New Stonegate development to bring homes, retail together

Developers are reimagining nearly 50 empty acres in Maricopa as a “village.”

Once agricultural and now vacant, the acres between Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway and Allen Stephens Parkway has been zoned twice before. Now as Maricopa Stonegate, it would have a mix of commercial, a single-family subdivision and high-density residential.

Paperwork from the developer describes the new plan as “a core of mixed uses, restaurants, retail, entertainment, etc., to serve the surrounding master planned communities of Glennwilde, Senita and Santa Rosa Springs.”

Before a neighborhood meeting about Stonegate earlier this month, city staff contacted owners of property within 300 feet of the site. That was 142 properties. The virtual meeting heard from five property owners.

Monday, the development is set to go before the Planning & Zoning Commission for a public hearing on a change in the land-use map. Maricopa Stonegate wants to change the General Plan Future Land Use Map from employment to mixed use. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at City Hall.

The property is 46.3 acres. It wraps around the four acres being developed as Omni Self Storage at the southwest corner of Stonegate Road and Allen Stephens Parkway.

Separate from the general plan map, developers expect to later request a zoning change to the new Neighborhood Mixed Use designation to be submitted with a Planned Area Development amendment. The previous zoning was for multi-family residential and then light industry and warehouse.

The “village” concept is part of the City’s 2040 Vision for new neighborhoods. Like the plan for the Heritage District’s Maricopa Station overlay, the plan would be for a pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly area with reduced traffic. The idea is to create walkable access from the surrounding communities with a trail system.

The plan’s narrative states, “Starting at the Glennwilde master planned community, Maricopa Stonegate will link with the trail system ending at the intersection of Stonegate Road and Allen Stephens Parkway. Enhanced walkways will lead from the intersection south to the new access drive into the development … The trail system will also connect to the Senita master planned community. The southern boundary of Maricopa Stonegate has been planned to expand the trail system along the Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway along the drainage easement. Connectivity with the surrounding master planned communities and the single family and possible multi-family component will be strongly encouraged from the various developers.”