By Callan Smith | Rose Law Group Reporter
Lakin Ranch, a new master-planned community, spanning 1,130 acres, is on the horizon in Avondale developed by Brookfield Residential with an anticipated opening date in early 2020. The proposed project is projected to take ten years with multiple phases. The preliminary plat is for 461 lots, ranging in size from 45 feet to 70-feet-wide, which will be available to builders in August of 2018.
Brookfield is likely best known here in the Valley for its development of the Eastmark master-planned community in Mesa and is a leading land developer and homebuilder with 12 North American Divisions.
Lakin Ranch will be located in southwest Avondale, just south of West Lower Buckeye Road and bordered to the east by Avondale Boulevard, north of the Sierra Estrella Mountains and the planned State Route 30, which will be a significant addition connecting the east and West Valley.
“One thing that’s noteworthy, this is the first major master planned to be developed in the valley since Eastmark launched in 2013,” John Bradley, president of Brookfield Residential Arizona said.
The Lakin Ranch community is entitled for up to 3,695 single-family homes, with the first phase of builders to be announced in early 2019. A 30-acre regional park, co-owned with the city, will be a central hub for the community events and public gatherings. It will include a splash pad, ball fields, ramadas, basketball courts and dog parks, with the intent to bring Avondale residents together year-round.
Three large parks are also planned, ranging from two to three acres, each with unique designs and diverse amenities.
The community will also feature 20 or more half-acre neighborhood parks that are planned to connect and engage Lakin Ranch residents through green-spaces that allow for many uses, featuring basketball half-courts, benches, ramadas and play equipment. These parks are not planned for water retention and are areas designed for living, “and for kids and parents to do what they like to do,” Bradley said.
The community will provide nine-and-a-half miles of hiking and exercise trails connecting with Avondale’s regional trail system and scenic corridors along the Agua Fria and Gila Rivers. Lakin Ranch’s green-spaces and connected corridors will tie in with Avondale’s sustainable communities initiative and the city’s focus on health and wellness.
There are planned mixed-use elements included in the development, such as a 16-acre commercial center, 15-acre elementary school site, six-acre dedicated outdoor and recreational space, and four-acre public safety facility.
