Queen Creek planning commission approves sign plan for The Switchyard

The comprehensive sign plan for the $120 million mixed-use project The Switchyard, which has started construction in Town Center, has been approved by the Queen Creek Planning & Zoning Commission.

On Tuesday, the commission voted 6-0 to approve the plan. Commissioner Aaron Ballard was not at the meeting.

The developer of The Switchyard, Creation, broke ground on the almost 12-acre project east of Ellsworth Loop Road between East Victoria Lane and East Ocotillo Road on May 7. The comprehensive sign plan was submitted by Imperial Signs.

There will be seven buildings on the site — four single-story buildings with office, retail and restaurant space and three four-story buildings that will house 215 apartment units and office space.

The Switchyard will open in phases, with the first phase of commercial space expected to be completed in mid-2026. The residential portion of the project is currently in the design phase, and construction is expected to begin within the year, according to the developer.

The sign plan includes:

• One multitenant monument sign that will be placed at the main entrance along Ellsworth Loop Road. The sign will be double-sided, measure 9 feet, 6 inches by 4 feet, 8 inches and will include identification for six tenants. The town code allows for a maximum height of 8 feet unless a deviation is requested.
• Three entry project identification signs at the southeast corner of Ellsworth Loop Road and East Victoria Lane at the East Victoria Lane entrance, and at Ocotillo Road entrance. The signs will be single-sided and measure 7 feet, 6 inches by 20 feet, 4 inches.
• Six interior directional signs that will be placed at various locations within The Switchyard. The signs will be double-sided and measure 4 feet by 1 foot, 2 inches and include directions to certain tenants as well as restrooms and parking.

Commission Chair David Gillette asked the town’s principal planner, Les Johnson, if there were any other monument signs in the town that reached the 9-foot-6-inch height requested by The Switchyard.

“We’ve had some that have gone higher than that. One that’s been before (the commission) recently, and they just put their monument sign in is the Pecan Lake Entertainment Center. They have a digital monument sign that they placed out front and I believe that height is at this if not taller. Fat Cats also has an alignment site that I believe exceeds the view as well,” Johnson said.

Commissioner Alex Matheson acknowledged that the sign plan contained many deviations from the town code, but the project merited the changes.

“I kind of recognize that there’s a lot of deviation from our standards here that we have, which obviously is important. We (don’t want to) just gloss over that but I also know given the size, the magnitude, the amount of effort that they have gone through with staff to make this as ideal of a project as possible, I agree with the deviations (to) make things a little bit bigger.”

The Switchyard is seen as a key component in creating a walkable downtown for Queen Creek.

“It is one of several projects underway in our Town Center area that will help us bring the vision of our downtown core to life,” Mayor Julia Wheatley stated in a press release announcing the groundbreaking. “The Switchyard’s exciting project announcements align with our strategic priority of creating a quality lifestyle here in Queen Creek, as they will provide our residents with additional dining, retail, residential and office opportunities.”

Three restaurants have already signed on to open at The Switchyard — the breakfast restaurant Snooze, Shake Shack and the wine bar Postino.

“I’m personally super excited for this project. I can’t wait and being that one of the first things you see, if not the first thing you see when you pull up to a project like this is the signage, I feel like you guys have done an excellent job so far working with the town and I can’t wait to see the final product,” Gillette said.

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