Driving down Estrella Parkway, it seems our little town is really growing up. From new industry and small businesses to housing developments and homelessness... Goodyear has a lot on its plate.
Have you seen the construction next to the Goodyear Ballpark? That vacant land will be home to "Gates at Goodyear" - condos with mixed-use for the west Valley. Reportedly, "It will feature 80 residential units, with office, dining and retail space below. Noting Arizona’s heat and long-lasting sunlight as motivations, Fair also plans for the structure to be energy independent and efficient, with the goal of residents having net-zero energy consumption. One feature is that residents’ units will have what Fair describes as transition glass, which darkens when exposed to sunlight." The CEO is Andra Fair who got the idea from his land partner, David Byrd, who owns several Goodyear hotels. "The development also involves Sonnen home energy storage systems, so each unit will have two solar-powered batteries, allowing residents to go on or off the grid, he explained." We're chomping at the bit for Saddle Mountain's patio to open. Maybe October? Hopefully? We can't wait! MC85 at Lower Buckeye Road is going to take on new shape in Goodyear. Microsoft is moving in south of the Goodyear Airport. Check out more here. A new school! Litchfield Elementary School District is building a new school. "School 16" will be located at 18601 W. Campbell Avenue in Goodyear... just north of Indian School Road and east of Perryville Road. Pickleball courts at the Goodyear Community Park unveil September 22nd. Goodyear says, "The event will kick off with a tour of the court and remarks by city officials. Later, there will be on-court demonstrations by local pickleball players as well as mini-clinics covering the basics – from selecting the right paddle to understanding the rules of play. The celebration concludes with the courts open for general public play. The project, which was funded and approved in response to residents’ request, converted basketball courts to accommodate pickleball and maintain two high school-sized basketball courts." The cost to build these was $168,000. The project plan reports, "Repurpose the existing basketball court to include four lighted Pickleball Courts and two lighted high school level basketball courts. The courts will receive new court surfacing and striping." Dunkin' Donuts is reportedly opening this week on Estrella Parkway just south of Van Buren. Don't forget, there's a fabulous Sunrise Donuts just south of there at 725 S. Estrella Parkway, Goodyear, Az. They're a mom and pop shop with lots to offer! Rumor has it that a Culver's is opening in Goodyear. We checked with the company and they said they do NOT have plan for a Goodyear location. (Hope I'm proven wrong. Although, they are located in Avondale and around the west Valley.) They also sent the franchise link to me if anyone is wanting to open a Culver's. Anyone? NOW OPEN Dream Swirls, owned and operated by Estrella residents, moved to a new location. We stopped by during the grand opening and it was PACKED! I love mom and pop shops. Be sure to check them out. 15557 W. Roosevelt Street, Suite 102, Goodyear, Az. Near Robeks on Estrella Parkway. A quick jaunt into Litchfield Park for a moment... Teacup has opened. Its menu looks awesome and I hope to get there soon. HIREDThe City of Goodyear made two new hires in big positions. Lori Gary is the new economic development director. Goodyear states, "Prior to accepting the post in Goodyear, Lori was a senior project manager for the city of Mesa’s Office of Economic Development. Specifically, she promoted new investment, redevelopment and reuse, and job creation within Mesa’s Fiesta District, Falcon District, and West Mesa." Tammy Vo starts in October as the city's new communications director. "Tammy has spent the last six years working as the marketing and communications manager for the city of Phoenix. Before then, she spent 13 years in television news." Both positions seem to have high turnover in Goodyear. Let's wish them the best of luck in our growing city. Soon-to-be hired are interns for the Goodyear Spring Baseball Season. Check out opportunities here. CHALLENGES AHEAD At Goodyear City Council tonight, Police Chief Jerry Geier and Sgt. Justin Hughes of the Professional Standards Unit will discuss a difficult issue... Homeless Outreach. The agenda reads, "City Management requested that staff prepare information on the issue of homeless outreach and nuisance behaviors such as panhandling in order to ascertain the Council’s level of interest in pursuing an ordinance, policy revision, or other action. This issue has not come before Council in the past." When I assisted Goodyear with its All-America City application in 2008, Goodyear reportedly knew of just 11 homeless people. Now that the city has grown immensely, and so quickly, it's sadly obvious that number is growing. "Staff has compiled information on the issue of homeless outreach, including definitions, existing conditions, and information from other valley cities. Possible alternatives will be presented and direction will be based on Council feedback," Goodyear Staff Analysis. Homeless Youth Connection sent out an email today inviting the community to attend its Empowering Youth Breakfast. It's October 25th. You must RSVP. More here. UPCOMING ELECTIONIf any of the above issues interest you, I encourage you to run for office. In 2021, several termed-out seats will be open and we'll have, potentially, an all new council. Now is the time to brush up and get involved. We were beyond thrilled this week to see Councilmember Laura Kaino announce she's running for the position she was appointed to when Joanne Osborne vacated the seat. We worked with Kaino on the Goodyear Water Conservation Committee and hope she brings that knowledge and ideas to the table. Please follow her on Facebook. She's been very active in the community! Open Seats in the Goodyear Spring Election of 2019 are:
COMMUNITY NOTES
Finally, if you're looking to watch some great high school volleyball this weekend, please check out the Wolves Classic Invitational at Estrella Foothills High School. It's Friday/Saturday. The school's high school Homecoming Parade and Carnival follows at 5pm Saturday night. Best wishes to all the students and athletes this weekend! We'll continue to follow what's happening in Goodyear and the west Valley. Our mission to keep informed ramped up again this spring when a Goodyear City Councilmember falsely made accusations against us. She got us wondering about what's really happening. We know it's important to the community and taxpayers to stay informed. If there's something you'd like for us to check out, please contact us.
Next week, Estrella's planners will meet with residents to discuss what's happening in the community and we thought we'd compile some of the responses from our Q&A's to see if resident wants and needs match up with the HOA and developer's plans. FUTURE WANTS AND NEEDS Estrella Mountain Residents was established to help residents stay on top of what's happening in our community. (We were shocked to find out most residents don't even know about some of the basics about our community such as the golf course being open for lunch during the week.) We love this community and want to see it thrive as this is our home. We want businesses to survive and prosper and offer business files and recommendations on our group page. We simply want communication to improve. Here are some things our residents want, too... In the next 5-10 years I’d want to see Estrella continue to maintain its reputation for having great school choices for the children in the community and focus on keeping the “small town” feel as commercial businesses and real estate development occurs. I’d love to see the City of Goodyear, breathe new life into the original plans from years ago to develop a city park with an Olympic size pool for use by the community and high school, as well as a “lazy river” water ride. Of course, I’d love to see a pickleball court facility built within the Estrella community where pickleball tournaments could be hosted. Since more and more people are playing the sport and can be a definite draw for potential home buyers, it would be a win, win situation! I would love to see our community become one that reaches out to each other and meets the needs of those around them. I have spent time collecting clothing and household items for Mexico and the homeless, but I have also found people in our own community who needed a helping hand and I was astounded at the generosity of those in our community who stepped up to help! I love seeing that and I feel so blessed to live in Estrella with so many generous people! I would love to see a clothing and food bank right here in Estrella even if it started out of a garage, but I know there is a need and those to meet those needs. We love how pet-friendly Estrella is. We trust it will stay that way. We would like more community activities to bring in people from other parts of the valley to see how beautiful Estrella is. In the past 11 years, we have seen Estrella grow and change so much. New restaurants, schools, market, housing. Even with all these changes, the one constant is the amazing people who live and work up here, the small community feel and how everyone looks out for each other. I feel so blessed to live here and to work at a place that lives out love. I would love to see more community events in Estrella, such as 5Ks, triathlons, safety and health classes for children, and events that bring neighbors together. It would be nice to see more shops succeed that are run by residents, that is for sure. We already have so much, but there are things that would definitely go over so well with the local community. Go ahead, post in one of the Facebook groups up here that you wish there was a nice, sit down restaurant and watch the internet break! We love to spend time at the golf course restaurant - the food is amazing and those views...stunning. If you would have asked me that in the past 10 years, I would have said a grocery store, pharmacy, bagel shop, restaurants, nail shop, physicians for people and pets, more bike trails and park, waterpark, workout center. We have all the basics now... Newland has done a wonderful job developing our community. The HOA is more and more Homeowner and Realtor friendly. Maybe we could improve on landscape maintenance so that it is safer for drivers and homeowners and stays aesthetically attractive. I hope we get more small shops. One day Estrella will be like a small town and I think the charm is having small shops. Most people know we really wanted to open our store up where we live, but we were not a franchise so the landlord did not want us. Does the rent for these businesses really need to be so high? Solar energy should be a staple for commercial buildings as well as all new homes being built. It would be really cool if we had a community hydroponics garden. I would like to see diligent control of the quality and extent of the development in Estrella Mountain Ranch. A nice restaurant would be a welcome addition. Estrella Community Annual Meetings Tuesday, September 22nd Location: Estrella Foothills High School Performing Arts Center 5:30pm Reception 6:30pm Meetings Begin RSVP here. (Space limited to 500.) VISIT OUR PRIVATE RESIDENTS PAGE TO COMMENT ON WHAT YOU'D LIKE TO SEE IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS IN ESTRELLA.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jennifer Barber is a Goodyear resident resident of almost 20 years and a retired broadcast news journalist. Involved in various nonprofit and city organizations since 2008, Barber has a unique view of what's happening in the West Valley of Arizona. Archives
March 2022
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