It is impossible to miss all the construction activity in Maricopa.

Graders and bulldozers moving earth on vacant land. Road crews improving and widening streets. Structures sprouting from the ground like summer corn.

According to city leaders, new homes, apartments, shopping centers and a business park are being developed at record pace. Projects also include a community hospital, high-end supermarket, restaurants and a surf park proposed for a site off State Route 238. (See list of six key projects and more on waterpark plans.)

The eastern and southern parts of the city — with so much farmland offering opportunity — are often seen as the major gateways to growth. And that may be true in the coming years. But the future is now on the west side of State Route 347 — for good reason:

• It is closer to the current population center of the city.

• There are fewer flood plain issues that continue to plague development efforts in large parts of the city.

• Commuting time to the Valley is considerably less from west-side neighborhoods like Cobblestone Farms and Maricopa Meadows than from eastern communities like Tortosa and Sorrento.

City Manager Rick Horst said his city management experience tells him development to the west was predictable.

“If you think about the 347 as the life corridor for the city, which it still is right now but won’t be in the future, I think that’s more what’s driving development to the west,” he said. “In time, there will be multiple work and job and shopping centers in the city, so people won’t have to drive to the corridor to get the services they need. But right now,
as people want to develop homes and anything else, they want to be close by the existing services, which means the area west of 347 is seeing more short-term growth.”

For the most part, it has readily available water and sewer service, and roads.

“Out to the east you have to build it; here it’s already built,” he said. “I think infill will always be what happens first.”

Where there is no water on the west side, the city is working to provide it. Mayor Christian Price said a pipeline planned to carry water from Global Water’s Southwest Plant around the west side of the city and north into an existing water line running along State Route 238 would encourage development in that area. The pipeline project would allow development at the APEX Motor Club to kick into high gear.

“Boy, I think that pipeline is critical,” Price said. “We have learned from our Native friends at Ak-Chin that water is life. This is the critical element of all things related to development and growth. You can’t build without water. Not houses, not businesses, not recreation — it’s the critical component of growth. As that main line comes up from that plant, it will be a game-changer for our city.”

Much of the pipeline would be outside the city limits, but within the Maricopa Planning Area.

The timing, routing and scope of the project will be determined in the coming year if city council includes the work in the FY2021-2022 spending plan. Horst said the project is an ideal use for part of the city’s $12.44 million share of federal stimulus funds. If greenlighted, the city would work with Global Water to plan, design and build the line.

Much of the development will present opportunities to add or improve infrastructure, especially roads. For example, the construction of homes at Hogenes Dairy will help fund the proposed expansion of Green Road — with an overpass over the railroad tracks — to move traffic off John Wayne Parkway and onto a “ring road” encircling
the city. Infrastructure projects like that would serve to encourage even more development, according to Horst.

From homes to stores to government, the action covers a lot of ground.

Hogenes Dairy
As many as 2,000 homes are proposed for Hogenes Dairy land. The residential development would be known as Hogenes Farms. Photo by Bob McGovern

RESIDENTIAL

Residential projects already on the city’s docket will add about 20,000 residents over the next several years.

According to city planners, the population of the Maricopa Planning Area is expected to increase dramatically by the end of the decade, reaching 105,000 residents by 2030. City population models show that at buildout, the planning area will have more than 630,000 residents. That’s two-and-a-half times the population of Chandler in 2019. That population explosion will be fueled, in part, by a number of west side housing projects under construction or on the drawing board.

Construction started earlier this year on Bungalows on Bowlin, 196 single-story rental units on 16 acres at Bowlin Road and John Wayne Parkway. The $28 million project was one of the first multi-family communities planned in Maricopa, addressing a need identified by both the city and Scottsdale developer Cavan Companies. It will offer a place to live within commuting distance of the Valley without the need to buy a home in an escalating market or renting in the more expensive Valley suburbs.

Multiple other projects are planned.

The 2,000-or-so homes planned for the Hogenes Farms subdivision on dairy land west of Maricopa Meadows is the biggest housing project planned west of SR 347, though a timetable for development has not been given by the developer, Matrix Equities of Scottsdale.

Nearly 500 acres at a former dairy, Anglin, is targeted for a mixed-use development that could include single-family and multi-family homes as well as commercial and retail space. The site sits on SR 238, just east of Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club, about 1.5 miles east of SR 347.

It is not yet known how many homes would be built.

The Texas-based Forestar Group, a majority-owned subsidiary of D.R. Horton, acquired the property in December 2020 for $15.5 million, and RVi Planning of Tempe is the developer.

According to Rodolfo Lopez, the city’s deputy director of economic and community development, no formal application to develop the parcel has been submitted since the city granted approval of the major general plan amendment. The city will provide infrastructure including perimeter and interior roads, drainage, water and sewer.

Two smaller residential projects on the west side have been approved by the city.

More than 200 single-family homes are planned in the new McDavid Estates community just north of Maricopa High School. There is no current timetable for construction. The triangular, 64-acre parcel is bordered by the Union Pacific Railroad tracks running from northwest to southeast along the property’s northern border. The developer, Maricopa 64 Partners LLC, will install a buffer area to decrease noise from frequent trains.

The small, mixed-use parcel may include single-family and multi-family housing with the potential for townhomes, cluster housing and live-work type units or office/neighborhood commercial uses.

In March, city council approved a zoning change for West Maricopa Village.

Three separate uses are planned for the 35-acre parcel on the east side of North Loma Road at SR 238 — single-family homes for rent, apartments and a gas station, retail
or office space. The project will be developed in phases, with construction starting first on the rental community.

Innovation Villas will comprise 182 single-family homes on 16-plus acres. The homes, which will feature a density of 11 units per acre, will include both two-bedroom, stand-alone units and one-bedroom duplexes. Amenities include a swimming pool and social pavilion.

Phase 2, known as Fuze 520, would feature three-story apartment buildings on 14 acres. The total number of units is undetermined, but zoning calls for high-density usage. The buildings will have a maximum height of 42 feet.

The commercial phase would follow on the 1.5 acres at the corner of Loma and SR 238.

COMMERCIAL

Given the massive growth expected in Maricopa over the coming decades, the city is laying the groundwork for a well-planned city designed to accommodate a population influx. Horst believes rooftops drive retail and with more than 24,000 single-family homes, the city has reached the point population numbers will begin to attract major retailers and other new businesses.

The activity provides a glimpse of how the city is looking to grow, with important projects that include Sonoran Creek Marketplace and its anchor Sprouts, which is anticipating a fall opening.

Also coming is the Estrella Gin Business Park at North Loma and Edison roads, which will give local businesses the opportunity to set up shop away from their homes or garages. Leasing is anticipated to begin next year. With its flexible zoning, it will be able to accommodate several uses.

GOVERNMENT
The Pinal County Complex, which opened in May at 19955 Wilson Ave., provides county services to city residents without the need to travel to Florence. Two buildings house assessor, recorder and other offices, as well as Pinal County Justice Court, Clerk of the Superior Court, Adult and Juvenile Probation services and a sheriff substation.

Next door, the city will build a 20,000-square-foot headquarters for the Maricopa Police Department. Construction is expected to begin in early spring 2022 with a target opening
date of mid-2023.The two-story building will be built with future expansion in mind, much like the city’s new library, with plumbing and electrical services prepared for eventual enlargement.

Surf Park proposed site
A surf park with a hotel and restaurants is envisioned for the vacant 70 acres south of State Route 238 and west of
North Loma Road. Photo by Bob McGovern

ADVENTURE CORRIDOR

The proposed water and surf park would burnish the city’s efforts to develop on the west side of John Wayne Parkway an “adventure corridor,” which includes the Ak-Chin
Southern Dunes Golf Club and Estrella Sailport.

APEX, of course, will also attract high-end visitors from the Valley to its members-only condos and racetrack.

“Imagine buying a new Lexus sports car, and opening the glove compartment and finding a letter saying ‘Congratulations on your purchase — you can go APEX Motor Club in Maricopa for a three-day, high-performance driving class to learn how to get the most out of your new vehicle,’” said Price, highlighting a partnership between APEX and Lexus.

“That gets people coming down here, and once they’re here, we feel like they’ll like what they see.”