With unanimous Town Council approval, the proposed $100 million expansion for the CopperWynd Resort in Fountain Hills is on track for a June groundbreaking. The council voted to approve a development agreement and zoning changes at its March 16 regular session.

Jordan Rose of Rose Law Group PC, representing Bill Hinz, owner of Palisades Resort, LLC, told the council a June start for construction is a stipulation for Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant Group to come on board to manage the operation. Rose said council approval for the project will allow for completion of negotiations with Kimpton.

The council voted to approve a development agreement with CopperWynd as well as the proposed zoning change and PAD associated with the project.

Council members, who have been in closed-door discussions regarding the development agreement for several weeks, had few questions and asked only for a couple of public clarifications from Rose prior to their vote.

“Fountain Hills has been a resort town without a resort,” Councilman Cecil Yates said. “It is exciting to see this come to fruition.

“We are finally working at the speed of business.”

The public and business support for the project on display for the March 9 Planning and Zoning Commission came out again for the council meeting. Only one resident objected to the plan, Vlad Herman, a resident of Cordabella just off Eagle Ridge Drive, down the street from CopperWynd. Herman said that construction traffic from Adero Canyon and now for CopperWynd have depleted his property values and made it impossible to sell his home. The Cordabella subdivision is within the City of Scottsdale.

Fred Kroin, another Cordabella resident, offered the opposing perspective.

“CopperWynd is the reason many of us are still here,” Kroin said. “It is the reason I am still here.

“It needs this expansion to be a success. There will be short-term issues, but long-term impact will be outstanding.”

Many of the dozen who spoke in support of the plan had praise for resort owner Bill Hinz and his efforts to turn the property around after hard times. Hinz has already invested $6 million in improvements to the restaurant and existing club facilities, according to Rose.

Bart Shea, president of Shea-Connelly Development and currently building the Park Place project downtown, said “redevelopment is extremely hard. (Hinz) has done an outstanding job with this project.”

Two former town mayors, Sharon Morgan and Jay Schlum, expressed their support for the plan to the council.

The plans

The development agreement calls for CopperWynd to expand to 300 guest rooms in three phases over a maximum 10-year time frame.

Phase I replaces the existing hotel rooms with a guest wing that includes 128 rooms. It would also add a 10,000 square-foot banquet and conference facility. That is to be built just off CopperWynd Drive at the opposite end of the property from the new guest rooms.

Phase II of the project includes construction of a new five-story structure at the south end of the existing clubhouse, which is to include 60 new guest rooms. There will also be pool area renovations with a poolside lounge and restaurant and parking expansion.

Phase III will include the construction of the final 122 rooms to bring the total to 300. The final phase is also described as the most ambitious and includes additional outdoor activity spaces expansion of the pool areas and another restaurant. This phase will also include the construction of the parking garage with roof-top tennis courts.

The zoning changes will create a Planned Area Development (PAD) over an underlying zoning of L-3 (lodging). This zoning replaces the R-5 Planned Unit Development (PUD) that has been on the property.

The proposed PAD will allow up to 19 rooms per acre, four more than the L-3 zoning allows. It includes ancillary uses such as restaurants cafes without the requirement of a special use permit. It will allow a 50-foot building height. The PAD reduces the building separation requirement from 10 feet to seven feet, and allows all building setbacks to be 20 feet, as opposed to current L-3 zoning requirements of 40 feet front and side and 60 feet rear.

The PAD also permits outdoor entertainment with music or speakers, but requires compliance with the town noise ordinance. The PAD provides for a shared parking model in calculating parking requirements including an allowance for off-site parking up to 1,500 feet away for special events or activities.