phoenix issues landfill transformation request for proposal

A vacant and wind-swept stretch of land on the south side of Phoenix that was once a busy landfill may see redevelopment as a modern mixed-use site with retail, light industrial, and park space.
 
That, at least, is the City of Phoenix’s hope as a request for proposals to redevelop the big 156-acre Del Rio landfill has been officially announced.
 
That swath of land at 1150 E. Elwood Street, some 5 miles south of downtown Phoenix, served as one of the city’s solid waste landfills for most of a decade.
 
In 1981 the city, which owns the site, closed the landfill, eventually capping it with imported soil.
 
In the years since, Phoenix has secured funding through the Environmental Protection Agency for what was called the Del Rio Area Brownfield Plan, suggesting a blueprint for the area’s redevelopment.
 
Now the Phoenix’s Community and Economic Development department is asking for what it calls “market-viable development proposals” to transform the rectangular-shaped space.
 
Currently zoned as both industrial district and light industrial district, the landfill, which never contained hazardous waste, has earlier been the subject of a series of community input meetings.
 
Participants in those meetings said they wanted to see the site redeveloped primarily for retail and park space.
 
The deadline for the Del Rio Landfill Redevelopment RFP is April 24.

By Garry Boulard

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