Commission recommends approval of Hermosa Ranch Technology Campus North PAD amendment; Fry’s anchor and data-center height changes noted

The City of Avondale Planning Commission on June 18, 2025, voted 5-0 to recommend city council approval of PL25-0054, a major amendment to the Hermosa Ranch Technology Campus North planned area development (PAD).

Planning staff said the amendment applies to a roughly 239-acre former dairy farm at the southwest corner of Lower Buckeye Road and Avondale Boulevard. The PAD amendment contains two substantive changes: adjustments to development standards for the parcel planned for a data center and modifications to PAD stipulations that tie required on- and off-site improvements to the development of specific parcels, including phasing of infrastructure work.

Staff detailed specific dimensional changes: an increase in maximum building height from 50 to 52 feet; an increase in parapet wall height from 5 to 9 feet above the maximum building height in limited areas; a change to mechanical equipment screening height from 75 to 77 feet with required screening set back at least 10 feet from the building edge…