MARANA, Arizona – Build it and they will come proves true for Marana, as the area had the highest home permits pulled last year as well as the highest number of new lots sold – 729-platted lots for new development.

Pima County homebuilders saw a 70 percent growth in permits year-over-year, compared to a 12 percent growth in the Phoenix market, Will White with Land Advisors Organization told us. Most of this growth was concentrated in the Northwest / Marana area over the past few years, as builders are starting to scramble for finished lot inventory.

As the Gladden Farms Elementary School opened this year in Marana, Richmond and Lennar Homes began work on 118-lots in Gladden Farms, Farm Field Five added another 99-lots, Dove Mountain is bringing another 192-lots, Tangerine Ridge has 78-lots under development, and a new 242-lot subdivision is planned at Grier & Sanders Roads, all in Marana.

Marana’s new road infrastructure should be completed in time for its anticipated population growth.

No project will have a bigger impact to the town of Marana than the Ina Road/I-10 Interchange project that moved into a new phase this past week when the I-10 overpass was demolished.

Preliminary work on the $120 million project began last summer. While ADOT is overseeing construction, the Regional Transportation Authority, which is managed by the Pima Association of Governments, is providing funding for the new interchange. In addition, the town of Marana is providing $25 million for work that will widen Ina Road and reconstruct Ina Road bridges over the Santa Cruz River west of I-10.

When complete in about 25 months, the project will ease the flow of traffic at this intersection and improve safety for users of Marana’s roads and I-10.

Improvements to Tangerine Road also continue and the good news for Marana is that its  portion should be completed by end of 2017. When completed, Tangerine will be four lanes, be completely level and include paths and walkways, similar to Twin Peaks Road.

See the Tangerine Road Drone Video here:

A second phase to the project will be improvements along Tangerine from I-10 to Dove Mountain Blvd., but that portion of the project is still down the road and is to include a new park, Tangerine Sky Park, for the area.

Marana News is reporting,  that the Marana road realignment is also underway. According to Town Manager Gilbert Davidson, the plans are 90 percent complete and bidding will begin soon. The hope is to have the project, which will realign the roads leading into the Marana Road Interchange, begin in May. The current configuration can be confusing and dangerous.

Part of this project will also serve as the initial portion of the town’s Marana Main Street project which is designed to create a downtown area in the town. Those first steps to downtown is a roundabout on Sandario that will connect with Marana Road.

The roundabout planning is about 90 percent done and final drawing should be presented soon for construction to begin in the spring with the project completion in about a year.

Construction of the new Marana Police Station will also begin in May and should be completed by the end of 2018. The new facility will have a full array of training facilities, including a gun range and computer simulation rooms. There will be meeting spaces, storage and jail/holding areas that can better accommodate prisoners who may need to stay overnight before being transferred to a long-term facility.

Thanks to the sales tax there will also be no debt on the project. The Sunset tax will go away as soon as the project is fully funded.

A new Marana Wastewater Treatment plant and recharge facility are also moving forward. Those plans are also 90 percent done, according to Marana News. North Marana is growing and the plant acquired several years ago by the town is reaching its capacity. Add to that the town’s desire to maximize effectiveness of the facility is the reason for the recharge portion of the project.

A Hampton Inn will soon be built near the Tucson Premium Outlets at Twin Peaks and I-10. The project is in its final planning stage and construction should commence in 2018.

Top Golf will be coming to the area behind Costco that was previously the Practice Tee. The popular location in Scottsdale includes a state of the art driving range, a bar, and restaurant with entertainment center and television screens is to be open by fall 2017.

More stores are also coming to Arizona Pavilions by the end of the year including Ross, TJ Maxx, Homegoods and Petco to open this year. All the new stores are relocations from outside of Marana, which means new sales tax revenues for the town.

To read the full story by Brad Allis in Marana News click here.

The visionary concept for creating a new Downtown Marana and Marana Main Street, took a step closer to reality for the Town of Marana recently when Marana purchased 42.93 acres of land for $1.6 million ($0.86 PSF) from Reyher Partnership of San Diego, CA. The property is located on both sides of Marana Main Street between Grier Road and Civic Center Drive. Downtown Marana is often discussed as an opportunity to create a “heart and soul” for the town that would tie the greater Marana community together. Challenges to building a new downtown include four separate and distinct entitlements and different owners with each having their own vision of what Marana Main Street should be. One of these owners, Reyher Partners selling its interest will help bring the scope of Marana Main Street together.

The heart of Marana historically was where regional farmers came together to share information and sell goods. It provided a sense of community within a vast agricultural area. Establishing and capturing a strong sense of place is again believed critical for Marana residents as well as for visitors. The municipal complex and health center are the first major investments in Downtown Marana. Major infrastructure upgrades are needed and improved access from I-10 must be developed and include Civic Center Drive from Barnett Road to N. Marana Main Street which will terminate at Tangerine Farms Road.

The area has multiple landowners who will play an important role in the implementation of the vision for Downtown Marana. Successful downtowns need more than infrastructure, they need people. The Downtown Activity Center will include a strong residential component that will create 24/7 activity that will help local businesses succeed. It is anticipated that the activities and establishments in this Activity Center will support the Tourism and Visitor Experience target industry. Downtown Marana as currently envisioned is a large Activity Center, identified as part of the Council-approved Single Central Business District. This area can include a variety of development areas tied together with unifying design features and a multimodal transportation network that might include a trolley or other form of transit and pedestrian system. Comprehensive planning and creative techniques will need to be employed to achieve “walk-ability” and a unified design theme.

According to the Town of Marana’s website, “the entitlements are administered through four separate specific plans, each with its own development regulations and conceptual development plan. The common theme among these plans is the right-of-way alignment, the public pedestrian spaces and conceptual building layout fronting the pedestrian spaces. The downtown area is intended to reflect the main street character found in many communities with retail uses on the ground level and residential and office uses allowed on the upper levels. The buildings would be situated on the front lot line allowing for a seamless transition from the pedestrian to the built environment. Tree lined streets, casual seating areas, sidewalk cafes and small park-like amenities help create the desired look and feel.”

Marana is starting to see development interest in some of these areas and realizes that this is an opportunity to look at these four distinct planning areas comprehensively.

Three new business parks are opening in the area of I-10 and Tangerine Road with two important businesses committed to space. On the west side of the freeway, construction has begun on a new facility for Ventana Medical Systems, which will be part of the Tangerine Commerce Park. To the east of I-10, near Trico Electric, will be both Marana Technology Campus and Marana Business Park, with Towers International going into this area

For additional information on this sale see RED Comp #3085. For details on Marana Downtown District see Downtown Marana Activity Center.

La Estancia adds a 25.5 acre commercial block

SBH La Estancia, an affiliate of Sunbelt Holdings, a privately-held Scottsdale developer, acquired a 25.55 acre commercial block platted at La Estancia for $1.012 million. In August 2013, Sunbelt purchased the 480-acre La Estancia master planned community at the northwest corner of Kolb and I-10 for a complimentary mix of uses in this Southeast Tucson metro area.

Sunbelt paid $17.1 million for the 480-acre master-planned community, block platted for residential, commercial, light industrial, public facilities, recreational and open space. This 25.55 acres platted commercial completes the land acquisition from Tucson developer, R.B Price & Company (Richard Price, managing member).

When fully developed La Estancia will consist of 1,500 – 2,000 homes, 51 acres commercial use and 24 acres of light industrial space, plus parks and open spaces; there’s even 10-acres reserved for an elementary school in the Vail School District. The community sold with 664 platted lots of varied sizes, ranging from 40’ x 110’ to 65’ x 110’.

Sunbelt has now completed the infrastructure along the two main roads and reports dry utilities are in place, and storm drains should be finished by the end of this month or early April. Homebuilders should be excited as they finish up in other areas, La Estancia will be a welcomed addition to pent up demand for lot inventory in the area.

Will White with Land Advisors Organization of Tucson handled the original transaction for buyer and seller, La Estancia 525, LLC (Richard Price, managing member). Land Advisors Organization will also be handling the marketing and disposition of lots to homebuilders. To learn more White can be reached at 520.514.7454.

Login to also see RED Comp #2490 for additional information.

Marana Main Street making progress quickly

Boffo Properties, LLC purchased block 1 at Marana Main Street at the northeast corner of Sandario Road and Denny Street in Northwest Tucson for $305,000 ($7.04 PSF). The buyer is Dr. Michael Fair, DDS who plans to build a 4,000 – 5,000-square-foot dental office to owner occupy on the 43,323-square-foot pad.

Marana Main Street Project is a new 28-acre planned project in the Town of Marana just north of the Marana Town Hall and Municipal Complex that will be the gateway to Marana and a visible link from Interstate-10 to the Town of Marana, with access and exposure from the interstate and associated exit #236.

The new development includes an attractive combination of retail, dining, office, and lodging facilities. A 70 foot tall monument sign with a 12′ x 18′ double sided digital display will be a beacon to Marana Main Street and the Town of Marana and be available for use by participating project businesses.

The developer, Marana Main Street Development Corporation, a Tucson-based company (Chris Monson, manager) also has under construction an 8,000-10,000-square-foot multi-tenant retail building for lease and is under discussion with a hotel group that has shown interest in the site. McDonald’s was first to open at Marana Main Street last fall.

Ben Craney, Scott Soelter and Dave Loui of NAI Horizon in Tucson represented the seller and are handling leasing for the project. To learn more contact Craney at 520.603.4013, Soelter at 520.204.6969 and Loui at 520.603.4013.

Login to also see RED Comp #2545 for additional information.

[mepr-show rules=”58038″] La Estancia – Sale date: 1/30/2015. We were unable to determine down payment, if any. APN: 141-36-695

Marana Main Street dental office lot – 1/30/2015. Buyer paid $183,000 down and financed the balance with new loan(s). APN:217-28-020G a split of 217-28-020C [/mepr-show]