Glendale council hears data center blank petition at next meeting
Project Eagle annexation procedure set for Sept. 22
Courtesy Takanock
Takanock released two photos looking northwest at Olive and 143rd avenues, one that shows the current landscape, top, and one that is a rendering of what the Project Baccara will look like from the same location.
(City of Glendale)
The three annexations currently in various stages of completion that would add to the city of Glendale. The 160-acre Project Eagle, formerly known as Project Baccara, is colored red on the map.
West Valley residents will have a chance to speak about the Project Eagle, formerly Project Baccara, data center and natural gas turbine power generation facility on Sept. 22.
That night, the Glendale City Council is slated to hear a presentation on a blank petition for annexation of the 160-acre site north of Olive Avenue and a half mile west of Litchfield Road. Property owners are then able to sign the anneexation petition.
The project is essentially approved by Maricopa County. City Attorney Michael Bailey said during an Aug. 25 city council workshop that the project received a Luke Air Force Base compatibility permit and the county board of supervisors’ approval.
Most of the vocal opposition to Project Eagle comes from residents of Surprise and Waddell, most of whom live closer than almost all Glendale residents. Waddell resident April Butler sent a letter to Glendale council members and city officials Aug. 25.
"This proposed project with its gas-fired power plant and 18 combustion turbines totaling 700 MW of power which will be connected to our community grid has the potential to be a very dangerous situation to hundreds of families in the Southern Surprise and Waddell area," Butler's letter read in part. "I myself have seen an F-16 go down just North of the proposed site on APN 501-43-019 Justice Brothers Farm. I have asked repeatedly why there was no flight study done, a question that has never been answered."
On Aug. 31, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes urged Gov. Katie Hobbs and state lawmakers to pass legislation pausing all data center projects because of energy cost and water usage concerns.
The rezoning application associated with Project Eagle's potential annexation will be discussed Sept. 22.
Michigan-based developer Tanhook plans to build the project. Three data centers on the site would total 1.1 million square feet and the power generation facility would include 18 natural gas turbines.
Glendale borders this property to the west and south.
“The three data center buildings are proposed on the western portion of the site. About two-thirds of the site will be made up of three data centers, each approximately 330,000 feet under roof,” Glendale Planner Sydney Tirella said Aug. 25.
Project Eagle would have a one-time $35.8 million cost.
The council does not vote on the blank petition Project Eagle. This annexation and zoning change will be voted on at the Oct. 27 council meeting.
As of Sept. 15, the council is scheduled to hear three items on Sept. 22 related to projects the Glendale Planning Commission recommended for approval at its Aug. 27 meeting. They are:
A planned-area development for a battery energy storage system on the northeast corner of Olive Avenue and Cotton Lane. The project on a 37-acre section of the larger, 255-acre Parkway 303 West planned-area development. Larkspur Energy Storage is the project's name and esVolta is its developer.
Talavi Business Park is a vacant lot north of Paradise Lane between 51st and 59th avenues. Canyon Elementary School is directly to the east. Opus Development recently acquired this property, looked into semiconductor support business and was able to attract a user in the summer.
A rezoning on the 51 Bells PAD on Glendale’s border with Phoenix — the southwest corner of 51st Avenue and Bell Road. In all, the proposal would rezone 37 acres to planned-area development. The northern part of this parcel, which boarders on Bell, is now zoned for light industrial and the parcel south of that is a business park. None of the current 51 Bells businesses would need to leave if the rezoning is approved.
Richard Smith Senior News Editor | Glendale & West Valley Preps
Richard Smith has been with Independent Newsmedia since 2016, and worked at a Sun City-based news outfit covering the Northwest Valley for 22 consecutive years.
An NAU alum and lifelong Arizona resident, Richard began as a copy editor and page designer at Surprise Today and the Daily News-Sun, then rekindled his love of sports writing by taking the reins on West Valley Preps in 2008.
For most of the mid-2010s he was the Surprise editor and West Valley Preps reporter. Now he’s the West Valley Preps Editor and Surprise Associate Editor.
As COVID restrictions slowly lift, Richard is cautiously optimistic he will visit book stores, football fields and gyms again this fall.
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