McDonald’s planning to open this summer

Expect to be able to supersize your order while small fries tumble in a 900-foot indoor play center by July when McDonald’s is scheduled to serve its first hamburger in Maricopa.

The proposed 4,950-square-foot restaurant will include two drive-through lanes within the Shops at Maricopa Fiesta Commercial Center in the 20700 block of North John Wayne Parkway (north of Edison Road) and will be adjacent to aTutor Time preschool. The preschool and fast-food restaurant will share an entrance from the main street, which will lead directly into the preschool area and funnel fast-food traffic through to McDonald’s.

It’s the place to be,” Darla Bowen, associate area real estate manager for McDonald’s, said of the corporation’s Rocky Mountain Region’s decision to locate in Maricopa.

“I think it’s a great town, I really do.”

The preschool’s play area is located in the rear, nowhere near the traffic area, Shena Rojemann, a city planner, clarified for commissioners at tonight’s meeting of the Planning and Zoning commission.

Daniel Filuk, a partner with tKDF/JMS Architects who is working to develop the project, also assured all present that he and his associates are prepared to make all revisions city staff recommended. Those changes and suggestions, however, were not immediately available for those in attendance to review.

Before the project moves forward it must pass City Council’s approval for a permit when the council meets Dec. 18.

Once the permit is in place, developers plan to break ground in April and have a restaurant, complete with all of the standard amenities Ronald himself might expect to enjoy, by mid summer.

Bowen added that the project has been in the works for a little more than a year, and that they looked hard at the area before deciding to do business in Maricopa.

“We’ve been looking around for quite a while,” Bowen said.