Carefree luxury apartments will bring value to the town center

Last month the Carefree Town Council increased the height of what had been a 2015 condo Development Agreement by 4 ft from an average curb height of 48 ft to 52 ft. The proposed structure, much like the condo project, within the context of the layout of the Town, is in the least obstructive location possible, up against a rising hillside in front of the Spirit in the Desert Lutheran Retreat Center and up against the backside of the post office and the backside of the Carefree Marketplace and Basha’s. And what will the Town gain for this 4 ft concession?

– Luxury residential apartment rental units with accompanying apartment residents in the Town Center.

– Apartment residents who will bring vibrancy to the Town Center through much, if not all, of the year.

– Vibrancy which will bring more and a wider selection of quality restaurants into the Town Center.

– More restaurants will bring a livelier Town Center and more merchants.

– More merchants will fill existing commercial vacancies.

– Filled commercial vacancies will enable and motivate landlords to improve the appearance of their properties.

– Rental apartment units, restaurants and merchants will produce more Town tax revenue.

– More Town tax revenue will help preclude the implementation of a property tax and allow the Town to continue to provide the services to which we have become accustom.

As the project moves forward, the Carefree Development Review Board (DRB) will publicly vet the submitted proposal. The DRB consists of 7 dedicated Carefree citizens, selected for their wide variety of backgrounds and are well suited to tackle the review of this proposed luxury apartment project. The DRB has a track record of successful projects including the Carefree Firehouse, the Pima Norte Office Building, and Lowes and CVS buildings.

The development team of Larry Gabriele, of Gabriele Developments, and Robert Stehlik, of Starworks Global Capital, bring an impressive resume of successful projects. We all know resumes are made to look good. While in the Chicago area last week, I visited three of their projects including One O’Hare Centre in Rosemont. Yes, this is an office building and not an apartment, but their use of granite and marble and beautiful appointments speak to their attention to detail, quality and taste and earned them an award from the London, England Architectural Society. This is the attention to detail, quality and taste that I expect this development team to bring to Carefree.

Best regards,

John Crane
Vice Mayor, Town of Carefree, Arizona