Not to put the cart too far in front of the horse, but it looks like we could finally see that last strip of dirt along Avenue of the Fountains developed into residential/commercial space. It’s long overdue.

We don’t believe that every spare piece of land within the community needs to be developed, but this is the heart of downtown we’re talking about. Fountain Hills has been on the map for decades and a rather sizable strip of land right in the heart of the town has remained bare. Half of that land was taken care of with the first phase of the Park Place development and, depending on how things go at the next Town Council meeting, the last of it could finally be brought in line with the approval of the final phases of that project.

The original Park Place buildings had little trouble drawing residents and Havenly is already filling up with tenants. There’s a need for additional housing in Fountain Hills and adding nearly 400 units adjacent to all of those businesses, Fountain Park and the civic center certainly seems like a good idea. We’re also happy to see the proposed retail space remain on the blueprint. Everyone gains when more people have more reasons to stroll up and down the avenue, and our hope is that this development will help create the bustling downtown envisioned from the community’s inception.

Check out our 1A reporting for a better understanding of the proposed development plan approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission. For those who want to see the discussion continue firsthand, the Town Council is set to review the final phases of Park Place at next Tuesday’s meeting, March 1.