SURPRISE, Ariz. The Surprise City Council approved the land-use changes for a five-building business-tech park near Happy Valley Road and the future 157th Avenue alignment on Sept. 15, clearing the project’s major city zoning hurdle.
The Happy Valley Biz-Tech Park is planned on about 7.52 acres near Happy Valley Road and the future 157th Avenue alignment. The council approved a minor General Plan amendment from Neighborhood Character Area to Commerce and Office Character Area and a rezone from Rural Residential (RR) to Regional Commercial (C-3) with a Planned Unit Development overlay.
Surprise Planning and Zoning commissioners recommended approval of both requests 6-0 on Aug. 20. The City Council then approved the General Plan amendment, Resolution 2026-127, and the rezoning, Ordinance 2026-18, during its Sept. 15 meeting. Both actions are part of case FS25-1081.
Five buildings aimed at smaller employers
Plans call for five flex-tech buildings ranging from roughly 13,000 to 23,000 square feet. The concept is intended for businesses that combine office, warehouse and work space, with potential users including technology and research firms, medical or office users, HVAC contractors, print shops and artisan manufacturing operations.
Owner/developer Happy Valley Road LLC, associated with Perk Prop Real Estate, is seeking the land-use changes. Project materials identify Ware Malcomb as the design firm and Withey Morris Baugh as legal counsel.
Adam Baugh, the attorney representing the developer, described the proposal’s broader significance to ABC15: “This project will determine the direction of the northwest part of Surprise.”
Baugh said the project is intended in part to give small-business owners in northwest Surprise commercial inventory closer to where they live instead of requiring trips across Surprise or to another city.
Council approval follows 6-0 Planning Commission recommendation
The project appeared as Items 6 and 7 on the Surprise Planning and Zoning Commission’s Aug. 20 agenda. Item 6 covered the minor General Plan amendment and Item 7 covered the rezoning request. The commission recommended approval of both by 6-0 votes, with Vice Chair Anthony Spata excused.
The Planning and Zoning Commission’s votes were recommendations. The Sept. 15 City Council action provided the required approval of the General Plan amendment and rezoning.
Project materials also show that surrounding property owners submitted a statutory written protest. Opponents have argued that the proposed commercial intensity is incompatible with nearby residential uses and could worsen traffic as northwest Surprise continues to develop.
Traffic and 155th Avenue are part of the larger story
The proposed park sits close to several transportation projects that could reshape this part of Surprise. Access is planned through a right-in, right-out driveway on Happy Valley Road and a full-access connection to 157th Avenue, according to project information reported by AZBEX.
Nearby, ADOT and regional transportation planners are advancing a new Loop 303 interchange at the 155th Avenue alignment. The project includes improving and extending 155th Avenue between Happy Valley Road and Loop 303, along with other connections in the corridor. Final design began in 2026 and construction is anticipated in 2028.
That future network is central to the debate over development north of Grand Avenue. Residents have raised concerns that commercial and residential growth is arriving faster than the road system can absorb it, while project supporters argue that employment and business space closer to new neighborhoods can reduce the need for longer trips elsewhere in the Valley.
What happens next
City Council approval settles the project’s General Plan and zoning requests, but it does not mean construction has started. Additional development approvals remain ahead. AZBEX reported that a conditional use permit application, site plan and final plat are expected later.
Developers have said construction could begin as early as 2027, with initial tenants potentially occupying space in early 2028. Those dates remain projections and will depend on the remaining review, permitting and construction process.
The project is also being tracked on West Valley Post’s 163rd Avenue & North Surprise Development Tracker.
Sources
- City of Surprise: Aug. 20 Planning and Zoning Commission agenda
- ABC15 Arizona: Happy Valley Biz-Tech Park report
- AZBEX: Five-Building Tech Park Planned in Surprise
- ADOT: Loop 303/155th Avenue Traffic Interchange Project
Update, September 18, 2026: This article was revised to reflect the Surprise City Council’s Sept. 15 approval of Resolution 2026-127 and Ordinance 2026-18. The original version, published Sept. 16, incorrectly treated the already-completed council action as a future decision.
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