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Wednesday, May 4, 2022
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Plans for former State Land parcel unveiled BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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SPORTS
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he plan for developing the 373 acres of former State Trust Land in Ahwatukee was unveiled last week, with the developer expecting work to begin late this year or in early 2023 building 1,050 one- and twostory houses, 150 build-to-rent townhomes and 329 apartments and starting home sales in 2024. The Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee got a preview during its monthly meeting April 25 of Blandford Homes’ plans for
the vast piece of desert next to Club West along Chandler Boulevard between 19th and 27th avenues that will be renamed Canyon Reserve. Then, on May 23, the committee will be asked to give a formal recommendation to the Phoenix Planning Commission on a General Plan amendment for the development. The commission on June 2 will make a recommendation for a City Council hearing July 1 on that amendment. That would be Council’s last meeting before its summer break. The land, which Blandford bought at a state Land Department auction last June for $175.5 million – far above the appraised value of $105
million – is already zoned for homes, apartments and some commercial development. The amendment will affect street classifications for the development, which also will include 29.21 acres of wash corridor. While a good deal of the presentation focused on that amendment, some committee members also focused on so far nonexistent plans to address public safety services for a development that will bring thousands of people and vehicles to the area. The General Plan amendment includes
see STATELAND page 14
Shelved by COVID, FOL Beer and Wine Fest returning BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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nother Ahwatukee victim of the pandemic is coming back to life next month – and a Thanksgiving tradition canceled during the same time may return in an altered form this year. Two years after it was shelved by COVID-19, the Ahwatukee Beer and Wine Festival will be held 6:30-10:30 p.m. June 17 at Foothills Golf Club, 2201 E. Clubhouse Drive, Ahwatukee. Tickets were scheduled to go on sale today at folaz.org. Meanwhile, Festival of Lights Committee President Raphael Isaac said it’s possible the Thanksgiving Saturday Kick-Off Party could return in November, though it won’t be the huge all-day extravaganza it had been in the past. The $50 admission to the Beer and Wine Festival will entitle guests to wine and beer tickets, live music and a commemorative wine
see WINE page 9
Festival of Lights Committee leaders who have been working hard are Jeffri-Lynn Campbell, Chris Kracht, Dawn Matesi, Maria Reyes-Smith and Raphael Isaac, during a planning meeting for the 2022 Festival of Lights Wine & Beer Festival, Wednesday, April 27, 2022, in Ahwatukee , Arizona. (David Minton/Staff Photographer)
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