2024 June InMaricopa Magazine - View more at InMaricopa.com
January 2024
www.InMaricopa.com
Toast of the town New year, new me(al)
FOOD & DRINK • COMMUNITY • BUSINESS • HOME • MORE
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CONTENTS
JOB FAIR January 27 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
LEADING OFF Editor’s letter 4 Contributors 4 HISTORY Politics, prejudice and history 6
District Office Governing Board Room 44150 W. Maricopa Casa-Grande Hwy (520) 568-5100
Current openings, including but not limited to: • Administrative Roles • Bus Driver • Coaches • Custodial • Paraprofessional • Psychologist • School Counselor • Teacher
This month in history 6 YEAR IN REVIEW Top stories: A troubled intersection and tales of stolen valor 8 A booming year in business 14 New police station, courthouse on way 16 The housing market slows slightly 18 Education recovers from pandemic 20 The sporting scene in Maricopa 22 Deadly and disturbing crimes 23 More public safety stories 24 GOVERNMENT AZ state Sen. T.J. Shope’s plans for Maricopa 28 Maricopa announces plans for industrial park 30 Permitting 31 COMMUNITY New Year, new you 32 BUSINESS Restaurant inspections 34 HOME The city council’s favorite foods 38 Who's serving the best in Maricopa 40 All about restaurant inspections 42
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HOME January a great time to start a garden 61 Justifying an early eviction 62 Most, least expensive homes 63 Don’t flush these items 64 Simplifying decor helps some homeowners 65 SENIORS A reading party 66 Seniors, students make gifts for needy children 68 All about this year’s senior expo 69
EVENTS Calendar 71 TRENDING A look at what’s hot on InMaricopa.com 79
Food trucks worth a try 44 Nandos looks to impress 46 The Roost overcomes odds 48 City embraces first Thai joint 50 Seafood van a local staple 52 Maricopa’s monster menu item 54 International food served locally 55 Restaurants by the numbers 57 Next on the menu 60
PARTING SHOT Psychedelic sunset 80
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ON THE COVER In this photo illustration, InMaricopa toasts the new year, takes stock of the past year (Page 8) and celebrates the local food and beverage scene with our restaurant guide on page 37.
InMaricopa.com | January 2024
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FROM THE EDITOR
COMPREHENSIVE HOSPITAL CARE FOR ADULTS & CHILDREN
F For those of us who live a routine lifestyle, time flies by. Days blend together and fall off the calendar like peaches from a tree. Nothing slowed the clock quite like the pandemic — the greatest disruption to our routines with lockdowns, time away from work and so much more. Perhaps that’s why — for me and many like me — 2023 felt so inexplicably fast. In many ways, we returned to normal. In other ways, we finished our adjustment to the new normal. mean we didn’t report a whole lot of news last year. We won our first Arizona Newspaper Association awards and published more than 1,400 articles for our largest audience ever. While 2023 feels like a blur, some of those stories will stick with me forever. Take a trip down memory lane in this issue as we reflect on the biggest news events of the year in Maricopa. In any case, my first year in charge of InMaricopa really flew by! But that doesn’t Now, we’ve been handed a New Year and there’s no telling what local storylines are begging to be uncovered betwixt the leaves of the 2024 calendar. It’s an election year in the city and the nation. Artificial intelligence is expected to proliferate and goad misinformation online. NASA will put another man on the moon, while COVID-19 will become endemic like the common cold. Pantone named peach fuzz as its Color of the Year for 2024. Whether that conjures images of the juicy stone fruits that symbolize my southeastern home state or a, ahem, derrière — Pantone’s color experts say the muted blushy tone epitomizes the year ahead, describing it as “warm and welcoming.”
Peaches and cream
Publisher SCOTT BARTLE
I’ve found Maricopa to be warm (literally and figuratively) and very welcoming. I have no doubt peach fuzz will aptly symbolize the coming annum as this city — now among the three fastest-growing locales in the west — continues to welcome more new neighbors.
Managing Editor ELIAS WEISS
Advertising Director VINCENT MANFREDI
Advertising IRENE DITTRICH
And speaking of peaches — it doesn’t take an analyst of news trends to figure out Maricopans buzz more over new restaurant whispers than just about anything else, save maybe the 347 and all its woes. That’s why this edition contains a comprehensive local restaurant guide that’s certain to leave even
VERONICA RODRIGUEZ MICHELLE SORENSEN MERCED VILLALOBOS
Writers RITA BRICKER JEFF CHEW KRISTINA DONNAY
the most fervid foodies salivating. Truly, a champagne clink sums up this issue best — that’s why I put it on the cover. What could more adequately symbolize ringing in the New Year with a celebration of our city’s food and drink? On the global stage, the coming year could be chaotic and unpredictable. Wars brewing in Israel, Ukraine, Guyana and Ethiopia, major elections in the world’s largest countries, rapid advancement of AI and insecure public health. It’s the Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese zodiac, and that implies such anxieties. But it’s also the luckiest in the 12-year cycle. We’ll see what the New Year brings for the world. In Maricopa, I’d say it’s all peaches and cream.
JUSTIN GRIFFIN TERRY LEAMON DAYV MORGAN BRIAN PETERSHEIM JR.
TOM SCHUMAN RONALD SMITH MONICA D. SPENCER SHERMAN AND EUPHEMIA WEEKES
Photographers BRYAN MORDT JENECE MORDT VICTOR MORENO
BRIAN PETERSHEIM JR. MONICA D. SPENCER
Designer CARL BEZUIDENHOUT
ACCEPTING ALL INSURANCE PLANS INCLUDING MEDICARE & MEDICAID
MISSION Inform readers/viewers. Enrich advertisers.
ELIAS WEISS MANAGING EDITOR
COMPLETE LAB & IMAGING, INCLUDING X-RAY, CT SCAN & ULTRASOUND
BELIEFS We believe in: • An informed citizenry. • Holding ourselves and others accountable. • The success of deserving businesses.
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Volume 19, Issue 1 InMaricopa 44400 W. Honeycutt Road, Suite 101 Maricopa, AZ 85138
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RONALD SMITH Ron is back in this month’s edition with some tips about how to get the most out of this year’s Senior Expo.
RITA BRICKER Rita educates on the benefits of planting your garden in January. It might be the coldest month of the year, but it’s the best time to start.
TERRY LEAMON Terry, a local plumber, offers a list of items you shouldn’t flush down your toilet. He's dealt with it all, so you don’t have to.
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InMaricopa.com | January 2024
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HISTORY
Where Every Child Is Known
Politics and prejudice
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visits a Japanese internment camp in Maricopa's backyard April 23, 1943. The controversial camp housed Japanese-Americans forced by politics, prejudice and paranoia to live in barracks built by the U.S. government on the Gila River Indian Reservation. It is widely regarded as a dark point in American history. The Gila River camps, built on the reservation despite loud objection from the tribe, had a capacity of 10,000 people but housed more than 13,000 prisoners of war. There was no
barbed wire or guard tower, just a single sentry on duty. The desert heat and lack of surrounding resources were enough security.
THIS MONTH BACK IN... For these and other historical stories, visit InMaricopa.com.
2009 2014
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More than a dozen nurses gathered around the bed offering loud and fervent words of encouragement around midnight Jan. 1. Maricopa resident Elaine Garza gave birth to the first baby of 2009 in Arizona. "With all of the encouragement, it made the delivery really easy," Garza said. The child, an 8-pound, 12-ounce baby boy named Conner Jordan, was Jerry and Elaine Garza’s fourth child.
Dairy Queen owner Vimal Patel said an employee put new oil into a deep fryer as part of a regular routine Jan. 4. A fire started after the employee turned the fryer on and stepped away. Maricopa firefighters evacuated the building and doused the fire once. There were no injuries.
Maricopa High School suffered two mercury spills. Maricopa police reported a student brought a traditional thermometer to a science lab Jan. 24 and accidentally shattered it, spilling a toxic amount of mercury. Four days later, just after the school reopened, a second thermometer broke. Student Joe Lambert said he was in the room during the incident. “The lab assistant was in the lab prep room cleaning up the area when a thermometer fell,” he recalled.
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InMaricopa.com | January 2024
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TOP STORIES Readers’ Choice
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Go Fund Yourself
laser-guided missiles. Public records paint a different picture of Zinnerman at that time — one of a career criminal in Los Angeles. By 2002, Zinnerman had been charged with nearly two dozen felony counts of burglary and theft, among other things. He was convicted at least four times, public records show. The records also suggest Zinnerman never left Southern California between 1980 and his reputed retirement in 2002. He’s now the subject of an FBI investigation. Sonoran Desert Parkway Saga Installation of a controversial traffic signal at an embattled intersection in southern Maricopa began in late November and wrapped up in December as the city finally put the finishing touches on its portion of the Sonoran Desert Parkway, a byway that will one day give Maricopans an additional route to Interstate 10 and hopefully ease traffic concerns in the city. The plan was for the city and the Arizona Department of Transportation to fund the purpose-made parkway, which would lead to the front door of Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino. Everything seemed fine as Ak- Chin Chairman Robert Miguel was on hand for the parkway’s groundbreaking in 2022 and spoke glowingly of the project. The only cost to the Ak-Chin Indian Community was to allow city workers on 50 feet of its property to install a stoplight, which would direct patrons onto the casino property or allow them to safely turn left or right at the intersection. This wasn’t your average installation, however. It took months to get resolution as
thousands of taxpayer dollars were squandered each idle day. Problems arose early last year when Ak-Chin filed a complaint with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, which in turn issued a cease-and-desist letter to the city stating right-of-way concerns had not been properly handled. The city, on the other hand, had paperwork stating the opposite, and more than three decades ago, right-of-way was transferred to ADOT and Pinal County, which handed those rights to the city. Things came to a head in September when Ak-Chin tribal leaders sent their police force to the intersection to arrest unsuspecting workers installing the signal. The workers left before anyone was arrested, but the message from Ak-Chin was clear. As a result, the city set up a messy four-way stop with traffic cones and stop signs in September. The “permanent traffic condition” blocked access to Harrah's Ak-Chin Casino at that intersection from the new Sonoran Desert Parkway. Mayor Nancy Smith said Ak-Chin would pay for the traffic light if it did not acknowledge the city's permits by Sept. 11. After months of negotiation, Ak-Chin approved the permits in November. The city still shouldered the cost, proving its threat empty. In the November magazine, through interviews with city leaders past and present and Freedom of Information Act requests, InMaricopa uncovered Ak-Chin’s history of reneging on its promises and agreements with municipal leaders, and just how contentious the relations had gotten between the city and Ak-Chin.
SCAMOUFLAGE: HOW A DISGRACED MARICOPA MARINE CONNED HIS
InMaricopa readers spoke loudly of their favorite stories in 2023. InMaricopa.com published more than 1,400 stories last year, but readers flocked to two of them unlike all the others. The first was the tale of a Maricopa Marine who lied extensively about his military service — or lack thereof — and turned it into a lucrative occupation. This story was InMaricopa’s most viewed ever with more than 50,000 reads. Our most popular series involved the Sonoran Desert Parkway. At its groundbreaking ceremony in June 2022, Ak-Chin Indian Community Chairman Robert Miguel was all smiles and handshakes but later tried to derail the project. Over a series of stories from September to November, this saga garnered more than 70,000 reads. Maricopans tuned in as
For police officers injured in the line of duty, the ending isn’t always favorable. When injured officers can’t immediately return to work, it’s not always a given they’ll be made whole by worker’s compensation and the municipality that employs them.
Such a situation caught InMaricopa ’s attention when Maricopa Police Cpl. Joshua Fox bravely chased down suspected auto thieves after one opened fire and shot him one night in June. A few weeks later, the family organized fundraisers for him to buy necessities like groceries. From there, InMaricopa examined the system and how injured police officers in Arizona are denied benefits after injuries and often neglected by their employers. InMaricopa reached out to the city to find out why one of Maricopa’s finest would even need such fundraisers in the first place. Initially, the city refused to comment on Fox’s situation, but eventually had to respond. Our story ran online on Aug. 11. On Aug. 15, the city ended its silence about injured employee pay, stating: "What is not paid by workers’ compensation is covered by the city to make the employee’s salary whole." The question still remains: If that’s true, why did Fox convey to the public he couldn’t afford to eat and solicit them for handouts?
WAY TO THE TOP E ntangled in a web of lies, a former Marine in Maricopa found himself ensnared in the sticky grip of stolen valor accusations. Like a black widow spinning artificial silk, his own web became his prison. “This is f*cking r*tarded,” Billy Zinnerman told InMaricopa the morning the story was published. For Zinnerman — who falsely purported to be a retired sergeant major of the U.S. Marine Corps decorated with the most portentous service medals — it was time to pay the piper. Zinnerman crafted and advanced his spurious saga since at least 2010, when, ironically, he pontificated about moral upstanding on PBS’ bygone Ethics NewsWeekly. In retrospect, it was a scintilla of
In November 2022, Zinnerman appeared at the 247th Marine Corps Ball as its guest of honor. A few months later, in May, he was lauded by U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters as he delivered the keynote speech at a commemoration in Inglewood, Calif., and accepted an award from the city’s mayor. At the event, Zinnerman recounted fantastical tales of a helicopter crash in Afghanistan, surviving gunshots in Kuwait and rescuing his comrade from a burning car in Hawaii. He brazenly described a quarter- century of military service that culminated with an honorable discharge in 2002. Zinnerman said he was a gunnery sergeant in Iraq in the years leading up to 9/11, leading a unit that identified targets for
credibility that metastasized into a whole new identity for Zinnerman. Suddenly, he was no longer a low-ranking pawn with a lengthy criminal record, booted from the service amid accusations of repeated misconduct. He was a war hero and Maricopa City Council hopeful. Zinnerman parlayed those lies into a feature story where he made the cover of InMaricopa’s November 2022 magazine. In July, InMaricopa kicked over Zinnerman’s house of cards and exposed his lies one at a time. Zinnerman hoodwinked Maricopa’s American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts, the Marine Corps League of Arizona and eventually the Marine Corps itself.
Wild West Music Fest By many accounts, the Wild West Music Fest was a finely tuned operation. The event, held for three days in mid- October to celebrate the city’s 20th anniversary, ran on time, traffic issues were nil and police made no arrests. Aside from the operational success of the event, many questions remained months later. The city had no idea whether it made any money or even what the official attendance figures were. And the kicker was the promoter, Steve Levine Entertainment, wasn’t contractually obligated to supply those figures until mid-February. InMaricopa took a deep dive into the contract, the $350,000 spent on the event and details from the limited documents the city had on hand after the festival had run its course. Was it in fact worth it? You make the call.
the drama unfolded. Here’s a look back:
InMaricopa.com | January 2024
January 2024 | InMaricopa.com
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Homeless restaurateurs wander the city Food truck owners along John Wayne Parkway were evicted over the summer. The nomadic restaurateurs weren’t sure where to go or who exactly wanted them gone. Complaints from a property owner sparked the eviction of more than a dozen food truck operators in July. From breakfast burritos to Puerto Rican empanadas, the busy Fry’s Marketplace parking lot became a sort of culinary hub. It was a central, consistent gathering place for months, owners said. The harmony was disrupted when a dispute with the property owner led to an abrupt eviction and a crackdown by city officials that made most food trucks find other places to set up shop. By the end of the year, how- ever, a businessman stepped up with a plan for a food truck park in the Heritage District. Maricopa-based Verily Enter- prises LLC submitted paperwork toward the end of the year. Dubbed Maricopa Eats, the park would sit on the southwest corner of Honeycutt Road and Plainview Street, currently a vacant half-acre lot. It would house a dozen food trucks, picnic tables on artificial turf and a parking lot. Owner José Meza said he wants to create a “clean and safe environment” for food trucks, particularly amid recent struggles to find space to park and sell food.
InMaricopa wins first awards
MPD didn’t arrest felon who admitted to shooting Gunshots rang out on the quiet streets of Senita in July, and no one was arrested, a fact that left folks living in the neighborhood frustrated. Maricopa police responded to gunfire in a central part of town near Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway that night. When they arrived on West Cowpath Drive — a well-manicured suburban street lined with happy adobe houses — they didn’t find the gang of drive-by gunmen a witness described. Instead, they found the witness himself — 47-year-old Shawan Harris, who was armed — and a parked car spattered with bullet holes. Harris allegedly told officers he shot back at assailants, but missed his target and struck the parked car instead. “I answer back, and I’m in the wrong?” Harris said in a social media message days later. “Can we not protect our land and family?”
InMaricopa , the most-circulated magazine and most-read daily online news source in
publication that has told Maricopa’s stories for nearly two decades. “I’m very proud of our team,” Bartle said. “Winning 10 awards in our first attempt at such recognition is a testament to the talented, hardworking professionals we have serving our readers and viewers. Earning Best Website honors and having journalists, photographers and advertising professionals all win
Maricopa, took home 10 awards in nine categories as a first-time contestant in the 2023 Arizona Newspapers Association’s Better Newspapers and Excellence in Advertising contests in August. Publisher and founder Scott Bartle said taking home this many awards marks a big milestone for the
Slim Chickens’ fat first-day sales “I have a feeling we may break some records Monday,” Slim Chickens operating partner Lucas Barnett told InMaricopa prior to the restaurant’s grand opening. And by dinnertime, Barnett was proven right as the new location had the highest-grossing first day in sales in company history. Slim Chickens, a company with 180 other stores around the globe, served nearly 3,000 guests Monday, Barnett said. That’s more than 4% of Maricopa’s population. “For multiple hours, we had over 50 cars in the drive thru,” Barnett said. Barnett said over 2,500 pounds of chicken were sold. That’s more than the weight of two concert grand pianos. The Fayetteville, Ark.-based fast-food restaurant serves tenders, wings, sandwiches and salads in three dozen states and three countries.
Harris, a convicted felon, isn’t legally allowed to possess a gun. To date, Maricopa police haven’t charged him with anything — even though officers observed him commit a felony. Harris was labeled a witness — not a suspect of any crime. Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon is a felony crime in Arizona punishable by two and a half years in prison. Discharging that gun on a residential road could carry more severe charges, both state and federal. Maricopa police seized the gun that night but didn’t lodge charges. Neighbors said they believe Harris owns more guns.
awards is awesome.”
Bud Light boycott
Bud Light’s controversial collaboration with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney and the ensuing nationwide boycott that started in April made its impact in Maricopa. As late as mid-August, it appeared to be in full effect as one InMaricopa story pointed out during a busy week, the Circle K on Honeycutt and Porter Roads ran out of tallboys — almost.
Viral drunk driver nabbed again Kio Thomas found herself in police custody once again when she was charged with aggravated DUI while driving with a revoked license for DUI. Thomas first caught attention when she was arrested in March 2022 on suspicion of underage DUI, and assaulting cops and firefighters, after she landed her car in a ditch. The video, which can be seen on InMaricopa’s YouTube page, garnered more than 3 million views, making it the most viewed in the history of the channel. She pleaded guilty in May that year to attempted aggravated assault on an officer in a plea bargain. In the video, Thomas is seen fighting officers, pulling away and kicking them while hollering profanities. When placed in the back of a police vehicle, Thomas tried to kick the door open.
There were still Bud Lights available but nothing else. A month later, an InMaricopa poll showed one-third of respondents wouldn’t be caught dead with a can of Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch cut ties with Alissa Heinerscheid, the marketing mind behind a $27 billion fumble in
City squandered taxpayer dollars on startup failure
In our August issue, InMaricopa looked back to 2016, when the city entered the business of offering startup loans to small businesses. Quietly, a list of nine erstwhile startups owes the city hundreds of thousands of dollars. The city sat on its hands for years as eight of those enterprises went out of business. A feeble attempt to collect seems too little too late. When the bygone Maricopa Center for Entrepreneurship loaned its final dollar nearly seven years ago, it expected its debtors to pay back what was owed. Most never did. But, for some, it was not for lack of trying. Multiple MCE loan recipients told InMaricopa they had no way to repay what they owed.
When the debt inevitably mushroomed, they gave up. MCE launched a decade ago as an incubator for startups and a resource for existing ventures in the city. A $50,000 U.S. Department of Agricul- ture grant for rural business development and $120,000 of taxpayer funds seeded the program. Today, the city is owed more than twice the sum it loaned. When the incubator went belly-up in 2018, the roster of mostly defunct businesses owed more than $98,000 and the city was tasked with collecting the debt. But after years of inertia, that number ballooned to nearly $200,000 by 2020, according to data InMaricopa obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
market share and launched a fresh NFL campaign suiting up the classic blue cans with the Arizona Cardinals logo. But the aftermath lingered — Modelo Especial jerked away the U.S. beer crown, toasting away investors’ final consolation prize of year-over- year dominance. Some beer aisles and bar tops in Maricopa are testament to the boycott’s durability. “Across the board, we saw a dramatic boycott,” Rand Del Cotto, owner of the Raceway Bar and Grill on Papago Road, told InMaricopa . “It is insane because Bud Light used to be the best seller.”
InMaricopa.com | January 2024
January 2024 | InMaricopa.com
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Happy New Year!
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In October, Maricopa felt the short-term pain of inconvenient road construction with the promise it will shave a couple of minutes off their Phoenix commute by summer. The Arizona Department of Transportation began a $7.3 million project to improve and widen State Route 347 inside city limits to help relieve traffic congestion and reduce travel times. The improvements include adding a third northbound lane on 1.3 miles of John Wayne Parkway from Smith-Enke Road to just north of the city limits; widening the SR 347/Lakeview Drive intersection and reconstructing the existing paved median; adding a northbound acceleration lane for traffic moving onto northbound SR 347 from westbound Lakeview Drive; and adding curb and gutter along the east side of SR 347 from north of SR 238 to Lakeview Drive and pavement repairs. City leaders and residents alike fumed when ADOT closed
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21542 N John Wayne Pkwy, Maricopa (520) 494-7805 • www.KarstensAce.com OPEN EVERY DAY • HOLIDAY HOURS MAY VARY “In 2024, ACE Hardware celebrates 100 years of providing amazing service and products to their communities. A century ago, five independent Chicago hardware store owners came together to find better ways to serve their communities’ home improvement needs in a collaborative approach. This cooperative business model is what attracted Karsten’s to ACE 22 years ago and that same passion to do more burns bright today in every one of our helpful, red-vested heroes.” –Dave Karsten AM1 Visit acehardware.com to find your local participating Ace. *Ace Rewards Instant Savings available only to Ace Rewards members. Where applicable by law, tax will be charged on the sale price before application of Instant Savings. Instant Savings in this ad are valid through 1/31/24 online, in the Ace mobile app and at participating stores. Stop by your local Ace store or visit us here Ace stores are independently owned and operated. The prices in this advertisement are suggested by Ace Hardware Corporation, Oak Brook, IL. Individual retailer regular and sale prices may vary by store, which may impact actual savings amounts in either direction. Except as otherwise stated, prices advertised in this circular are valid at participating stores through January 31, 2024, while supplies last. Sale and Instant Savings dates set forth herein are national dates suggested by Ace Hardware Corporation and may vary by local retailer. See local retailer in-store signage for details. Offers, Ace Rewards ® benefits, product selection/color, sale items, clearance and closeout items, Ace everyday low prices, return and rain-check policies, and quantities may all vary by store, as well as from acehardware.com. Some items may require assembly. Ace is not responsible for printing or typographical errors. 2231226ML, 04, Versions: CA, DS, SO, TR
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InMaricopa.com | January 2024
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BUSINESS
BUSINESS
in Maricopa that can be affordable,” Sharp said. “No one has to drive to Chandler or Casa Grande for care anymore.” Dallas-based NextCare is the second stand-alone urgent care facility in Maricopa. Dignity Health Urgent Care, located about a half-mile north on John Wayne Parkway, opened to much fanfare a decade ago.
In 2023, Maricopa’s retail economy made great strides with several businesses opening and more on the way. In April, Home Depot confirmed its intention to open a store on Stonegate Road between Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway and Alan Stephens Parkway on the city’s southeastern side. The world’s largest home-improvement retailer, with more than 2,300 stores across North America, broke ground last month and will open this fall.
Butcher-grocer added south-of-the-border flare One of the Valley’s best-known butcher shops opened in Maricopa. Carniceria Sonora saw a steady line of customers since its debut in February in a refurbished building on North Maricopa Road that once was home to Good2Go gas station and market. Carniceria Sonora, owned by Martha and Oscar Jimenez, is known for its marinades, authentic salsas, tortillas and guacamole. Shop personnel make the tortillas, guacamole and salsas on site daily. It sells certified Angus Beef.
Lowe’s likely, too
Holding true to form, Home Depot’s biggest competitor, Lowe’s Home Improvement, proposed a new store in the empty lot at John Wayne Parkway and Honeycutt Avenue in November. Preliminary plans show a 109,000-square-foot store with garden and rental centers, as well as parking for up to 358 cars. Second hospital canceled, then back on The city faced a setback when it canceled a contract with Phoenix-based S3 BioTech to build the city’s second hospital in October. The reason? S3 reneged on its commitment to build here. But then, two months after trespassing the healthcare company from that lot near Copper Sky, the on-again, off- again relationship went back on again as the city flirted with giving S3 BioTech a second chance — this time with the help of a California investor. Construction will begin in the early months of this year with an estimated opening in June 2025. The hospital will cost $41.1 million and the medical office building will cost $25.3 million.
Tractor Supply Co. opens this month Tractor Supply Co. opens Jan. 6, selling agricultural products and pet supplies to Maricopa residents. The 21,702-square-foot building is just west of Walmart and includes a greenhouse and forage shed. The store, on Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway and Shea Way in Maricopa Wells shopping center, will provide 15 new jobs in Maricopa, at least half full-time positions. The home improvement and ranch retailer operates more than 2,100 stores nationwide. The retailer held a soft opening the weekend of Dec. 9.
Ak-Chin lost, regained sports betting license The Ak-Chin Indian Community’s foray into live event wagering wasn’t so smooth in 2023. The ink of then-Gov. Doug Ducey’s signature legalizing sports betting had hardly dried when the tribe pounced to secure one of just 10 coveted licenses in 2021. Lady luck frowned upon the tribe as it became the first and only in Arizona to lose its sports betting license. Each tribe was partnered with a sports betting operator. But New York City-based Fubo Gaming wasn’t all-in on Arizona, leaving its partner Ak-Chin high and dry after pulling out of the state in July. At the end of August, how- ever, the Arizona Department of Gaming allocated an event wagering operator license to bet365 as the designee for the Ak-Chin Indian Community, replacing Fubo Gaming.
Surf park downsized
Waterpark PHX Surf quietly submitted updated, though downsized, plans to Maricopa’s Development Services department. Its new paperwork showed a size reduction — scaling back to one surf pool from two. The park now is proposed for 9.44 acres — down from 71 acres in the first proposal. Other changes in the updated plan eliminate a lazy river and water slides as well as an outdoor music venue. The development, still regarded by the city as a quality project, is expected to include housing, lodging and retail space. It was first announced in 2021, to sit between Loma and Green Roads at Garvey Avenue.
the process began anew.
area and you see one of these big boxes pop up, a lot of other businesses like to sit next to them. They like to sit next to each other.” The home improvement store’s site plan shows the project spans nearly 13 acres, which includes the addition of five proposed shops and restaurants just west of the main attraction along Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway. “The additional retail is significant and will [measure] approximately 23,000 square feet,” Horst said.
The average construction time for a Home Depot from groundbreaking to opening is typically 10 months, a company spokesperson said. Discussions with Home Depot began a long time ago. In 2009, Brad Hinton, then a permit official with the city, said the home improvement retailer got site approval from city council in mid-2008 but did not submit construction drawings and the project died due to the Great Recession. Home Depot filed paperwork with the city early in 2023 and
The big orange box may bring with it a big green light for further development. While it fills a need for resi- dents whose closest stores are in Chandler, Ahwatukee and Casa Grande, it likely will mean much more to the city in the long term, City Manager Rick Horst said. “Other things are likely to accompany it from just the fact we announced it,” Horst said. “Home Depot is a significant retailer for us and, of course, they will attract others. If you look around the greater Phoenix
GNC joined Edison Pointe
Second urgent care opened Maricopans gained a new option for same-day medical care in 2023. NextCare saw its first patients in August at its new clinic next to Thai Chili 2go on North John Wayne Parkway. Clinic Manager Diana Sharp was fired up for opening day. “I’m really excited because we now have urgent care
Maricopa residents looking to stock up on vitamins and nutritional supplements saw another health store pop up in the city in October. The health and wellness store GNC was among several new shops joining Edison Pointe shopping center near John Wayne Parkway and Edison Road, including Nekter Juice Bar, Petco and Nando’s Mexican Café.
InMaricopa.com | January 2024
January 2024 | InMaricopa.com
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GOVERNMENT
GOVERNMENT
Courthouse
court system. It adjudicates misdemeanors, petty offenses and civil violations, including traffic and city-ordinance violations. It is established as a separate, independent branch of city government with a municipal judge, Stephen McCarville, appointed by the city council. Maricopa previously shared a building and judge with the Pinal County Justice of the Peace. Like some aspects of the police station, the courthouse is built to expand with demand. Currently, it consists of one courtroom and a jury deliberation room. There is space to add a courtroom.
Two big projects moved closer to fruition in 2023 with the completion of the new police station and the municipal court building imminent this year.
Maricopa’s new municipal courthouse is a 6,300-square-foot facility located next to City Hall. It is slated to open this month. The new structure was funded by developer fees — not tax dollars — as City Manager Rick Horst explained. “It will be 100% based on new development coming here,” Horst said. “With those growth needs, they should be paid by the people causing the growth and not the people who are already here.” Maricopa Municipal Court is a standalone trial court with limited jurisdiction that works within the Arizona
Police station
The city broke ground on the new station in February and hopes to complete the project in April. In the last quarter of 2023, the team paved parking lots and installed other crucial pieces of equipment like chillers and electrical gear. The facility will be an upgrade of MPD’s current digs and include office space, training areas and interview rooms. There will also be a new and improved 9-1-1 dispatch center, which is built for growth. At the station’s April opening, its jail capacity will be eight holding cells with the ability to expand to 20.
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InMaricopa.com | January 2024
January 2024 | InMaricopa.com
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REAL ESTATE
35961 W SAN ILDEFANSO AVE. MARICOPA, AZ 85138 TORTOSA 1,368 - 2,434 SQFT
EVR at San Travasa
The housing market was mild in 2023 as climbing interest rates took hold after the fed continuously bumped rates from the middle of 2022 until the end of 2023. As of Dec. 11, 837 housing permits and 636 apartment permits were issued. The numbers were down significantly from the prior year, when 1,149 houses and 1,127 apartments were approved.
Local developer El Dorado Holdings is eyeing a 24-acre rental community on the northwest corner of Farrell and White and Parker Roads. The proposal includes 186 cottages ranging from 800 to 1,500 square feet with small backyards. Amenities include a clubhouse, fitness center, pool, dog park and playgrounds. Gunsmoke multifamily development The 25-acre lot on the southwest corner of Gunsmoke and Honeycutt Roads saw a change of ownership. Lincoln Avenue Capital is mulling building 217 single- and two-story rental units ranging from 900 to 1,200 square feet. Like EVR at San Travasa, the units would have small backyards and the community would boast a clubhouse, fitness center, yoga room and pool.
FEATURES
PARK
PLAYGROUND
NATURE TRAILS
Come home to Maricopa’s latest master-planned community, Tortosa. Designed to accommodate your family needs with amenities including walking and biking trails, parks & playgrounds and more! With move-in ready homes available, we will help guide you through the process to find the perfect home. COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION
Apartments at Honeycutt
Sonoran Village
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In January, the city council unanimously approved two measures that moved what would be the city’s largest apartment community — 574 units — closer to reality. The Planning & Zoning Commission approved the project in March. The Apartments at Honeycutt would have three categories: market rate, workforce and senior (age 55+). The community would be accessible by State Route 347, according to city planner Derek Scheerer. “The city will be constructing out Honeycutt Avenue to the east and then down to the south,” Scheerer said. “That will connect and dead end into the site and will provide access to John Wayne Parkway for the site.” The overall unit mix would include 60% one-bedroom units, 29% two-bedroom units and 12% three-bedroom units at a density of 28.5 units per acre. The complex would lie directly south of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks near the Amtrak station.
Scottsdale developer Geston Duffy Company expressed interest in building a mixed- use residential community near Edison Road and Wilson Avenue in September. Dubbed Sonoran Village, the community will bring 136 residential and 20 commercial units across a trio of three- story buildings in the empty lot behind Sprouts Farmers Market. The developer detailed apartment sizes to range from small studios to cozy three- bedroom units.
The Palo Verde
The Mockingbird
The Syrah
Red Valley Ranch
Interest near old recycling plant
In December, city planners approved a one-time extension for this new subdivision at the southwest corner of Farrell and Anderson Roads. The plans were first approved in 2021 but the developer defaulted the following year. The extension allows Scottsdale-based Crescent Bay Holdings until the end of 2025 to submit final plans and start building.
4 BED | 3 BATH | 2,312 SQFT
4 BED | 2 BATH | 1,687 SQFT
4 BED | 2 BATH | 1,919 SQFT
In October, Phoenix developer Sanks & Associates submitted paperwork to construct a gated apartment community at McDavid and Green Roads. The complex would sit just north of the recently-shuttered city recycling center. A project narrative stated the L-shaped community will comprise 288 rental units across a dozen one- and two- story buildings.
QUCK MOVE-IN HOMES
D.R. Horton is an Equal Housing Opportunity Builder. DRH Properties, Inc., Broker. Home and community information, pricing, plans, elevations, included features, options, terms, availability, amenities, and co-broke, are subject to change and prior sale at any time without notice or obligation. Drawings, pictures, photographs, video, square footages, colors, features, and sizes are for illustration purposes only and will vary from the homes as built. Square footage dimensions are approximate and vary by elevation. If Buyer is working with a licensed real estate agent or broker, the agent or broker must accompany and register buyer on first visit to the community. See sales agent for complete details and pricing, including a list of available homes. Prices vary by community. D.R. Horton reserves the right to cancel or change all offers without prior notice. Prices shown are base home prices and do not include closing cost and fees, lot premium, modifications to plans and custom features which may substantially affect final cost of the home. Construction by DRH Phoenix East Construction, Inc., License #ROC 064532-B.
InMaricopa.com | January 2024
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MUSD Community Preschool The Early Childhood Leader in Maricopa Community Preschool provides fun, skills-based activities that explore science, literacy, math, art, music, dramatic play, and more! Our rich curriculum aligns to Arizona Early Learning Standards to build skills and promote healthy social-emotional development. Our students work and play together to explore their curiosities, build confidence, and develop problem solving skills for a life-long love of learning.
EDUCATION
Post-pandemic graduation rates improve, but still trail pre-pandemic era
MUSD retains teachers
earned A grades. Butterfield, Maricopa and Pima Butte elementaries achieved excellence in the state administration’s eyes. The state education department is required by state law to develop an annual achievement profile for every public school in the state based on an A through F scale. The report card is subject to final adoption by the state board of education. Legacy, Heritage honored Legacy Traditional School and Heritage Academy earned an A grade on their annual Arizona Department of Education report cards. They were the only two charter schools in Maricopa to achieve the top honor in the latest charter school grading period. New schools Proposed new schools in Hidden Valley would be the first in the district outside city limits. MUSD officials in October said the possibility of the district's first school outside Maricopa was only in early discussions. Proposals from developer Ashton Woods include elementary and middle schools in its 175-acre, 600-home development. The site is south of the Ak- Chin Indian Community bounded to the south of Peters and Nall Road, north of Papago Road, west of Green Road and east of Amarillo Valley Road. Teacher paychecks in limbo In September, MUSD teachers woke up to find their paychecks missing and were told a ransomware attack caused the issue. By early afternoon, Pinal County Superintendent Jill Broussard reported systems were restored. "We have been told we can expect paper paychecks this afternoon,” MUSD Superintendent Tracey Lopeman told InMaricopa . "We will update employees with the time frame during which they can pick up paychecks at the district office. This situation has been stressful for our employees, and I truly hope our employees can find a sense of relief with this news."
In 2023, there was a severe shortage of teachers around Arizona, but Maricopa Unified School District defied that trend. At the end of the year, there were only about 10 vacancies with 471 teachers on staff at MUSD. That’s just more than a 2% rate of teacher vacancies, compared to a 30% teacher vacancy rate around the state. A statewide trend of growing teacher shortages reached its eighth consecutive year in 2023, Arizona School Personnel Administrators Association survey results showed.
From 2019 to 2020, the graduation rate at Maricopa High School tanked from 80% to 69%. Maricopa fared much worse than most school districts in Pinal County, where graduation rates on average fell less than 5%, and in Arizona where graduation rates fell on average just 1%. In 2022, MUSD closed the gap at 75%, about two points behind county and state figures. By 2023, however, MUSD notched a tic above 75% — on par with other districts but still not back to pre-pandemic numbers.
MUSD elementaries lauded MUSD received glowing Arizona
Department of Education report cards for three of its elementary schools, all of which
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InMaricopa.com | January 2024
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