Pinal County rezones 4,695 acres of state land for potential massive employment hub

The new zoning status specifies that standalone data centers and utility-scale solar plants are prohibited.

BY HAILEY MENSIK/PHOENIX BUSINESS JOURNAL

Oct 9, 2026, 7:36 PM

Looking east along Hunt Highway in San Tan Valley near Skyline Ranch in Pinal County. (Jim Poulin/Phoenix Business Journal)

(Jim Poulin/Phoenix Business Journal)

A large swath of state-owned land in the far East Valley is now entitled for a massive employment hub and will presumably go up for auction.

Pinal County⁠’s Board of Supervisors unanimously approved rezoning the 4,695-acre site to industrial and allowed a Special District designation during a special session meeting on Oct. 1.

The designation is specifically applied to land owned by the Arizona State Land Department⁠ and used to proactively gain entitlements prior to auctions.

The county’s Planning and Zoning Commission⁠ first discussed the rezone at a Sept. 16 meeting, where members voted 7-2 to recommend approval.

A potential user for the massive site remains unclear, though the new zoning specifies that standalone data centers and utility-scale solar plants are prohibited.

Neither Pinal County nor the ASLD⁠ were able to provide comment by the time of publication.

This story is posted in partnership with Phoenix Business Journal. Click to read the full story.