CHANDLER, AZ — The Bashas' water tower has watched over its Chandler neighborhood for decades. The landmark has outlasted the cotton fields, the sheep crossings, and the grocery stores that once surrounded it. Now, it is running out of time, and the neighbors who grew up in its shadows are not ready to let it go without a fight.
For Megan Craghead and Shanda Bogle, sisters-in-law raising their families right across the street, this corner of Chandler still carries the feeling of another era.
"This used to be cotton fields, alfalfa, corn, sheep were raised in the fields around us, we used to be late to school because the sheep were crossing the road," Craghead said.
"It feels like we get a lot of the benefits of like that old school country living. Like what kids had in the 90s," Bogle said.
Part of that era is ending.
In December of 2025, the Chandler City Council approved a project to replace the Bashas' site with 107 single-family homes.
To make way for the development, the city says the water tower will be demolished.
"Packing in 107 homes is not the creative use that we are seeing in other cities," Bogle said.
Neighbors want the tower moved and preserved. However, a family member of the late Eddie Basha told reporter Molly Hudson that would cost a significant amount of money, and the city says it has no plans to do so.
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The developer has agreed to place an interpretive sign on the southeast corner of the new development, featuring a silhouette of the tower.
"As I talk to people about it, even my own kids and adults, everybody is like that’s kind of a landmark of my childhood," Craghead said.
"I would really love to see a creative solution for that water tower," Craghead said.
For now, a petition to preserve the tower has nearly 200 signatures.
But with demolition apparently decided, neighbors say a sign is a poor substitute for the real thing.
"I just think it’s a part of Chandler’s history that we are just really just letting go to waste," Craghead said.
ABC15 reached out to the developer for comment on the timeline and any remaining options for the tower, but we are still waiting to hear back.
