The Housing Pipeline — Phoenix Metro Free Edition

Week through October 1, 2026

The first Phoenix metro sweep is done, covering all nine cities from the baseline built this week. The headline: Mesa just greenlit its biggest private development ever. Here's the rundown:

Mesa — Legacy Park approved

After hours of presentations and public comment on September 14, the Mesa City Council unanimously approved annexation, zoning, a development agreement, and a theme-park district for Legacy Park and the adjoining Gateway Crossing project, per local news reports. It's a roughly $3 billion private investment — the largest in Mesa's history — on about 200 acres at the northeast corner of Ellsworth and Williams Field roads near Mesa Gateway Airport. The plan calls for 2,500 residences, a 600-room luxury resort, 300,000 square feet of upscale retail and restaurants, 3.4 million square feet of office space, and a 20-plus-acre urban park with a lake. Developer: Vestar, partnering with landowner Pacific Proving LLC. Vestar has said groundbreaking is planned for 2027. Location: NE corner of S Ellsworth Rd & E Williams Field Rd, southeast Mesa.

Phoenix — Meritage Homes pushes south

Meritage Homes is working a 20.86-acre single-family subdivision of detached homes and townhomes near 15th Avenue and Baseline Road in South Phoenix, going through a planned-unit-development rezoning. The South Mountain Village Planning Committee recommended approval 11-2-1 back in July, and a Planning Commission backup memo is dated August 5 — it's now awaiting council action. Developer: Meritage Homes. Anticipated construction start: not stated. Location: about 995 feet south of the southeast corner of 15th Ave & Baseline Rd. Also on the Phoenix front: the Planning Commission meets tonight (Oct 1).

Chandler — Mountain View Estates advances

A 16-lot single-family subdivision planned east of Lindsay and Riggs roads earned a 6-0 Planning & Zoning recommendation on June 17. Developer: not stated. Anticipated construction start: not stated. Location: east of the northeast corner of Lindsay Rd & Riggs Rd. Chandler's P&Z meets next on October 7.

Gilbert — age-restricted apartments take shape

Headwaters Gilbert, a 188-unit age-restricted apartment community proposed for 6.37 acres at 950 S Gilbert Road in the Gilbert Town Square area, got a study-session preview with commissioners pressing on parking and landscaping details — the formal Planning Commission hearing was September 2 and a Town Council decision is still pending. The plan is two four-story buildings with a roughly 6,000-square-foot clubhouse at about 30 units per acre. Developer: not stated. Anticipated construction start: not stated. Also in Gilbert: the Woodcrest Village West townhome neighborhood in Power Ranch was heard the same night, with its council decision pending too. Gilbert's Planning Commission meets October 7.

Queen Creek — two in the queue

Summerwell Residences, a single-family detached and attached community, has its rezone and site plan pending after an August neighborhood meeting — a Planning & Zoning recommendation on September 9 was reported but isn't confirmed in official town documents yet. The Union, a mixed-use development proposed for the northwest corner of Ellsworth Loop and Rittenhouse Road, is also in rezone review. Developers: not stated for both. Anticipated construction starts: not stated.

Buckeye — the big one out west

Grand View Arizona is a 2,271-acre master-planned community targeting 5,060 to 6,500 homes alongside a rail-served employment hub, bounded by Broadway Road, Jackrabbit Trail, MC 85, and Dean Road. The applicant is Norris Design on behalf of owner Grand View Buckeye LLC; staff recommended continuing the case to the November 25, 2025 Planning Commission, and the latest official status couldn't be confirmed. Anticipated construction start: not stated. Also in Buckeye: Westpark, a roughly 125-acre master-planned community near Lower Buckeye Road, earned a Planning Commission recommendation in June and heads toward council.

Goodyear — Rio 1900 is locked in

The Rio 1900 planned area development — about 1,940 acres of master-planned mixed-use west of Cotton Lane along the Gila River, replacing the old King Ranch plan — won unanimous council approval back in January. Developer: not stated. Anticipated construction start: not stated. Meanwhile, Fulton Homes' Ballpark Village planned-area amendment near the Phoenix-Goodyear Airport went before council June 22, though the outcome wasn't confirmed in the documents retrieved.

Scottsdale — Axon's campus, still in limbo

Axon Enterprise's headquarters campus at 8300 E Axon Way in north Scottsdale includes 1,200 homes (600 apartments, 600 condos) in a two-phase buildout on 44.7 acres. Council approved the memorandum of understanding 4-3 last November, but lawsuit and referendum activity mean the current legal status couldn't be verified through official city sources. Developer: Axon Enterprise. Anticipated construction start: not stated. In smaller Scottsdale news, K. Hovnanian's Aria at Silverstone townhome community won design review approval.

Peoria — 7,300 acres of future

The Peoria Innovation Core, a roughly 7,341-acre master-planned district at Lake Pleasant Parkway and Lone Mountain Parkway, was adopted by council in March, with the city itself as applicant on behalf of the state land department, Amkor, and the Diocese of Phoenix. Also adopted in August: Travesio, K. Hovnanian's mixed-use project with commercial space and up to 50 gated single-family lots at Lake Pleasant Parkway and Yearling Road, and the 154-townhome El Mirage & Forest Pleasant Place north of El Mirage and Lone Mountain. Anticipated construction starts: not stated. Peoria's council meets October 6.

On the radar

Phoenix Planning Commission tonight (Oct 1) • Peoria City Council Oct 6 • Chandler P&Z Oct 7 • Gilbert Planning Commission Oct 7 • Mesa — watching for Legacy Park groundbreaking prep • Queen Creek — awaiting official word on Summerwell.