Given everything that’s been going on around the country and internationally this past year, it can be easy to overlook just how much has happened in our own back yard over the past 12 months. In short, 2017 was a busy year for Fountain Hills.

This was the main focus of Mayor Linda Kavanagh’s final State of the Town address offered last week. Some of the changes have taken place behind the scenes while others are as visible as a multi-floor series of buildings going up along Avenue of the Fountain.

Speaking of Park Place, years’ worth of work is finally coming together as the first residents of the property are gearing up to move into the new downtown apartments. We aren’t clear on an official opening date yet, but early this year is still the projected goal. We’re eager to see what this, as well as the various other big developments going on around town, will mean for residents and businesses alike.

The town’s educational landscape grew this past year, too, thanks to the introduction of a local EVIT campus. And less than a year after opening their doors, they’ve already revealed a unique partnership that will bring a watch manufacturing facility (with matching classes) to the campus as well.

This past year was also huge for folks excited to see the Community Garden practically grow out of the ground near the local library, and we can’t say enough about the hard-fought earning of Dark Skies designation for the town.

We were also happy to see the improvements made to Fountain Lake courtesy of some new circulation equipment, and ground was broken just this past week for the long-awaited relocation of Fire Station #2.

Since some of those projects are only just now coming to fruition or getting up and running, it looks like 2018 will be yet another busy year for Fountain Hills. Cap all of that off with a couple of big local elections, and we imagine there will be plenty to report on in the months ahead.