Nov. 28, 2006 12:00 AM

There are few easy ways to get from the center of Goodyear to Mobile.

You have to drive about an hour and a half around the Estrella Mountains and past a good dose of fermented garbage odor before hitting Mobile Elementary School, the heart of the tiny community of about 100.

Once, there were plans for a women's prison and an oil refinery in Mobile, home to Arizona's largest landfill.

After decades of neglect, this seemingly remote area could be transformed into a master-planned development and be annexed by Goodyear.

Scottsdale-based Montage Holdings has secured more than 10,000 acres, the equivalent of more than 7,600 football fields, to build what could become a village of Goodyear.

Plans call for an employment corridor, hospitals, a town square, a regional mall and more than 30,000 homes.

"What we're envisioning is a self-sustaining community," said Tim Keenan of Montage Holdings.

Montage projected that at build-out, the community could be home to more than 100,000 residents.

There is also talk of a satellite city hall, library, police protection and fire services from Goodyear. All of that hinges on getting Mobile and the area around it annexed.

On Wednesday, the Goodyear Planning and Zoning Commission will consider adding 95 square miles south of Patterson Road, known as Sonoran Valley, to the city's planning area.

If that's approved, it could make way for the annexation, a move inducing mixed feelings.

Landowners and builders such as Montage are eager to cash in on their investments. Longtime residents fear what development would do to their rural lifestyles.

Dorothy Deary Anderson falls under both categories. The Scottsdale resident grew up in Mobile and left with her family when she was 12.

Deary Anderson and her relatives now own 25 acres in the area, which they could profit from if they get bought out.

"I have mixed emotions," Deary Anderson said. "I remember so much of this place when I was a little girl running around. We only had the school and the church as the center of our social lives."

Terry Hudson is a 46-year-old "Mobilian, born and raised." He plans to build a ranch and rodeo on his land, but he is still sorting out what being a resident of Goodyear could mean for him.

"I'm just going to ride it out and see what happens," Hudson said.

One thing is certain for Hudson, though: A master-planned community is hugely different from the refinery or prison that was proposed for Mobile in the past.

"It was the place nobody wanted," Hudson said. "Now everybody wants it."

Reach the reporter at (602) 444-4135.