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Axios
03-03-2025
- Business
- Axios
Once a quiet farming town, Buckeye is booming
In a metro area synonymous with explosive growth in recent decades, Buckeye stands out as the Valley's biggest boomtown. The big picture: Over the past quarter-century, Buckeye, once a sleepy farming town on the outskirts of metro Phoenix, has become one of the fastest-growing cities not only in Arizona but in the United States. By the numbers: From 1940 to 2000, Buckeye's population grew from 1,305 to 6,537. The early 2000s housing boom inflated the population to nearly 51,000 in 2010 and more than 91,000 in 2020. Today, Buckeye has about 120,000 residents, Mayor Eric Orsborn tells Axios. The intrigue: Rick West, president of the development company Carefree Partners, predicted that Buckeye's population will hit 1.5 million in 50 years. The rapidly growing East Valley is hemmed in by federal land and Native American reservations, but there are no such limitations in Buckeye and the West Valley. Zoom out: Buckeye has more than enough room to grow. Its city limits stretch from near Wittmann in the north almost to Gila Bend in the south. Most of its 639-square-mile planning area is uninhabited desert. Christine Larson, a longtime resident who runs the Buckeye Valley Museum, said she's come to terms with her city's growth. "But then when you start really thinking about it … and this blank slate that's in front of us, and it's like, ooh, let's make it what we want it to be." 1 long road: The Sun Valley Parkway, once known as the "Road to Nowhere," runs north from Interstate 1-10 around the western side of the White Tank Mountains and connects to Bell Road in Surprise. The four-lane road weaves through miles of empty desert within Buckeye's city limits, an area that Orsborn said could someday be home to as many as 750,000 people. The incoming Teravalis community from development company Howard Hughes that broke ground along Sun Valley Parkway in 2022 could eventually have 300,000 residents. Zoom in: Residential growth is fueling economic and industrial development. In recent years, the city has attracted huge distribution warehouses for companies like Five Below, Funko and Ross, and manufacturing from companies like Rehrig Pacific Co. and Blue Polymers is coming to Buckeye, too. Sintra Hoffman, president and CEO of the West Valley economic development organization WESTMARC, said Buckeye is well positioned geographically because it's the first "point of entry" into the Phoenix area for people coming from California. Abrazo Health broke ground on a medical campus in Buckeye last year, and Banner Health is building a hospital there. "There's a massive amount of employment that's headed our way," Orsborn noted. Between the lines: Kore Power in late January abandoned plans for a billion-dollar battery plant in Buckeye, which the company attributed to restructuring. The city described Kore Power's decision as an "isolated incident" that doesn't change Buckeye's position as a premier business destination. What's next: The city has big plans for a downtown redevelopment that Orsborn said could be like downtowns in Chandler, Gilbert and Glendale. What we're watching: The city has infrastructure needs in order to reach its potential. Orsborn touted State Route 30, a planned freeway that would run south of I-10, as a "critically important" reliever for the West Valley. Interstate 11, which is on hold due to an environmental lawsuit, is also a major need for Buckeye's future. Orsborn believes there's an opportunity to turn Buckeye Municipal Airport into an industrial and general aviation hub, similar to Mesa Gateway Airport.
Axios
03-03-2025
- Business
- Axios
Water supply issues are hindering Buckeye's growth
Buckeye is missing one key ingredient to continue its astounding growth — water. Catch up quick: In 2023, Gov. Katie Hobbs announced the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) would halt groundwater certifications for new housing subdivisions in rapidly growing Buckeye and Queen Creek. State law requires new subdivisions in urban areas to prove they have 100-year water supplies. Based on an ADWR study, Arizona no longer grants those certifications in Buckeye based on groundwater alone, largely closing to the door to new housing development. Why it matters: The policy bombshell means Buckeye must find other water supplies before most homebuilding can resume. "We've lost two years' worth of homebuilding and infrastructure being put in place. It just gums up everything," Mayor Eric Orsborn told Axios. He noted that the new policy "has meant essentially a wholesale stop in growth in Tartesso," one of Buckeye's hottest-selling communities. And amenities like grocery stores won't come into some of the growing communities until more housing is assured. Reality check: There are about 10,000 unbuilt homes in Buckeye that already have 100-year certificates from before the 2023 restrictions. Yes, but: Many of those unbuilt houses are "stranded," Orsborn said, explaining that the certified homes can't be built without new infrastructure that developers can't afford until other new houses are approved. ADWR has approved two 100-year certificates since the 2023 policy based on non-groundwater sources, which will allow construction on 804 lots, per agency spokesperson Shauna Evans. Evans noted that Buckeye has several isolated water systems, "so what works for one may not necessarily work for the others." Between the lines: Orsborn said Buckeye has expanded its water portfolio through methods like recharging wastewater and buying water from the nearby Harquahala basin. Evans said the agency expects to receive an Alternative Designation of Assured Water Supply (ADAWS) application from Buckeye soon that would allow it to use effluent water to offset groundwater use in the Tartesso system. And the city is considering other potential sources. Orsborn noted that Salt River Project wants to expand Bartlett Dam, and there's long been talk of a desalination plant. The city is also open to purchasing water like Queen Creek did from landowners along the Colorado River. What we're watching: The Home Builders Association of Central Arizona sued ADWR in January to overturn the groundwater restrictions. GOP lawmakers are again running "ag-to-urban" legislation that would allow groundwater from retired farmland to be used as an assured supply for new housing, which uses less water. Hobbs vetoed a similar bill last year. ADWR is also considering an ag-to-urban program.
