Higley USD explores sale or lease of vacant land parcel 

By Tom Blodgett
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The Higley Unified School District is considering the potential sale, lease or exchange of a 19.5-acre parcel of vacant land located in Gilbert by Orchid Lane between Blue Jay and Wren drives near Gilbert Gateway Towne Center. 

The land is currently zoned for industrial use and was appraised in 2022 at $8.6 million, according to HUSD Chief Financial Officer Tyler Moore. 

The governing board unanimously approved a motion April 22 to authorize the drafting of a resolution that would give the district authority to proceed with one of the three options. 

District staff outlined the three main options available for the parcel: sale, lease or exchange. However, any of these actions will require voter approval before proceeding. 

Of the three options, leasing appears to be the preferred course.  

“That would create an ongoing revenue stream for the district, which is something that I would prefer if that would be an option,” Moore said, adding, “Ongoing revenue is difficult to come about when we're talking about school finance and leveraging resources that we have.” 

While voter approval is required for leases longer than 20 years, shorter leases do not require an election.  

However, early discussions with potential partners indicate that interested parties — such as multifamily developers and a nearby storage facility — prefer long-term leases if they are to invest in infrastructure.  

“There is multifamily interest in this, and they would be interested in long-term leasing,” Moore said. “They would not want to build an infrastructure with at least less than 20 years.” 

An adjacent storage facility also has shown interest, Moore said. 

Board members raised concerns about community involvement, environmental liability and long-term district revenues.  

When asked about whether the community would have a chance to weigh in, Moore said, “Certainly that individual or that company could come help solicit or coordinate that Q-and-A session if there was concern over what was being proposed for that property.” 

As for the financial benefits, no exact revenue projections were given, but the district cited another Kyrene Elementary School District as a comparison. That district has a long-term lease for what Moore thought was two warehouse properties bringing in $800,000 annually in revenue. 

Any funds generated from a sale would be subject to legal requirements, including partial application to outstanding bond debt.  

“If you sell it, so that has to go to school plant ... but you have to pay down a portion of your outstanding debt if you lease it,” Moore said.  

Lease revenues, however, can be directed to capital needs and may help reduce current lease burdens, like the middle schools, within the district. 

The final resolution, including proposed ballot language, is expected to be reviewed at the next board meeting May 13. 

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. 

Tom Blodgett
Senior News Editor | Gilbert

tblodgett@iniusa.org

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).