El Dorado’s Masterfully Planned Community promises a “Whatever you want you can have” Lifestyle

BENSON, Arizona — A group of 70 business and government leaders from across southeast Arizona  gathered Tuesday at the Cochise College in Benson for an update on The Villages at Vigneto residential and commercial masterplan project planned for northwestern Cochise County. The project is being developed by El Dorado Holdings, the company that spearheaded the growth of what is now the City of Maricopa.

Villages at Vigneto will be built along both sides of State Route 90 in Benson south of Interstate 10. The plan is for 28,000 homes, five golf courses, restaurants, shops, and more than two dozen activity centers and community facilities over a 20 year build out. Two-thirds of the project’s 13,000 acres are located on the east side of State Route 90

Mike Reinbold, development partner with El Dorado Holdings, estimated that it will take about 18 months for completion of horizontal construction such as roads and utilities after which vertical construction of homes and community facilities can begin. Reinbold said he is still confident that some homes will be on the market in 2018, a prediction he made in January at a meeting of the Southeastern Arizona Contractors Association.

During the March 14 meeting Reinbold also premiered a five minute video that overviews the project’s “Tuscan Territorial” concept. The video likens the Vigneto lifestyle to the American Dream, noting that “whatever you want you can have” within the Vigneto community.

Reinbold also updated the attendees about the Whetstone Ranch Canyons development located on the north end of El Dorado’s property. Approximately 50 homes were built by the previous developer with plans for a few hundred more. That project is being worked into El Dorado’s plans for Vigneto, according to Reinbold, and will concentrate on more family-style homes and amenities. New construction of homes at the Canyons could begin within 90 days once El Dorado breaks ground on Vigneto.

El Dorado has “the experience, financial strength, and will” to develop the Vigneto “lifestyle” project in a manner that is both environmentally responsible and water-wise, Reinbold explained. The Vigneto project has maintained a high level of community support, he noted, by addressing questions “with straight forward answers and facts.”

One pending issue for El Dorado is how quickly the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will reinstate a Section 404 permit the agency put on hold last year.  The permit was issued in 2006 for the now-defunct Whetstone Ranch project, which encompasses nearly three-fourths of El Dorado’s property.

A handful of environmental groups filed a lawsuit last May asking a federal judge to order the Corps to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure species protected under the Endangered Species Act “are not jeopardized and critical habitats are not adversely modified or destroyed” by development of Villages at Vigneto.  Proceedings in the federal action have been stayed by Judge Cindy Jorgenson allow time for the consultation to take place between the Corps and FWS.

Reinbold, who is meeting with the Corps on a regular basis for updates, believes there is already “a change of federal government philosophy” since the new president was inaugurated.

While the Corps and FWS address the consultation, Reinbold says El Dorado is moving forward with final planning of the project’s first 750 acres. Engineers are on-site, utilizing a grid system in place across the property to digitally design the main Village Center, a recreation center, and the first home sites.  However, Reinbold declined to comment about what steps would be taken if the Section 404 permit is not in hand by the time Vigneto’s engineering plan is approved by the City.

Meanwhile, Benson city manager Bill Stephens confirmed after the meeting that city staff is ready to review El Dorado’s final design and engineering plan for the first phase once it is submitted.  “We are looking forward to the next step” said Stephens.

Reinbold encourages anyone interested in obtaining updates about Villages at Vigneto to sign up for email updates at www.vignetoaz.com.

With blessings of the Southeastern Arizona Governments Organization (SEAGO) and a 3 to 1 majority of supporters at the Benson City Council Meeting Monday night, the Master Planned Community of “The Villages at Vigneto” a 12,300-acre master-planned community with 28,000 homes planned within the City of Benson, passed unanimously. El Dorado Holdings is the developer for the project.

Forecasts are that the Villages at Vigneto will re-ignite the struggling Benson and Cochise County economies and create an estimated 16,350 jobs at the height of construction and $79.6 million in cash surplus to the City of Benson, according to a US Economic Research report and covered in Real Estate Daily News October, 2015.

The Villages at Vigneto will certainly be the largest economic driving force in Southern Arizona. Located directly to the south of The Canyons where 55-60 homes are already built. El Dorado will build into the retirement community a golf course with rec center and golf club, and a recreational Village Center as part of the upfront development, with houses to be delivered simultaneously.

Mike Reinbold, project manager for the Villages at Vigneto with El Dorado, told us that with this major milestone completed, final engineering and architectural plans can begin. Infrastructure construction should begin as early as next summer and first move-ins are  expected as early as 3 years from now, Reinbold estimated.

“The Council should be commended for doing an excellent job Monday night at the meeting, and allowing time for all members of the public to be heard,” Reinbold said.

Each year, the City of Benson with slightly over 5,000 residents swells to an estimated 32,000 people, with winter visitors from Canada and cold states who inhabit the 16,000 RV spaces in Benson. Such rapid growth of people seems to agree well with this historic town, only 45 miles southeast of Tucson in Cochise County.

In an interesting turn of events, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been asked by the Tucson Audubon Society to revisit a 9-year-old federal permit authorizing a housing development in Benson.

The Tucson Audubon Society claims to seek reconsideration of the federal permit in part because they claim the Corps approved it over objections from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It is unclear the approval they are objecting to, the first approval, nine years ago when it was approved for 60,000 homes or the recent approval in April, when it was down sized to 28,000 homes.

As we reported in April, Benson and El Dorado Holdings are ready to begin a new 28,000 home master planned community  after the City of Benson Mayor and Council gave approval to development plans for this community on 12,445 acres. The Villages of Vigneto Master Planned Community is the new name for the former Whetstone Ranch located on the east side of Hwy 90, south of I-10 in Benson, Arizona.

Before proceeding with final approval by Benson Mayor and Counsel in April, the plan had already been downsized from its approved entitlements for 60,000 homes, with 581-lots in various stages of construction and 1,200 acres more unimproved. But the Developer for the project, El Dorado Holdings, that also developed the Town of Maricopa, didn’t want to build something that big there and had modified the plan to be 28,000 total lots, with plenty of open space, before seeking approval.

Of concern to the Tucson Audubon Society is water rights, not a concern to the City of Benson, but to the outsiders from Tucson who are unaffected by Benson’s water supply. Tony Davis at the Arizona Daily Star, an environmentalist activist and we assume, an Audubon Society member, reports that such a review could seriously delay or even theoretically stop the project. Mr. Davis had written numerous articles against this project before it was approved by the City of Benson.

The claim is the EPA had raised concerns over the project’s potential to reduce water flows to and dry up the imperiled San Pedro River, an issue that remains a hot topic of debate for environmentalists despite Benson allocating 85% of its current water supply to this project since being first approved for the much higher number  housing development.

At stake is a federal Clean Water Act permit that the Corps issued for an earlier version of the development for 60,000 homes now known as the Villages at Vigneto Project, the greatly reduced number of 28,000 homes.

It’s unusual for a group, even the Tucson Audubon Society, to challenge growth in a community 45-miles away with no direct connection, but that seems to be what’s happening here. We’ll do our best to keep our readers informed.