B
y Richard Smith, DAILY NEWS-SUN
The Surprise City Council has cleared a major hurdle toward bringing a West-MEC campus to a vacant plot of land that connects Surprise Marketplace to the Original Town Site.
On Dec. 2 the council approved a zoning change for a 15.12-acre parcel in the West Pointe Towne Center PAD, switching its use from medium density residential to commercial.
That clears the way for West-MEC, once the group, focused on career and technical education programs for high school students and adults, reaches a deal with owner Lexington Investments Inc. on the majority of the land. The property is on a diagonal alignment alongside Grand Avenue and stretches southeast of Carl’s Jr all the way to Dysart Road.
“When all is said and done, this is something the city of Surprise will be cheering about. It’s a huge deal,” Mayor Sharon Wolcott said when the project went before council at the Nov. 18 work session. “If you’ve been to any of the other West-MEC facilities, you understand that they have a serious impact on the community.”
