Mack Group Seeks to Double Residential Building Height at Halo Vista

As site preparation continues at Halo Vista, North Phoenix’s city-within-a-city 2,300-acre mixed-use development on the west side of I-17 near TSMC, work has been busy behind the scenes as Mack Real Estate Group prepares to submit updated plans and a major amendment request to the City of Phoenix. 

Halo Vista may be most identifiable to area residents as the site of the future Costco, which will serve as an anchor to additional retailers once buildout takes place, but on a broader scale, the master plan for the site encompasses nearly 30 million square feet of mixed-use capacity, including industrial, manufacturing, office and retail, surrounding the TSMC chip plant, along with nearly 9,000 housing units and a Town Center for additional retailers, all planned between the southwest corner of I-17 and Carefree Highway and the northwest corner of I-17 and Loop 303.

A representative from Mack Group’s legal counsel highlighted much of the progress to date and presented proposed modifications within the site plan at the Phoenix North Gateway Village Planning Committee meeting in October. 

As part of the first phase of construction, Costco is slated to begin construction by the end of 2026, along with hotel construction beginning at roughly the same time, George Pasquel with Withey Morris Baugh PLC, confirmed. 

The updated site plan shows space for two APS substations within the development as well as roadway alignment changes adjusted from the conceptual plan. An addition within the mixed uses is a designated parcel for higher education and trade school uses near TSMC. 

“There’s a limited area where residential can go within this PUD [Planned Unit Development], so If we truly want to do mixed uses, then going vertical helps add those units in there.”

George Pasquel – Withey Morris Baugh PLC

A notable change is Mack’s zoning amendment request for a height increase to the multifamily residential buildings. The current zoning for the residential buildings is set at 60-feet, or five-stories, and Mack is proposing an increase to the height allowance to 120 feet or nine-stories, matching the commercial height allowed within the Freeway Mixed Use Land District adjacent to the I-17 freeway corridor and to the east of 43rd Avenue.

“There’s a limited area where residential can go within this PUD [Planned Unit Development], so If we truly want to do mixed uses, then going vertical helps add those units in there,” Pasquel said.  

Amendments to the open spaces within the site are also part of the requested modifications. The total amount of open space designated is not changing, only changes that will help make meaningful open spaces within the acreage, Pasquel added.  

Once finalized plans are submitted to the City, the proposal will come back before the North Gateway Village Committee for a discussion/recommendation, then on to the City’s Planning and Zoning Department, and to Phoenix City Council for final approval. 

Board member Paul Carver, who is also a member of the Deer Valley Unified School District Board, requested that an area designated for a future elementary school be included on the map at the next presentation. He added that the district needs 20 acres for a school site and wanted to be sure that the correct amount of space is allotted. 

Halo Vista Auto Mall Moves Closer to Construction 

---

De Rito Partners Development, Inc. closed on 130 acres at the southwest corner of Interstate 17 and Carefree Highway in late September.  

An 11-dealership auto mall is planned with eight commitments to date. 

Courtesy Automotive Group, Berge Auto Group, Bill Luke Automotive, Potamkin Automotive, Findlay Automotive Group, Sands Automotive Group and Coulter Automotive Group have committed to the project, with Findlay taking two lots. Three lots remain available.

De Rito Partners is developing the auto mall site and delivering the parcels to each dealer. The first dealerships
are expected to open in 2028.