Rio Reimagined Project

​The Rio Salado and the surrounding area has a rich cultural history and was first settled by the Hohokam over 2000 years ago. The Hohokam created a canal system that the river fed, and this system allowed them to settle throughout the Salt River Valley. After World War II, many of the cities adjacent to this river and others that feed into it such as the Agua Fria and the Gila River transitioned from farming communities into commercial centers. During this time more than 200 sand and gravel operations located in the floodplain and between the banks of the three rivers. The area along the riverbeds became a dumping ground as more people moved in and business and residential development generated waste and disposal in abandoned mining pits was cheap and easy.  Industrial facilities also dot the banks of the river.

The Rio Reimagined Project is a vision to revitalize the Rio Salado (Salt River), Aqua Fria and Gila Rivers, and the region by transforming over 45 miles of the river stretching from the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community at the eastern most boundary to the City of Buckeye to the west and encompassing more than 78,000 acres. The project aspires to reconnect the community with the river, to establish a unified vision, to be a catalyst for economic growth and inclusion, and to build a unique regional destination.

Rio Reimagined Assessment Coalition Grant Ending in September 2025

The City of Phoenix, in partnershop with the Arizona State University and the cities of Avondale and Tempe, received a $600,000 brownfields grant with the cities of Avondale, Tempe, and ASU.  The City of Phoenix, as the lead applicant partnered with the other cities and ASU to pave the way for development of the river corridor.  The target area for the grant is within 1.0 miles of the Salt River (Rio Salado), Agua Fria and Gila Rivers within the cities of Tempe, Phoenix and Avondale, Arizona. This brownfields grant provided financial assistance to private sector and nonprofits acquiring and redeveloping properties in Avondale, Tempe, and Phoenix for environmental site assessments, asbestos surveys, and lead-based paint surveys to aid in evaluating environmental conditions as part of future redevelopment.  To date, the grant has provided inventories of selected areas in Avondale, Tempe, and Phoenix. In addition, assessments have been performed on 19 properties in Avondale, Tempe and Phoenix.