburban living.

City leaders have long anticipated the arrival of apartments, saying many prospective residents — teachers, police officers and others on limited salaries — can’t afford to live in the city. Current residents may not want the upkeep of a single-family home or just wish to downsize into smaller quarters. Some may just want a place that is both more affordable and has more amenities.

2022 will likely be remembered as the year of the apartments’ arrival.