Valley News in Brief: October 2026
Each month I pick a few Valley stories worth knowing about and tell you why I'm paying attention. The full reporting is linked at the end of each one. Some of it is from the Phoenix Business Journal, which may ask you to subscribe. The Ahwatukee Foothills News is free to read.
The Heard Museum is growing
Construction started this fall on three new projects at the Heard Museum in Phoenix: a larger restaurant that will finally add dinner service, a Creativity Hub built around lifelong learning, and a brand-new entry with seating, landscaping and outdoor sculptures. The museum expects them to open in January 2028. A new permanent exhibition of Indigenous art from across the Southwest is planned for 2029, the museum's 100th anniversary.
Why I'm watching it: places like the Heard are part of what makes the Valley feel like home, not just a place to live. Dinner at the Heard sounds like a great new date night.
Source: Phoenix Business Journal, Sept. 28, 2026
The data center going up in Ahwatukee
A five-building data center campus of more than 1 million square feet is under construction at the former Thistle Landing Office Park, on the east side of 48th Street at Thistle Landing Drive, across the street from the Mountain Park Ranch area. Some homes back right up to the site. One neighbor told FOX 10 hers is about 150 feet away. Neighbors in the Ahwatukee Community Alliance have raised concerns about noise, air quality, water and power use, and whether the project should have had a public zoning hearing. The City of Phoenix says the land's existing commerce park zoning, in place since the 1990s, already allows the use.
How close is it? Measured property line to property line on the Maricopa County Assessor's parcel map:
- The Reserve at Foothills Vista condominiums and an apartment community at 15210 S. 50th St. share a property line with the site.
- Arboretum at South Mountain apartments: about 60 feet
- San Melia condominiums: about 110 feet
- Desert Breeze: about 140 feet, across 48th Street
- Monarch: about 200 feet
- Crimson Ridge: about 450 feet to the nearest home
- Forty Eight East: about 630 feet
- Silverado at Crimson Ridge: about 740 feet
Counting houses and condos (apartment units not included), about 300 homes sit within 500 feet of the site's property line, and about 930 within a quarter mile. These are distances to the edge of a 38-acre property, not to the buildings themselves.
The developer, Menlo Digital, recently shared more detail. It says the campus will use closed-loop, air-cooled chillers instead of water-heavy cooling, that most of its water use will go to landscaping, and that it has brought on an acoustical engineer. It cites 2024 measurements of about 55 decibels in the neighborhood during the day and 45 at night, and says two noise monitors are running around the clock during construction. Alliance chairman Craig Evans told the Ahwatukee Foothills News the neighbors still have questions: "We live right next to this thing. What do we have to be ready for?"
What's next: a Maricopa County Air Quality Department hearing on permits for the campus's backup generators is expected in November. That's the place for residents to weigh in on air quality.
Why I'm watching it: a lot of you live nearby, and I get asked about it. I'm not taking sides here. I just want you to have the facts and know where to follow along. If you live nearby and have questions about your own home, I'm happy to talk it through with you one on one.
Sources: Ahwatukee Foothills News, Sept. 23, 2026 · Ahwatukee Foothills News, March 24, 2026 · FOX 10 Phoenix, July 9, 2026 · Distances and home counts: Maricopa County Assessor parcel data, measured Sept. 28, 2026
A possible next chapter for the Ritz-Carlton Paradise Valley site
The long-delayed Ritz-Carlton, Paradise Valley and The Palmeraie project near Lincoln Drive and Scottsdale Road has a proposed plan in bankruptcy court. If a judge approves it, the unfinished hotel could be sold through a court-supervised process, and any buyer would need to bring in an experienced hotel developer to finish it. The remaining villas and the undeveloped land could be sold too. Nothing is final yet.
Why I'm watching it: it's one of the most visible corners in the area, and neighbors have been waiting years to see it finished. I'll share what happens next.
Source: Phoenix Business Journal, Sept. 28, 2026
More jobs in north Scottsdale
Castle Biosciences, a company that develops medical diagnostic tests, moved into a new office and lab at Perimeter Center in north Scottsdale this summer, moving over from central Phoenix. The company has about 220 employees in Arizona, added 50 of them this year, and expects to keep hiring.
Why I'm watching it: steady employers bring people who need a place to live, and the Loop 101 corridor keeps adding them.
Source: Phoenix Business Journal, Sept. 25, 2026
What should I cover next?
Is something happening near you that you'd like me to look into? Send me a message. I read every one.
Talk soon,
Amy
Amy Richardson, REALTOR® · Savvy Realty Group | HomeSmart · AZ Lic. #SA673095000
