Benson, AZ - A company formed by El Dorado Holdings Inc of Phoenix (Mike Ingram, chairman) paid $26.546 million ($2,133 per acre) to acquire the Whetstone Ranch master-planned community in Benson, AZ targeted for 20,000 new homes.
El Dorado Benson LLC purchased the 12,446 acres in two cash sales. The seller of 11,650 acres was Whetstone Partners LLP of Tucson (Ernest Graves, principal). In the second transaction, El Dorado Benson paid $3.025 million to acquire 795.69 acres being developed in a first phase project called The Canyons at Whetstone Ranch.
Graves acquired the land for Whetstone Ranch master planned community and started first phase development of The Canyons before the economy and real estate market tanked. National Bank of Arizona foreclosed on a loan that was secured by The Canyons, but not before Graves's company made significant improvements. The nearly 796 acres El Dorado Benson acquired from the bank includes 29 fully developed SFR lots, 179 partially improved lots, 373 final platted lots, 60.48 acres of unimproved land, 30 acres of commercial land and another 320-tract.
Benson is located in Cochise County about 45 miles southeast of Tucson. Whetstone Ranch is two miles south of Interstate 10 and along both sides of State Highway 90.
El Dorado Holdings will complete the infrastructure for sale to conventional and active adult home builders. Jim Kenney, president of El Dorado Holdings, says the company will immediately look to sell home sites at The Canyons to builders. Including water and sewer utilities, Kenney estimates the project has improvements in place valued at approximately $8 million. The company is looking for more investment opportunities.
The seller was National Bank of Arizona. Both sales were brokered by Greg Vogel, Waseem Hamadeh and John Carroll of Land Advisors Organization in Scottsdale and Will White of Land Advisors Organization in Tucson.
To learn more from Kenney call him at (602) 955-2424. Vogel, Hamadeh and Carroll can be reached at (480) 483-8100 and White is at (520) 514-7454.
The following transactions with an aggregate total of $3.4 million were also recently negotiated by Land Advisors Oraganization of Scottsdale:
801 NORTH ARIZONA AVENUE | Chandler, Arizona
Offering: ±2,660 sq. ft. retail building on ±0.41 acres
Location: 801 N. Arizona Avenue, in Chandler, Arizona
Sales Price: $312,000 ($117 PSF)
Seller: Bear Family Trust
Buyer: Matthew Mooneyham
Agents: Randolph C. Titzck and Chad Russell
901 EAST ROSSER | Prescott, Arizona
Offering: 5.48 acres
Location: 901 East Rosser, Prescott, Arizona
Sales Price: $800,000 ($145,985 per acre)
Seller: Brady Revocable Trust
Buyer: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Agent: Capri Barney
RANCHO CORAN | Las Vegas, Nevada
Offering: 22.06 acres
Location: 1792 N. Ranch Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada
Sales Price: $2,300,000 ($104,261 per acre)
Seller: MB REO-NV Land
Buyer: Precedent Properties
Agent: Rick Hildreth