A major change is in the works for the Belmont master plan, which encompasses 25,000 acres set for residential and commercial growth about an hour west of Phoenix.The owner of the property, Scottsdale-based LKY Development Co., is looking to attract industrial development for nearly 5,150 acres of the Belmont plan instead of residential in the Buckeye area.Law firm Gammage & Burnham submitted a zoning application to Maricopa County on behalf of LKY Development for a comprehensive plan amendment earlier this month for the Belmont master plan, which is roughly equal in size to the city of Tempe.If approved, this would remove the 5,150 acres out of the Belmont plan to allow for more flexibility in design and land uses as the property is built out, project documents said. The site could see warehouses for distribution, utilities and more.The large vacant site is generally located between Indian School Road and 347th and 371st avenues just north of Interstate 10. It’s also located along the future Interstate 11 highway that’s planned to eventually connect Mexico to Nevada.”Markets have shifted, demanding more mixed uses and employment opportunities, especially near major freeway intersections,” documents submitted to the county said. “By requesting the heavy industrial land use designation, the site will be primed for these future developments. This will ultimately lead to the creation of a major core providing entertainment, employment and commercial services.”Lindsay Schube, a zoning and land use attorney for Gammage & Burnham, said they are early in the zoning process for the site.”We have consistently said that we think Belmont is perfectly situated to be the infrastructure and logistical hub for the Western United States with its intersection of I-10 and I-11,” Schube said in an email to the Business Journal. “This county request is the next step to get the property in a position to allow that to happen.”expandThe owners of the Belmont master plan are taking the next steps to set up more than 5,000 acres in the far West Valley for industrial development along the future Interstate 11.Maricopa County documentsThe property is also located within a four-hour drive from Los Angeles and is only a few miles away from the Buckeye Municipal Airport.Belmont plan incorporates $1 billion film production hubThe Belmont plan was first created in 1991 for residential, commercial, manufacturing and more and has had a few major changes approved by the county since then.The most recent change to the plan included rezoning and a plan amendment for 1,400 acres in Belmont for a proposed $1 billion film production hub called Desert Studios, which is expected to bring 6,000 new jobs.As the city of Buckeye has moved to establish thousands of acres surrounding State Route 85 and Interstate 10 for future industrial growth, more landowners have been following suit.Recently, Arizona Land Consulting received city approvals to create the Buckeye Tech Corridor in place of a former plan for a residential community for a 2,000-acre data center campus.The LKY Development firm is led by Larry Yount, who is also spearheading the North Star Ranch master-planned community in north Buckeye.Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, reportedly bought into the Belmont property for $80 million in 2017, according to a previous Phoenix Business Journal report, which said the Belmont master plan could fit 80,000 residences, 3,800 acres of commercial space and 470 acres for schools.
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