Another New Residential Community in the Works in Goodyear

Article originally posted on Phoenix Business Journal on June 28, 2024

A new residential housing community could be on the way to Goodyear, pending the city’s approval in a future City Council meeting.

The project, dubbed Willow at El Cidro Ranch, was initially expected to be considered by Goodyear City Council at its June 12 meeting, before being pulled from the agenda.

If ultimately approved, the project would rezone a portion of 583 acres to allow Pennsylvania-based developer BET Investments Inc. to build the complex. BET Investments expects the development to be reintroduced in the coming months.

Willow at El Cidro Ranch has been proposed at the southwest corner of Lower Buckeye Road and the 169th Avenue, adjacent to the future State Route 303 extension on South Cotton Lane. It could start construction as soon as 2025, provided it gets the green light from Goodyear’s City Council.

Scott Moore, executive vice president of BET Investments’ Arizona division, said he expects development to begin following rezoning approval and engineering and construction document approval. Plans for the community include a pool and park area, a clubhouse and other amenities.

Willow at El Cidro Ranch would feature a mix of single-family homes, attached and detached townhouses and multifamily residences totaling 463 units. The project would span 1.85 million square feet on the 42.4-acre Parcel 4, a portion of the larger 583-acre El Cidro planned area development.

“Typically your multifamily site would be 15 acres or so, and in order to be good neighbors with the existing residential to the east, we wanted to put in a single-family residential component in that location,” said Scott Moore, executive vice president of BET Investments’ Arizona division. “We didn’t feel that single-family was compatible adjacent to the 303, so that’s why it was decided to go to a mixed-use site.”

El Cidro is a master planned community in Goodyear that’s been spearheaded by Landsea Homes Corp., which sold 102 lots to Lennar Corp. for $14 million in 2023.

The El Cidro property appealed to BET Investments, which helped develop the land in 2005.

“There’s just so much growth happening in that section of the Goodyear planning area with jobs and retail and commercial and industrial and manufacturing positions,” Moore said. “A higher-density residential neighborhood is a perfect fit for that.”

Moore, who expects the proposal to be reintroduced to the council in August, expressed confidence it will be approved despite the delay. He added that the project has both staff and citizen support, noting a positive impact from neighborhood meetings.

BET Investments expects to work with Phoenix-based civil engineering firm HilgartWilson LLC on the project. Withey Morris Baugh, PLC is the law firm representing the developer.

BET Investments is the developer of eight other properties in Arizona. In April, the company sold a 641,906-square-foot building for $60.1 million to EQT Exeter in one of the Valley’s largest deals of 2024.