TUCSON, AZ (April 3, 2026) – In what represents Tucson’s largest residential lot transaction of 2026 and the most significant master-planned community launch the market has seen in recent memory, Ashton Woods/Starlight Homes has closed on the Phase 1 acquisition of Camino Verano, marking the debut of Sunbelt Holdings’ transformative 710-acre, 2,000-lot development in Southeast Tucson’s rapidly expanding employment corridor.

The Phase 1 acquisition encompasses 480 finished residential lots across four strategically planned parcels offering varied product widths (40′, 45′, and 50′), with a combined transaction value of $49,290,890—making it unequivocally the largest single lot acquisition in Tucson for 2026 to date. Construction is scheduled to commence Q2 2026, with model home grand openings anticipated in early 2027. Phase 1 will also include an amenity package to enhance the residential experience and kick off Camino Verano.

The 480-lot Phase 1 closing marks the third partnership between Ashton Woods/Starlight and Sunbelt Holdings in just 12 months—an unprecedented builder commitment that has put over 1,000 lots into play in that timeframe and signals a fundamental shift in how the nation’s largest homebuilders are approaching the Tucson market.

“When a large builder commits to 1,000+ lots with you in a single year across multiple projects, that transcends typical buyer-seller dynamics,” Greg Mohl, vice president and head of Sunbelt’s Tucson operations, commented. “That’s a strategic partnership built on trust, certainty of execution, and shared conviction in Tucson’s long-term trajectory. Ashton Woods/Starlight sees at Camino Verano what we see: a generational opportunity to capture Tucson’s employment-centric housing demand at scale. Phase 1’s 480 lots are just the opening chapter of what will be a decade-long commitment of delivering 2,000+ homes to this market.”

Redefining the Employment-Centric Community at Unprecedented Scale

What fundamentally differentiates Camino Verano from other master-planned communities launched in recent years is its strategic positioning directly within—not adjacent to—the metro’s primary employment and economic growth engine in Tucson. While traditional communities push homebuyers to the metropolitan fringe requiring 30-minute freeway commutes, Camino Verano delivers immediate, freeway-free access to Southeast Tucson’s massive and expanding employment base:

• Raytheon Missile Systems – 8 minutes (10,000+ employees, Tucson’s largest private employer and a cornerstone aerospace/defense employer)
• Tucson International Airport – 10 minutes (2,500 direct employees, Arizona’s second-busiest airport)
• Davis-Monthan Air Force Base – 12 minutes (9,100 military and civilian personnel, permanent federal installation)
• University of Arizona Tech Park – 10 minutes (6,000 employees across multiple technology and research tenants)
• Over 40,000 active jobs within a 10-minute drive radius—no freeway access required

Over $200 million in institutional industrial capital deployed in the past 24 months—creating a self-reinforcing growth cycle, for upwards of 5,000 future jobs, that benefits Verano’s long-term positioning:

Complete Lifestyle Ecosystem Already Operational

In a stark departure from master-planned communities in growing areas where residents endure years waiting for promised retail and amenity infrastructure, Camino Verano launches with Southeast Tucson’s mature, fully operational commercial and lifestyle ecosystem already in place—a critical competitive advantage that eliminates the “pioneer penalty” typical of new community launches:

Comprehensive Retail Infrastructure: Walmart Supercenter, Costco Wholesale, Target, Fry’s Food & Drug, Safeway, complete banking services (Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Chase), full-service healthcare facilities, urgent care, pharmacy chains (CVS, Walgreens), and major restaurant corridors spanning national chains to local favorites—all within a 10-minute drive.

Premier Recreation & Entertainment Destinations:

• Mosaic Quarter (5 minutes) – Pima County’s landmark $100+ million sports and entertainment complex featuring a 175,000 SF ice sports facility (MQ Iceplex), 131,000 SF multi-sport field house (basketball, volleyball, indoor soccer, wrestling, track & field), outdoor sportsplex for tournament play, and event pavilion, with ambitious future phases including hotels, dining, performing arts venues, and sports medicine facilities
• Casino Del Sol (10 minutes) – Full-service resort, gaming, dining, and entertainment complex
• Kino Sports Complex (10-15 minutes) – Pima County’s 300+ acre flagship sports venue featuring Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium (11,000 seats), 7 baseball fields, 8 regulation soccer fields, 20 pickleball courts, and professional clubhouses hosting MLS preseason training, FC Tucson professional soccer, major concerts, and year-round youth sports leagues

Will White and John Carroll of Land Advisors Tucson handled the transaction and represent Sunbelt Holdings at Camino Verano.

“This is a major moment for Tucson’s residential market,” said White “Camino Verano represents a fundamental shift—2,000 lots positioned 8 minutes from the absolute epicenter of Southeast Tucson’s employment corridor, with zero freeway access required. Camino Verano is the convergence of scale, location, and infrastructure maturity. Day one, residents have complete services and 40,000 jobs all within 10 minutes—all accessible without touching I-10. Employment density and lifestyle infrastructure at this proximity, with no freeway dependence, is what makes Camino Verano transformational. Congratulations to the Sunbelt team and everyone at Ashton Woods/Starlight. “

The full Camino Verano development encompasses 710 acres with approximately 2,000 lots planned across five meticulously sequenced phases, leaving roughly 1,500 lots for future releases. At full build-out, Camino Verano will stand as one of Southeast Tucson’s largest residential communities and create a decade-plus inventory pipeline serving the market’s most critically undersupplied segment: well-located, employment-proximate finished lots. Land Advisors has the Marketing assignment for Camino Verano.

PHOENIX, AZ (April 3, 2026) — Phoenix has reached a major milestone in what city officials say will become a critical part of Arizona’s long-term water strategy. Construction is now about halfway complete on the state’s first advanced water purification plant, a $300 million project designed to convert wastewater into high-quality drinking water.

City leaders marked the occasion last Thursday at the Cave Creek Water Reclamation Plant by filling one of the new treatment basins with 1 million gallons of water, a symbolic step underscoring the scale of the project and its role in the city’s future water supply. The facility is part of the city’s Pure Water Phoenix program, an initiative aimed at expanding Phoenix’s use of highly treated recycled water as drought, population growth, and pressure on traditional water sources continue to reshape water planning across the region.

Nazario Prieto, assistant director of the Phoenix Water Services Department, said the project is designed to strengthen the city’s long-term water reliability.

“Long term, it ensures that Phoenix residents have water security now well into the future,” Prieto told PHXTV.

He said the advanced purification plant will become increasingly important over the next decade as Phoenix works to diversify its water portfolio and reduce dependence on more vulnerable supplies.

“Over time, in the next 10 years, this will be an integral part of Phoenix’s water resource portfolio,” Prieto said.

Construction on the facility began in 2024 and is expected to be substantially complete next year. After that, the plant will enter a yearlong demonstration and testing phase, during which the purified water will be used to recharge groundwater basins. That process is intended to verify performance and ensure the water meets Arizona Department of Environmental Quality standards before direct potable reuse begins.

Once operational, the plant is expected to treat about 8 million gallons of wastewater per day and produce roughly 6.75 million gallons of potable water per day, enough to serve an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 homes. Prieto said the water will pass through multiple levels of treatment before reaching its final purification stage, including reverse osmosis, one of the most rigorous filtration methods used in water treatment.

“This water, once it’s treated, it’s going to run through an entire reverse osmosis process,” he said, noting that the water will already have undergone extensive treatment before reaching that stage.

City officials describe the Cave Creek facility as Arizona’s first large-scale advanced water purification plant and a potential model for future water infrastructure investments statewide. Phoenix expects the plant to be fully operational by 2029, when direct potable reuse can begin and treated water can enter the city’s drinking water distribution system.

Tucson is moving in a similar direction, though it is not yet as far along in construction. Tucson already operates an extensive reclaimed water system for non-potable uses such as irrigation, aquifer recharge, and habitat restoration, offsetting about 4.7 billion gallons of potable water annually through a separate recycled-water network that serves nearly 1,000 customers. The city’s reclaimed water is not currently part of its drinking water system.

Through its Pure Water Tucson initiative, however, Tucson is laying the groundwork for advanced water purification as part of its broader One Water 2100 plan. The city has advanced plans for a demonstration facility tied to the Tres Rios Water Reclamation Facility that would treat about 2.5 million gallons per day and further purify recycled water for future potable use. Tucson officials describe advanced water purification as a critical long-term strategy for strengthening local water resilience, much like Phoenix is now doing at Cave Creek.

Together, the two projects show how Arizona’s largest cities are increasingly treating water reuse as more than a conservation measure. It is becoming part of the long-term infrastructure needed to support future growth, reduce pressure on traditional supplies, and strengthen water security in an increasingly arid state.

TUCSON, AZ (April 3, 2026) — Innovation at the UA Tech Park is often measured in square footage, company growth, and research activity. But the real strength of an innovation ecosystem is found in the people shaping it every day.

That is the focus of the 2026 Women of the UA Tech Park series, which highlights 19 women across IBM, Citi, Raytheon, Darling Geomatics, MAF Consulting, Micro-Hybrid Electronics, Vail Academy and High School, Pentakt, and Tech Parks Arizona. Those recognized are Amber Parker, Diem Thu Curtis, Michelle Ramos Hernandez, Teena Werley, Vanessa M. Johnson, Kelly Lensink, Samantha Lloyd, Yohana Yohannes, Trishelle Sheldon, Kimberly Rider, Andrea Wallace, Samantha Megerle, Amanda J. Manos, Mary Darling, Diana Terrazas-Lugo, Lucia Breault-Evans, Miriam Fleisher, Diane Vargo, and Isabel Rivera.

Together, their stories reflect the many ways Southern Arizona’s innovation economy is built — through leadership, resilience, mentorship, adaptability, and service as much as through technology and business growth. The women featured represent a wide range of roles, from engineers and executives to educators, strategists, administrators, and founders.

Taken together, the series offers a broader picture of what drives innovation at the UA Tech Park and across the region. It is not shaped by one kind of leader or one career path, but by many women helping build strong companies, stronger teams, and a more connected innovation community.

As Tucson continues to grow its technology, research, and entrepreneurial base, that message matters. Innovation does not advance strategy alone. It grows through people who create opportunities, support others, and help move the region forward. The 2026 Women of the UA Tech Park are a reminder that this work is already happening across Southern Arizona.