Trio of Homebuilders combine to purchase 836 acres for $111.7M within the Asante Planned Community in Surprise, Arizona

Scottsdale, Ariz. – Asante Development Partners, a venture between Lennar Homes, Pulte Homes and Taylor Morrison Homes, recently completed the purchase of a premier 836-acre land parcel in the city of Surprise, Arizona, for $111.7 million.

The land parcel is located within the Asante Planned Community in north Surprise and includes 752 acres of single-family residential land, (totaling +/-2,750 lots), as well as 56 acres of high-density residential land and 28 acres of commercial land. Asante, which was initially entitled in 2003, is generally located west of 163rd Avenue and north of Pat Tillman Blvd., and offers convenient access to the Loop 303 and the growing northwest Valley retail and employment corridors.

Land Advisors Organization’s advisors Mike Schwab, Greg Vogel, Bret Rinehart, Ryan Semro and Ben Heglie represented the seller, HE Capital Asante LLC, based in Dallas, Texas, which has owned the property since 2009.

“The Northwest Valley is one of the most active development areas in the Valley. This acquisition provides all three builders with the opportunity to continue their delivery of high-quality housing to the north Surprise market for the next 4 to 7 years,” said Mike Schwab, principal and designated broker with Land Advisors Organization. “By joining forces, these builders will provide future residents of the community with a range of diverse new home options, further adding to the area’s attractiveness.”



Tucson rents increase sharply over the past month

TUCSON, ARIZONA — Apartment Lists is reporting Tucson rents have increased 0.7% over the past month, and are up sharply by 20.5% in comparison to the same time last year. Currently, median rents in Tucson stand at $970 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,276 for a two-bedroom. The city’s rents have been increasing for 24 straight months – the last time rents declined was in May 2020. Tucson’s year-over-year rent growth leads the state average of 19.3%, as well as the national average of 15.3%.

Rents rising across cities in Arizona

Throughout the past year, rent increases have been occurring not just in the city of Tucson, but across the entire state. Of the largest 10 cities that we have data for in Arizona, all of them have seen prices rise. The state as a whole logged rent growth of 19.3% over the past year. Here’s a look at how rents compare across some of the largest cities in the state.

  • Looking throughout the state, Surprise is the most expensive of all Arizona’s major cities, with a median two-bedroom rent of $1,857; of the 10 largest Arizona cities that we have data for, all have seen rents rise year-over-year, with Glendale experiencing the fastest growth (+22.5%).
  • Mesa, Phoenix, and Tucson have all experienced year-over-year growth above the state average (20.9%, 20.5%, and 20.5%, respectively).

Tucson rents still more affordable than many comparable cities nationwide

As rents have increased sharply in Tucson, a few other large cities nationwide have seen rents grow more modestly. Tucson is still more affordable than most similar cities across the country.

  • Tucson’s median two-bedroom rent of $1,276 is slightly below the national average of $1,320. Nationwide, rents have grown by 15.3% over the past year compared to the 20.5% rise in Tucson.
  • While Tucson’s rents rose sharply over the past year, many cities nationwide also saw increases, including New York City (+29.5%), Miami (+26.5%), and Dallas (+17.4%).
  • Renters will find more reasonable prices in Tucson than most other large cities. For example, San Francisco has a median 2BR rent of $2,592, which is more than twice the price in Tucson.



The Rio Nuevo Board Approves a $15 Million Budget for 2023

TUCSON, ARIZONA — The Rio Nuevo Board unanimously approved the 2023 budget for their fiscal year July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. The Board expects that its sales tax revenue base to be approximately $1.25 million per month, making it close to historical collections.

The Board acknowledged they hope to have approximately $3 million to invest in downtown projects in Fiscal Year 23, following the completion of the TCC renovations.


After the announcement that 1055 Brewing would be moving out of their space on Congress, the Board agreed to spend $300,000 to assist Patricia Schwabe, the operator of the restaurant Penca, with the remodel and management of the former 1055 restaurant. This assures that the space will continue to serve the community and also retain the former 1055 Brewing employees.

The new concept will be a lunch, happy hour, and dinner concept and Schwabe is naming the new restaurant after a former tenant of the space in 1914, Blue Front.

The Board also offered to consider helping the owners of the Boxyard on 4th Avenue launch a similar operation at 6th Avenue and Broadway, which will require a significant amount of utility work to enable development on that corner. More detailed plans for the container venue will be heard in June.

The Rio Nuevo Board has approved numerous food and beverage assistance projects in the last several weeks including: Tabu, La Chingada, Cruda, Ceres, The Neighborhood, Highwire, The Citizen Hotel, Sand Reckoner Winery, The Cadence, BATA and Love Burger.

These establishments join The Delta, The Monica, Ezbachi, El Mezquite and Perche No in activating nearly 60 restaurants in downtown, which is rapidly becoming the food destination of Tucson.

This was further embellished when Chairman McCusker discussed Rio Nuevo’s role in helping to bring the Bravo Network’s “Top Chef” food show to Tucson for the season finale. Acknowledging Tucson’s status as an international City of Gastronomy, the series will visit the iconic El Charro, as well as Mission Garden and other area restaurants. Chairman McCusker said during the meeting “If you want to open a restaurant in downtown Tucson, come see us, we will help you.”

Finally, the Board approved the incentives for The Cadence converting from student housing to market rate apartments with ground floor food and beverage.

More information on these projects and downtown Tucson can be found at RioNuevo.org