Maricopa County issued building permits Nov. 6 for the 252-unit Summit at Marbella Ranch apartment project near Glendale, moving the development from financing and planning into the permitted stage.
The project is planned for about 16.6 acres near the southeast corner of El Mirage Road and Northern Parkway. The permit record lists 12145 W. Frier Drive, a Glendale mailing address in county jurisdiction.
The newly issued permits authorize a seven-building apartment complex, a clubhouse and site improvements. They do not establish that construction has started. No opening date appears in the permit or financing records reviewed by West Valley Post.
What the permits cover
The county’s weekly permit activity report, released Nov. 9, identifies the main permit as BLDC2600291. It lists a valuation of $53,572,048 and 312,406 square feet for the project.
Seven companion permits, BLDC2600293 through BLDC2600299, cover the apartment buildings. Each building is listed for 36 units, producing the project’s 252-unit total. The main permit also covers the clubhouse and site work.
The $53.6 million figure is a permit valuation used in the county record. It should not be read as a final project cost. The same project valuation appears on the companion permits, so adding those entries together would count the project several times.
Big-D Construction is named as the contractor on the main permit. The parcel number is 501-54-012Y.
Affordable-housing financing
The permit milestone follows a financing approval earlier this year. On May 20, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors approved the issuance of up to $48 million in multifamily housing revenue bonds for Marbella Ranch AH II, LLLP. The vote was 5-0, according to the archived board record.
Financing documents identify the borrower as an affiliate of Real Estate Equities, a Minnesota-based apartment developer and manager. The documents say at least 40% of the units must be reserved for households earning no more than 60% of the area median income. They also anticipate additional income and rent limits tied to federal low-income housing tax credits.
The bonds are project-backed revenue bonds. An Industrial Development Authority notice says repayment is not a debt of Maricopa County, Arizona or another political subdivision.
Real Estate Equities already operates Marbella Ranch Apartments nearby at 12180 W. Frier Drive. The company lists that property as affordable housing with one- to four-bedroom units.
What comes next
The building permits are a significant construction prerequisite, but the public records do not give a groundbreaking date or construction schedule. The next verifiable milestones will be the start of site work, county inspections and any construction or leasing timeline released by the developer.
West Valley Post will update this report when those milestones are documented.
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