A massive mixed use development planned for east Buckeye got the green light Tuesday.
City Council members approved the Grand View Buckeye request to annex into the city 43 parcels of land totaling approximately 1,918 acres.
The property is generally bounded by Broadway Road on the north, Jackrabbit Trail on the east, MC 85 on the south and Dean Road on the west.
Development plans include residential neighborhoods and commercial buildings primarily on the outer edges of the property to support the light and heavy industry planned closer to the center of the development near the railroad that bisects the property.
Exactly what kind of industry is planned for the area has not yet been released, but industries approved include building materials sales, aircraft sales and repair, aerospace and defense manufacturing, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing, robotics manufacturing, semiconductor device fabrication and the like.
State Route 30
During a public hearing regarding the project, the only significant objections to the plan were related to the possible location of the proposed State Route 30, which may bisect the plan or push the new road further south through historically significant parts of Buckeye.
Stephen Bales, whose family has farmed in the Buckeye area since the late 1800s, argued against the development if it included any connection to state Route 30.
“When you farm a place this long and live here, you make your living here in blood, sweat and tears, you’ll love it.” Bales said. “You love the place. You love the land. You love the community.”
Buckeye Mayor Eric Orsoborn said that State Route 30 has not yet been defined by the Arizona Department of Transportation, and any maps of the development showing the highway were for “conceptual purposes only.”
Ken Galica, Buckeye planning manager agreed, saying that the line “is shown on one or two exhibits within the document, just to show potentially what could happen. It does very clearly say that the alignment is shown conceptually.”
Council members approved the project unanimously.
