Once a Lightning Rod for Residents, Revamped Mixed-Use Development Passes in Gilbert

Article originally posted on Phoenix Business Journal on June 21, 2023

Seven months after developers and residents began to work on a compromise in order for The Ranch mixed-use project to get off the ground, Gilbert Town Council passed the reworked proposal on Tuesday.

The Ranch, which will be developed by IndiCap, Colmena Group and project investor Langley Properties, will be spread across 300 acres on the southwest corner of Elliot and Power roads. The project, though modified, remains mostly an industrial one, with that use accounting for 221 of the 311 acres of the site.

Plans for the rest call for more than 50 acres of general commercial and more than 35 acres for residential use, which will include 750 multifamily units. There is an additional 16.6 acres of open space between the residential neighborhoods across the street and industrial components.

Council passed both the general plan amendment and zoning proposals for both on 6-1 votes. Councilmember Bobbi Buchli was the only vote against the proposals.

“I think if we look around this room, it’s quite different than it was in November of last year regarding this project,” said Sean Lake, the land-use attorney for the project, before the vote. “At that time, this Council directed the applicants and the neighbors [to] go work it out. … That’s what’s happened. That’s why we’re here this evening. … [This plan] we believe, is a good compromise that gets everybody a little of what they’re looking for.”

The developers added the multifamily and mixed-use elements to The Ranch earlier this year, which Mike Chernine, a founding principal of IndiCap, called a “game-changer” for ultimate neighborhood approval for The Ranch. The commercial aspects call for a restaurant destination with several walkable options within the development.

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