By Parker Leavitt | The Republic | azcentral.com
The Gilbert Town Council on Thursday, March 6 will consider authorizing officials to spend more than $3.6 million to purchase the largest remaining vacant parcel in the downtown Heritage District.
Frequent visitors to downtown Gilbert would likely recognize the 11-acre agricultural field on the southwestern corner of Gilbert Road and Juniper Avenue, where it wraps around a Burger King restaurant and stretches south toward the Western Powerline Trail.
The empty property is one of the first sights to greet traffic approaching the northern end of the historical Heritage District, a redevelopment zone that encompasses the original townsite upon incorporation in 1920.
A private partnership called Gilbert Road and Juniper Avenue Property purchased the field in 1987, and the owners recently approached town officials with a desire to sell it, Economic Development Director Dan Henderson said.
