’23 RECAP: Real Estate

The housing market was mild in 2023 as climbing interest rates took hold after the fed continuously bumped rates from the middle of 2022 until the end of 2023.

As of Dec. 11, 837 housing permits and 636 apartment permits were issued. The numbers were down significantly from the prior year, when 1,149 houses and 1,127 apartments were approved.

Apartments at Honeycutt
In January, the city council unanimously approved two measures that moved what would be the city’s largest apartment community — 574 units — closer to reality.

The Planning & Zoning Commission approved the project in March.

The Apartments at Honeycutt would have three categories: market rate, workforce and senior (age 55+).

The community would be accessible by State Route 347, according to city planner Derek Scheerer.

“The city will be constructing out Honeycutt Avenue to the east and then down to the south,” Scheerer said. “That will connect and dead end into the site and will provide access to John Wayne Parkway for the site.”

The overall unit mix would include 60% one-bedroom units, 29% two-bedroom units and 12% three-bedroom units at a density of 28.5 units per acre.

The complex would lie directly south of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks near the Amtrak station.

Sonoran Village
Scottsdale developer Geston Duffy Company expressed interest in building a mixed-use residential community near Edison Road and Wilson Avenue in September.

Dubbed Sonoran Village, the community will bring 136 residential and 20 commercial units across a trio of three-story buildings in the empty lot behind Sprouts Farmers Market. The developer detailed apartment sizes to range from small studios to cozy three-bedroom units.

Interest near old recycling plant
In October, Phoenix developer Sanks & Associates submitted paperwork to construct a gated apartment community at McDavid and Green Roads.

The complex would sit just north of the recently shuttered city recycling center.

A project narrative stated the L-shaped community will comprise 288 rental units across a dozen one- and two-story buildings.

EVR at San Travasa
Local developer El Dorado Holdings is eyeing a 24-acre rental community on the northwest corner of Farrell and White and Parker Roads.

The proposal includes 186 cottages ranging from 800 to 1,500 square feet with small backyards. Amenities include a clubhouse, fitness center, pool, dog park and playgrounds.

Gunsmoke multifamily development
The 25-acre lot on the southwest corner of Gunsmoke and Honeycutt Roads saw a change of ownership.

Lincoln Avenue Capital is mulling building 217 single- and two-story rental units ranging from 900 to 1,200 square feet. Like EVR at San Travasa, the units would have small backyards and the community would boast a clubhouse, fitness center, yoga room and pool.

Red Valley Ranch
In December, city planners approved a one-time extension for this new subdivision at the southwest corner of Farrell and Anderson Roads. The plans were first approved in 2021 but the developer defaulted the following year. The extension allows Scottsdale-based Crescent Bay Holdings until the end of 2025 to submit final plans and start building.