Mark Taylor Plans Luxury Apartments at former Rawhide Site

Former Rawhide Theme Park
Former Rawhide Theme Park

Mark Taylor, Inc. of Scottsdale (Scott Taylor, principal) plans to build a 252-unit luxury rental complex on a portion of the former Rawhide western town theme park at 7215 E. Silverstone Drive in Scottsdale. The 16.7-acre site for the planned multi-family project is located along the east side of Scottsdale Road and just south of Pinnacle Peak Road.

MT Pinnacle LLC (Mark-Taylor entity) paid $10 million to acquire the land ($13.75 PSF)  The seller was LaSalle115 Holdings LLC-Series 34 Villa Volterra. That company is owned by BMO Harris Bank of Chicago, Ill., as successor to M&I Bank. The high-end apartment community is being designed by Architecural Design Group (a Mark-Taylor affiliate). The one-, two- and three-bedroom units will average about 1,100 sq. ft., with monthly rents averaging around $1,430. Construction slated to start mid-2015, with opening to follow around 10 months later. Mark-Taylor Development to serve as contractor. Development cost (land and buildings) estimated at $45 million. Construction financing still to be arranged. Sources say Mark-Taylor may decide to develop the apartments with a joint venture partner.

Mark-Taylor has long been one of the busiest and most successful apartment developers in the Phoenix area. Mark-Taylor is looking for additional multi-family development sites in the Valley. The newly-acquired site in Scottsdale has an address of 7215 E. Silverstone Drive and is part of a 160-acre parcel that used to be Rawhide. In June 2004, a company formed by Valley auto dealer and real estate investor Larry Van Tuyl paid $46 million to buy the former Rawhide property. The one-time landmark theme park, now known as Silverstone, is being redeveloped with retail, multi-family and single family residential, senior living and a planned office park.

In February 2007, Van Tuyl’s company sold the parcel Mark-Taylor now owns to Gabriele Development in Scottsdale for just under $22.3 million. Gabriele planned to use the land to develop 252 townhomes and condominiums in an Italian village-theme community called Villa Volterra. Those plans never came to fruition and the lender eventually took control of the land.

In September, Van Tuyl formed a joint venture with Craig Eisenberg of Eisenberg Co. of in Phoenix to develop a 75,000-square-foot retail center at Silverstone. That 12-acre site is at the southeast corner of Pinnacle Peak and Scottsdale roads. The plaza, which is being called Silverstone Marketplace, will be anchored by a 25,000-square-foot Sprouts store.

The sale was brokered by Pat Lannan of DPC Realty Services Inc. in Scottsdale.

Taylor can be reached at (480) 991-9111 and Lannan is at (480) 947-6200.