The year 2014 turned out to be one that found the town looking to the future for planning and initiating several improvement and development projects.

Late in 2013 MCO Properties announced a plan to begin development in the Adero Canyon area along the western border of town. The first few months of the new year were taken up preparing the land use plan and development agreement to present to the Town Council.

The plan provides for a PAD, or planned area development, to address issues outside the zoning regulations.

The PAD area will be used for higher density cluster housing rather than the large single-family home lots most of the parcel includes.

The new plan also includes multi-family housing attached to the CopperWynd Resort for resort use or individual property owners.

There is a substantial density increase, but MCO argued the new plan is needed to make the property viable in the post-recession housing market.

The council ultimately voted 6-0 in May to approve the plan and development agreement.

There was opposition from neighbors living adjacent to the CopperWynd Resort citing traffic and housing density as concerns. The neighbors happen to live within the Scottsdale city limits and had little sway with the council.

By the end of the year the development plan has not yet reached any action on the property, with planning and engineering still under way.

Avenue Plaza

The council decision to upgrade the facilities on Avenue of the Fountains median finally began to move with construction starting in April.

The $1.5 million project stripped the median bare except for a handful of mature trees. A new electrical system was installed along with improved irrigation to handle turf areas, deep watering trees and slow water new plants and bushes.

Old water features that had been leaking up to 250,000 gallons of water per year were removed and replaced with new and additional fountains.

There are now four new water features with the fifth at the east end at Saguaro Boulevard to be replaced when roadway construction is done.

With bad summer weather and shipping delays, the contractor fell behind and asked for an extension on his contracted schedule, which was to complete the project by Oct. 20.

The council granted two additional days for weather-related issues, but declined to accept shipping and power connection delays as legitimate.

The contractor used an additional 20 days to complete the work at a penalty of more than $700 per day.

The finished product unveiled as the Avenue of the Fountains Plaza in early December for holiday activities has received generally favorable reviews from residents and visitors.

Work on Shea

Construction has begun on a project to upgrade Shea Boulevard with an additional westbound lane, curbing and sidewalks and new pavement. The construction work is being done between SR 87 (Beeline Highway) and Technology Drive.

The work also includes improvements at the intersection of Saguaro Boulevard to improve traffic flow, and the replacement of the traffic signal poles.

The main project for the town, which has yet to begin, will be the reconstruction of Saguaro Boulevard between Shea and Fountain Hills Boulevard.

After a voter-approved funding bond of $8.2 million in 2013, work began to design the project and bid the work, all of which took place over the past year.

The bid was awarded in November and construction should begin sometime during the first quarter of 2015.

The old pavement is to be removed along with the base material down to about a foot deep. A new base material and new asphalt will be installed.

Improvements will also be made at the intersection of Saguaro and Avenue of the Fountains, as well as drainage upgrades at Palisades Boulevard and along the Desert Canyon golf course toward the south end of the project.

Another private project is seen as a great boon to Fountain Hills. The retailer Tractor Supply Company chose the town for a new store.

The Town Council easily approved accommodations for the project on a four-acre site at Shea and Monterey Drive.

Construction began late in December and the 21,000-square-foot store should be open later this year.