Phoenix wants housing development at light rail park-and-ride near Christown Article originally posted on AZ Central on November 12, 2025 A 12.4-acre parking lot near Christown Mall could be developed into housing and commercial uses, as Phoenix explores development on city-owned land along light rail routes. The city owns the site, which is used as a park-and-ride, near 19th and Montebello avenues. The land is southwest of Christown Mall. The city applied to rezone the land to allow both commercial and residential uses and would release a request for proposals to solicit projects from private developers once the rezoning process is complete. The Phoenix Planning Commission recommended approval of the rezoning at its meeting Nov. 6. If approved, the rezoning would allow mixed-use buildings up to 56 feet tall but could increase to 80 feet if a minimum of 30% of the housing units are designated as affordable housing. The development would also be required to have a minimum of 5,000 square feet of commercial space. The rezoning does not include a proposed design for a new development, but it would still need to incorporate the existing transit center into the project. The city recently opened a much larger park-and-ride at the former Metrocenter Mall, which features a parking garage for transit users. The Montebello park-and-ride site is one of several city-owned sites along the light rail route where Phoenix is exploring redevelopment. Over the summer, Phoenix approved a similar rezoning of the park-and-ride at 19th and Dunlap avenues. At the time, Jeff Stapleton, the transit-oriented development program manager for the city, said Phoenix was trying to make new development more targeted along the light rail corridor, and encourage more investment in 19 North, the neighborhood bounded by 15th Avenue to 23rd Avenue and Montebello Road to Dunlap Road.