Queen Creek is “shovel-ready.”
The town can expect to increase its population significantly by 2020, judging by a substantial increase in building permits for new single-family homes this year.
Queen Creek issued 260 percent more single-family home permits from Jan. 1 through September compared with the same months in 2011, according to the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona. Figures for the fourth quarter were not yet available.
Based on a calculation of existing, or “shovel ready,” home lots and the number of lots in the planning pipeline for subdivisions in Queen Creek, the town forecasts a potential growth in population to 41,970 by 2020. The town’s population according to the 2010 U.S. census was 26,490.
“Queen Creek is on the verge of significant new residential development, in part, because it is closer to the shopping and services in Gilbert and Mesa,” as these areas build out, than it was five years ago, said Queen Creek Planning Administrator Wayne Balmer. “The teens (2013-2019) might be Queen Creek’s years.”
Queen Creek Councilman Craig Barnes said the increase in home construction could be a double-edged sword. While an increase in population means an increase building permit revenue for the town, that money never makes up for the town’s cost in services it provides to residents.
Only Apache Junction has eclipsed Queen Creek in terms of the percentage increase in single-family homebuilding permits this year. according to the association’s data.
Casa Grande and Chandler also saw a decrease in the number of single-family homebuilding permits.
Information from The Arizona Republic
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