Site grading began last week for a new self-storage facility in Anthem, a master-planned community in North Phoenix, nine years after storage was first proposed for the 7.5-acre parcel. Storage at Anthem LLC purchased the property on Gavilan Peak Parkway at King Drive a year ago to build Anthem Self Storage, according to the source.

The facility will comprise nine buildings, including a two-story structure, according Scott Patterson, supervisor for Johnson Carlier, the general contractor. It will include interior storage units as well as covered vehicle-parking spaces.

The project still needs final site-plan approval from the Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission, according to the source. It will also undergo a design review by the Anthem Community Council (ACC), said Kristi Northcutt, a council spokesperson.

Self-storage was first proposed for the site in 2008 when 7960 E. Thompson Peak Pkwy LLC requested a zoning change to build a facility containing 726 storage units and 53 outdoor parking spaces. The change was denied, but the county board granted a special-use permit to allow self-storage under the existing zoning, the source reported. The project failed to move forward and the site remained vacant until purchased by Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Storage at Anthem, the source reported.

A portion of the property formerly housed a temporary station for the Daisy Mountain Fire Department. It’s surrounded by Boulder Creek High School, Cross of Christ Church and a wastewater-treatment facility operated by EPCOR, a provider of electricity transmission and water distribution.

The seller was represented in the transaction by Americor Investment Group, a Scottsdale-based development and real estate firm. The county most recently valued the property at $1.4 million, the source reported.

Last month, ACC approved a request from U-Haul International Inc. to double the footprint of its facility in Anthem. The expansion will be built on an empty 4-acre parcel just north of the existing property.

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