I’d look at East Queen Creek a lot differently than I did a few years ago

The new Queen Creek Temple is going on 15.5 acres near Ryan Road and Euell Drive, between Meridian and Ironwood.

It’s supposed to be around 82,000 square feet, plus a meetinghouse and another building on the property.

But I started looking at everything else planned around it and that's actually what got my attention.

There is still SO much open land on this side of Queen Creek.

If you're looking around Ironwood Crossing, North Creek or anywhere between Meridian and Ironwood, don't assume all that dirt is staying dirt.

A lot of it already has plans.

North Creek is a good example.

It's roughly 175 acres with around 738 homes planned, plus about 13 acres of commercial at Meridian and Germann.

I wasn't super excited about North Creek when it first started selling.

I liked the homes. I just remember thinking it felt kind of stuck out there.

You had all this open land around you and you were definitely buying into what the area might become, because a lot of the stuff you actually use was somewhere else.

I'm starting to feel differently about it.

Some of the people who bought there early might end up being really happy they did.

There's a lot more planned around them now.

You have Elanto at Queen Creek along Meridian, which is already leasing. That's about 54 acres with 320 rental homes. They're mostly that newer build-to-rent style, so detached homes, townhomes and attached homes with yards and garages rather than a bunch of big apartment buildings.

And there's still more residential land around that.

Then I started looking at the commercial land.

There's roughly 24 more acres designated for commercial use as part of the larger plans in this area, on top of the roughly 13 acres around North Creek.

I don't know what's going there yet.

And I'm not going to start guessing tenants because a piece of dirt is colored commercial on a plan.

But if I were buying over here, I'd want to know about it.

Especially depending on where the house sits.

That's something I think people overlook when they're shopping new construction or looking at homes on the edge of town.

You see dirt behind a wall and it feels really open and quiet.

Then three years later you're wondering why there's a road going through it or why they're building something behind your house.

I'd rather know before I bought.

There's another huge piece of land down closer to the temple that could become a park.

About 57 acres.

I really hope Queen Creek does it.

A park that size would be awesome over here, especially with how many more homes are planned.

But this is one I'd be careful with.

It's a potential future Queen Creek park. It isn't a park yet.

The land has been preserved in a way that allows the Town to potentially acquire it, and some of the surrounding plans even account for connections into it.

But Queen Creek hasn't committed to actually building the park.

And there's a pretty important Plan B.

If it doesn't become a park, approvals allow for the possibility of up to 285 homes there instead.

So if I'm showing you a house nearby, I'm definitely telling you about the possible park.

I'm also telling you about the 285 homes.

I wouldn't want somebody paying more for a house because they think they're guaranteed to have a giant park down the street.

Ironwood Crossing is where all of this gets especially interesting to me.

Because Ironwood Crossing isn't new.

You don't have to guess what the neighborhood itself is going to look like.

It's established. The amenities are there. The landscaping has matured. You can drive through it and know whether you like it.

It's everything around it that's still changing.

And I'd actually look at individual houses inside Ironwood Crossing differently because of that.

What's behind this one?

What's planned across the road?

How close is it to that potential park?

Is this street eventually going to have an easier way out?

Could another street end up getting a lot more traffic?

Those are the things I'd be looking at before worrying about whether one house has prettier countertops than another.

The roads out here are changing too.

The section of Meridian between Queen Creek Road and Germann only fully opened in 2022, which is kind of crazy when you think about how normal that connection already feels.

Ryan Road is eventually planned to continue through, and there are more improvements planned around Meridian, Ryan and Ironwood as development happens.

Then a few miles north you've got SR 24.

Another widening project is planned between Loop 202 and Ironwood, with construction currently expected to start in late 2026 and run into roughly 2029.

So yes, getting around this side of town should continue to improve.

You'll probably also get to enjoy some construction while that happens.

That's Queen Creek.

And then north and east of all these homes is another piece I think people forget about.

Jobs.

Queen Creek has annexed more than 4,100 acres of State Trust Land toward SR 24 and has been trying to build out that northeast side of town as a much bigger employment area.

Germann Commerce Center is already part of it.

The first phase brought about 400,000 square feet across five industrial buildings, with the larger plan eventually going over 1 million square feet on roughly 70 acres.

Then farther east is the massive LG Energy Solution project.

I'm not going to tell you LG being nearby magically makes your house worth more.

Same with the temple.

I don't think real estate works like that.

What I do think matters is having this many homes planned while roads are improving, employment is growing and commercial land is sitting there waiting to fill in.

That's usually when an area starts getting more of the stuff it was missing.

More restaurants. Grocery options. Doctors. Gyms. Coffee. Whatever eventually makes sense for the number of people living out here.

And that's really why I've changed my opinion on this side of Queen Creek.

A few years ago, it felt like you were making a much bigger bet.

Now you can actually see pieces of it filling in.

There's still plenty I don't know.

I don't know what businesses will eventually take those commercial sites.

I don't know if Queen Creek will build that 57-acre park.

I don't know exactly how quickly all the remaining residential land gets built.

And that's stuff I'd be very clear about with a buyer.

But if you're looking over here because you like how open it still feels, just know you're probably not buying the finished version of East Queen Creek.

That's either a good thing or a bad thing depending on what you want.

If you want everything established and predictable, I'd probably show you some other areas too.

If you're okay getting in while things are still filling in, especially if you're planning to stay for a while, I'd spend a lot more time looking over here than I would have a few years ago.

I just wouldn't choose the house without looking at what's planned around it first.

Because the difference between a future park, 285 homes and 20+ acres of commercial is a pretty big difference when you're deciding which backyard you want.