A coming apartment complex in the Cooley Station area won approval Dec. 13 from Gilbert Town Council to change its development plan to allow for greater building heights and smaller setbacks.
Trax at Cooley Station, located west of the southwest corner of Williams Field Road and Verde Drive, now will have two buildings up to five stories, at 69 feet in height, and building and landscape setbacks of 10 feet on its eastern boundary. The developers were permitted by right four stories at 56 feet, a 20-foot building setback and a 15-foot landscaping setback.
But the new plan calls for no additional units or density. The multifamily-medium zoning does not change.
The plan is for 568 units on 22.73 acres, a density of 24.98 units per acre. It calls for 10 residential buildings, two at five stories, four at four stories and four two-story carriage units. It also has a two-story clubhouse, two amenity areas and an internal parking garage.
What is gained by the change, which takes advantage of a planned area development tool within code, is additional open space, more amenities for residents and the wraparound parking garage. Reese Anderson, representing the developer Frankel Family Trust, said the garage and some amenities would have to go if council did not approve the proposal.
That was enough to sway town planning staff and most council members. Senior Planner Keith Newman said the neo-classical design fits within what the town’s vision is for the Gateway Character Area in Cooley Station.
Most council members praised what they saw in the plan, though Councilmember Bobbi Buchli said she was uncomfortable approving five-story buildings.
Council approved the changes on a 6-1 vote with Buchli dissenting.
We would like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him @sp_blodgett on X.
Meet Tom Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.
Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.
Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism.
Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.
Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).
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