Coming to the North Valley

Coming to the North Valley

Coming to the North Valley

Desert Ice coming to the North Valley

Coming soon to the North Valley.  And just like that, North Valley residents are rejoicing. After a steady diet of self-storage facilities, auto parts stores, and fast food joints, plans are finally in the works for a multi-use sports and entertainment center between I-17 and North Valley Parkway, just south of Dove Valley Road.

The North Valley Phoenix Gateway Village Planning Committee recently gave their unanimous blessing to plans for the development of a 174,000-square-foot sports arena, with a vision of an accompanying hotel and restaurant. Developers see the arena as a destination for indoor sports such as hockey, figure skating, soccer, basketball, volleyball, lacrosse and even curling. Current and emerging sports leagues can look forward to a first-class facility with locker rooms, spectator seating, and amenities for visiting teams.

If the adjacent hotel concept becomes a reality, traveling teams and their families would have access to food and lodging onsite. For athletes (and parents) who have been shuttling their kids to and from Central Phoenix, Peoria, or North Scottsdale for some ice time, the prospect of a local rink is appealing. And for anyone looking for indoor activities – especially during the summer – this project would be a godsend. Another appealing feature is the plan to build a walkable trail that transects the property and includes shaded areas and park benches. Visitors would be able to take in the unspoiled views while getting all their steps in for the day.

While league and public usage is still to be determined, it’s conceivable that the sports complex could serve not only Central Arizona, but teams coming down from northern Arizona, as well. This could benefit growing recreational organizations such as the Coyotes Curling Club or the Arizona Amateur Hockey Association. The prospect of having a state-of-the-art facility for on-ice sports located at the northern tip of the Valley bodes well for sports leagues throughout the state.

As a condition of their approval, the Planning Committee put several community–focused stipulations in place regarding building height, paint colors, and environmental impact. The developer agreed to address these stipulations, which could help pave the way for a smooth approval process by the Planning Commission in June. If all goes well, the facility is targeting an opening in the fall of 2024.

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Gary Drew

An extensive and successful career in 1’s and zeros has served Gary Drew very well in the alternative universe of Real Estate. His previous senior level engineering and management experience has been an invaluable asset to his clients when negotiating pricing, leveraging comparable analytics, and playing to win on behalf of buyers and sellers fortunate enough to be represented by this dynamic and confi dent professional. Gary was born in the San Francisco. He grew up in Woodside, California and was a good student who also played football, basketball and baseball. “I played against Barry Bonds and like to think that helped his career” laughs Gary. He carried that competitive enthusiasm to play hard and win to both his past engineering sales role and to his current Real Estate career. He loves to visit St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands and fi sh on the Kenai River in Alaska while growing up. These are places he returns to often as an adult, “to recharge my batteries”. But the competitive spirit is never completely abandoned, and he holds the certifi cates for catching a trophy Silver Salmon (21.5 LBS) and a King Salmon (73 LBS). Gary attended DeVry University and graduated with an engineering degree in 1984. He moved back to California and started his fi rst career in Silicon Valley. He became a very successful executive, working for several engineering fi rms including Bytex, Cayman Systems, DQ Technology and others. Gary served as a Field Engineer and Sales Manager building businesses for companies in the US, Asia, Europe and South America. “It was an exciting time in my life” says Gary. “It was a great time to be in the tech fi eld.” A job transfer to Phoenix in 2001 included a marriage, a home, kids, and a desire for a career with less travel and more home-time. Family infl uence is powerful, and in 2004, Gary was introduced to the Real Estate profession by his Mother, a successful Realtor in the valley. He became licensed and subsequently became the Designated Broker of one of the top Real Estate companies in Anthem AZ. Connecting the dots between high tech and real estate, it’s easy to see how Gary’s analytical background, his experience and passion for negotiation and contracts plus love of numbers converge to create a powerful ally when representing a buyer or a seller. Add to that, years of people management experience and an overriding desire to win now you’ve got the reason why Gary Drew lands in the top 3% of his profession year after year. Today, Gary is an Associate Broker and Sales Manager for a Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices in Anthem AZ. He is a single Father raising a teenage daughter and to those who have experienced that he says "hanging on to my ego for dear life.” He still enjoys traveling, sports and plays golf whenever work and home allow.” I’m so lucky to be doing what I love. Life is good.”

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