Lazy K Ranch Sells Stardance Event Center after Rezoning Fails for $1.46 Million

Kelly and John Abbott and their company, ABIT Property Holdings LLC, purchased the Stardance Event Center on the Lazy K Ranch for $1.46 million ($139 PSF) where they had leased for three years operating it for weddings and special events. The 10,537-square-foot indoor and outdoor wedding venue in five buildings sold with 28.69 acres of land at 8110 N Scenic Drive in Marana.

The Historic Lazy K Ranch has been in the news quite a bit lately, as the owners of the 138-acre property, a former dude ranch, were trying to rezone the property into a 178-unit subdivision. The project had passed the Planning Commission in August but was rejected last week by the Marana Town Council. The proposal sparked controversy even among supporters of the proposal.

The owners of the Lazy K Ranch, Amy Shiner and Peter Evans, bought the Stardance property with the Lazy K Ranch in 1998, when it was still part of Pima County, and with SR zoning that allows for 3.3 acre home sites. In 2004, when Lazy K was annexed into Marana, it was zoned to allow for a number of uses, including residential with 3.3 acre density and recreational resort for a large resort.

Annexation by Marana meant developers wouldn’t have to abide by the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, as adopted by Pima County in 2001. The City of Tucson and Oro Valley also adopted parts of the plan that limit development in critical biological areas to 80% open space.

But one unit for every 3.3 acres is not “economically viable” for the owners, so a zoning change was necessary. Developer, Mattamy Homes, was willing to take on the project if Marana Town Council had approved the zoning change to specific plan.

The Abbotts supported the rezoning, however weren’t directly affected one way or the other for the Stardance. They had operated the Stardance for three years for weddings and corporate events so it already felt like home when finalizing the purchase from Shiner and Evans. There were no brokers involved in the transaction.

The five buildings of Stardance were built from 1965 to 2002. There’s an enclosed 6,000-square-foot wedding reception pavilion with impressive 40 foot high sliding doors that create an open environment on the east and west sides of the venue. The Sunset Vista outdoor wedding reception and ceremony area with 3,000-square-feet of space and spectacular views of the Tucson Mountains and Sombrero Peak to the west and the Catalina Terrace with 5,000-square-feet of outdoor patio space and beautiful views of Tucson city lights framed against the Catalina Mountain Range to the east.

Located south of the special events pavilion is 15,000-square-foot Sombrero Peak, complete with landscaped bonfire areas.

The Stardance Event Center accommodates from 100 up to 500 guests.