Update: Phoenix City Council unanimously approved selling 86 acres of city-owned property to the Arizona Department of Transportation at Wednesday’s City Council meeting.
Councilmember Yassamin Ansari, who represents District 7, asked to amend the purchase agreement to allow the city to purchase the property back from ADOT if the agency no longer needs the site.
“Obviously we are living in a very uncertain political and fiscal landscape, especially with the governor’s veto of the Prop 400 extension, there is a possibly that SR 30 may never come to be,” she said during the meeting.
After postponing the sale of 86 acres twice in the past year, it appears the city of Phoenix will move forward with selling the property near the Salt River to the Arizona Department of Transportation.
Phoenix City Council will vote on Oct. 13 to sell the site to the Arizona Department of Transportation for $1.5 million for construction of the proposed State Route 30, which will eventually connect Interstate 17 out west to Buckeye and serve as a reliever for Interstate 10.
The new freeway will be developed in multiple phases over multiple years. The first phase includes building the freeway between the Loop 202 and Loop 303 south of I-10 in five segments, which is estimated to cost $2.6 billion.
West Valley government and business leaders have pointed to the future SR 30 as an important key for growth and to support the onslaught of industrial development in cities such as Buckeye, Goodyear, Avondale and Tolleson.
Officials said Gov. Doug Ducey’s recent veto of placing an extension of Maricopa County’s half-cent sales tax on the ballot next year has put future and near-term transportation projects like SR 30 at risk without a secure source of funding.
The city of Phoenix initially voted to sell the land in October and January, but postponed the sale twice, citing reasons such as needing additional time to review and prepare for the item.
The property, which is generally located at 4815 S. 67th Ave. is currently owned by Phoenix has been leased for sand and gravel operations from 2006 through February 2021.
It’s located just west of the Loop 202 and north of the Salt River between Broadway Road and Southern Avenue. A city report said the vacant land cannot be developed without significant fill.
The potential approval of selling the site also comes after the city’s planning commission and City Council recently approved rezoning the property from ranch or farm residence to an intermediate commercial district to allow for commercial development on the site following the sale of land to ADOT.
The area, where a Loop 202 and SR 30 interchange will be located, was also once planned for a park but will be mostly used for the construction of the freeway. Once the new state route is built, about a quarter of the property will be left for development, the city said.
Since the rezoning of the site was approved in September, the leftover property could see office, retail or mixed uses. The site is located within the city’s Estrella Village and the Rio Salado Oeste area, which the city is working to revitalize through Rio Reimagined, a redevelopment project pioneered by the late Sen. John McCain.
“The rezoning of this city-owned property is an incremental step in positioning the Rio Salado corridor for future investment in alignment with the community’s vision,” city documents said. “This effort is in line with a larger vision to plan for the Rio Reimagined corridor.”
Although there are no specific plans for whatever land is left over after development of SR 30, the city said it wants to require open space and various amenities on the site to encourage pedestrian activity and activate Rio Salado.
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