The anticipated VAI Resort in Glendale, a significant addition to the city's entertainment options, has advanced closer to fruition. ABC15 reports that the city's planning and zoning commission has given the green light for new development zoning and endorsed a general plan amendment for the $1 billion project during their Oct. 24 meeting. This decision arrives as part of the process to see the massive nearly 70-acre resort come to life.
Replacing the previously established Centerpoint planned area development approved back in 2020, the new zoning proposal expands its scope, now including additional land not encompassed by the original agreement. A discussion on how traffic flow and parking management will be tackled was central to the commission's approval, considering the resort's vast scale and potential popularity.
Parking concerns were addressed by zoning attorney Adam Baugh, who informed the commission that a parking garage is already under construction and is forecasted to meet the resort's parking demand. "There will be some growing pains the first series of co-occuring events but that's just the nature of learning how to do it," Baugh commented at the meeting, according to a statement in Phoenix Business Journal.
Concerns were not limited to parking. Commissioner Vern Crow emphasized the need for collaboration with the city on this front, "which is considered now adequate, for this center rather than having people not be able to find a parking space, they get discouraged, they're not going to come," Crow stated. He also noted that successful navigation of these early challenges could signify a boon to Glendale's economy. The project, boasting 1,100 hotel rooms, an amphitheater, Mattel Adventure Park, a convention center, and more is likely to draw significant attention and revenue to the city.
As Glendale prepares for what could be a transformative addition to its landscape, the next major step lies with the Glendale City Council. They have their key vote scheduled for Nov. 26, a date that will potentially mark a pivotal moment in bolstering the city's entertainment and tourism sector and finalizing the VAI Resort's zoning status.
