By Parker Leavitt | The Arizona Republic
Two vacant commercial parcels near prominent Gilbert street corners could be rezoned to allow for residential development if officials approve corresponding amendments to the town’s General Plan.
Gilbert planners have tried for about two years to find a suitable use for an 11-acre site directly west of Roosevelt Water Conservation District offices on the northwestern corner of Higley and Williams Field roads. So far, they’ve come up empty.
The land was previously used as a farm headquarters, but those buildings now sit vacant, officials say. The site borders the Crossroads subdivision to the north and west and is surrounded by commercial shops in every other direction.
Although the parcel is zoned for a shopping center, it’s too deep for small-scale development and not large enough to accommodate a typical “power center” with a big-box anchor surrounded by other businesses, planner Amy Temes said.
