By Parker Leavitt | The Republic | azcentral.com
Six months after Gilbert residents successfully fought plans for a mental health hospital near Greenfield and Baseline roads, the undeveloped lot is now slated for a charter school — and appears to have the blessing of its future neighbors.
Great Hearts Academies, which operates more than a dozen schools across the Valley, plans to build a K-12 campus on a 9-acre lot at the southwestern corner of Baseline Road and Quinn Avenue.
The charter school will have room for about 1,150 students in four buildings with a total of 73,000 square feet, according to a Gilbert Planning Department report.
The town’s Planning Commission on Oct. 23 unanimously approved a conditional-use permit allowing Great Hearts to open the school in a general commercial zoning district, which is typically reserved for large-scale retail, service, office and entertainment facilities.
