This article originally appeared in the Gilbert Sun News.
Seven years after it was chased out of Gilbert neighborhoods – twice — Springstone finally opened Gilbert’s first mental-health hospital in 2020.
Under the guidance of land-use and zoning attorney Adam Baugh, the 72-bed Copper Springs East went from being the brunt of public outcry to becoming a welcomed addition to the community.
Baugh formed a coalition, getting police and fire officials lined up behind the project and medical professionals who spoke of the need for such a facility in town, as teenage suicides were ramping up. The Planning Commission in December 2017 unanimously approved the conditional use permit for the facility.
“The way my community is formed, the way it grows, is not by accident,” said Baugh, who has lived in Gilbert since 2003. “It’s interesting and it’s deliberate and for the greater good.
We as a town benefited with having that hospital here dealing with anxiety and mental health issues.”
For Baugh, every shopping center, master-planned community and mixed-use development has a tale to tell and he and Withey Morris law partner Jason Morris are sharing them on a podcast called “Dirt to Development.” Baugh came up with the concept after years of regaling others with behind-the-scenes anecdotes of projects in the state.