TUCSON, AZ (May 9, 2024): Meritage Homes recently acquired 327 paper lots in Northwest Tucson, 266 in Mandarina in Marana, and another 61 at Naranja Trails in Oro Valley; both are new communities that Meritage plans to have open for sales by mid-2025.
Mandarina MPC is at the intersection of I-10, Tangerine Road, and the Union Pacific Railroad corridor. The community will add 1,026 residences to Marana as platted now and up to 2,500 when fully completed, along with a mix of shopping and entertainment facilities planned for Mandarina
Meritage Homes is the first homebuilder to seize this opportunity. The initial 266 lots at Mandarina, part of an option for 560 lots, were acquired by Meritage for a total of $8,638,180 ($32,474 per lot). These platted-only lots were purchased from Mandarina Holdings, an affiliate of Bela Flor Communities, in Mesa, with the seller finishing the lots for the homebuilder, as shown in Parcels 7 and 10 of this site map.
Meritage told us they have an option for an additional 200 lots in Phase 2 of the project. The Mandarina Specific Plan has been approved since 2009, about the time the housing bubble burst. Bel Flor expanded the specific plan in 2022 when purchasing 113 additional acres for a total of 2,500 lots.
Marana’s Mayor, Ed Honea, sees the area's growth as a positive expansion outcome. He attributes much to the new industries opening in nearby cities with less housing. Many companies are looking for where to house their employees, from Lucid Motors and Kohler in Casa Grande to Procter and Gamble and Nikola plants in Coolidge. Honea says that these companies are just 45 minutes from Marana and that Marana welcomes them.
Meritage didn’t stop there. Simultaneously, it committed to 61 platted lots in Oro Valley’s Naranja Trail, southwest of Naranja Drive and First Avenue, for $1.7 million ($27,868 per lot).
Naranja Trail is a 64-lot infill project on 58 acres. The seller, Davis Development & Properties of Tucson, holds onto three lots, and Meritage acquired the other 61. The lots are all 55’ wide in this community, with a 1.1 residences per acre density.
The residential community, approved in 2022, is located on the south side of Naranja Drive, opposite Highlands Wash. With its steep slopes, retention walls will be required. Pima County initially approved the project before being annexed into Oro Valley.
Thrac Paulette with Cantera Real Estate in Oro Valley negotiated the transaction for the seller.
For more information, Paulette can be reached at 520.904.5055.
More information about these transactions is available to RED Comps subscribers at RED Comp #11262 and #11242.