The Potato Barn in Gilbert will undergo restoration project

PHOENIX — Developers are hoping that restoration of The Potato Barn in Gilbert will become a “gathering place for the community.”

The Potato Barn, located at Williams Field Road and Higley Road, was used as a home furnishing showroom since 2002. New owners, the Smith family, are hoping that by adding two additional buildings and 24,000 additional square feet, it will become a space for restaurants and family-friendly home improvement shops.

“It will uphold the entrepreneurial spirit of our namesake by becoming a mercantile for goods, services, history, art music and the culinary celebration of our beloved potato,” said Jeremey Smith.

The new complex will be called The Higley Barns. Ground breaking is set to begin in late 2018, although a general contractor has not yet been selected.

Central Arizona Supply, a wholesale plumbing and HVAC distributor, is set to occupy the larger of the two new buildings.

Occupancy in the other buildings will be leased to restaurants and shops.

The space was originally built in 1966 as a storage facility for potatoes distributed across Arizona on a nearby railroad.

Director of Gilbert’s Office of Economic Development, Dan Henderson was thrilled about the adaptive-reuse plans.

“This project seeks to re purpose a building with history in Gilbert,” said Henderson. “We appreciated the long-term view of the Smith family.”

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