Sahuarita, Arizona — Wadsworth Development Group in partnership with Accelerated Development Services held a ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremony Monday at The Crossing at Sahuarita Shopping Center in Sahuarita, Arizona.

The 150,000-square-foot center boasts a Sprouts Farmers Market, TJ Maxx, PetSmart, Beall’s Outlet, and several restaurants and shops to compliment the diverse tenant mix.  The project is located at the southeast corner of Nogales Highway and Abrego Drive in Sahuarita, Arizona, which is about 20 minutes south of Tucson.

Sahuarita Mayor, Tom Murphy cut the ribbon to the delight of the dozens of guests and spoke to the attendees.  “This is an exciting day for Sahuarita.  Things are heating up both figuratively and literally,” he said.  “It has always been the vision of the Town Council to be business friendly and think outside the box in how to get things done, and how to get more retail and jobs in the area.  This shopping center is one great example.”

The ownership group purchased the land in 2017 and soon developed the plans for the center, which spans 18 acres.  “I want to thank the entire team that made this project come to fruition,” said Kip Wadsworth, President of Wadsworth Development Group.  “From inception, to entitlements, zoning, construction and leasing the team, all worked tirelessly to meet deadlines and help the tenants open on time,” he added.

The Town of Sahuarita was instrumental in working through the steps in the development process to bring about the final project in record time.  “It was a pleasurable and enjoyable experience working with all town staff members from top to bottom in planning and zoning. Each and every town department provided a smooth transition from the start to the end of our entitlement process.  The vision for Sahuarita Crossing was an expedited and smooth process which could not have made without their extra efforts,” said Trey Eakin, Senior Vice President of Accelerated Development Services.

Velocity Retail Group leads the leasing team for the ownership group which also includes Brenna Lacey and Kevin Volk of The Volk Company as co-listing agents.  “The shopping center has experienced high customer volumes since Sprouts opened at the end of February. We will have additional tenant announcements soon that should please the residents in the area,” said Dave Cheatham, President of Velocity Retail Group.

TUCSON, Arizona — VEREIT, Inc. (NYSE:VER) (Glenn Rufrano, Chief Executive Officer), a real estate investment trust (REIT), purchased a 56,000-square-foot retail pad at Houghton Town Center in Tucson, Arizona for $10.9 million ($195 PSF).

The building, located to the east of Super Walmart, was built for and fully occupied by Ross Dress for Less®, T.J. Maxx® and Petco® that opened in 2017 at 9236 – 9250 S Houghton Road in Tucson’s Vail area.

The Ryan Companies US, Inc. (John Strittmatter, Chairman/Southwest) was the seller, developer and general contractor of this retail project at Houghton Town Center and purchased the 6.13 acres for $1.98 million ($7.39PSF) a year ago. See Real Estate Daily News Houghton Town Center Expands Footprint

Ryan Companies US, Inc. is a 3rd generation, family-owned national developer, designer, capital investment consultant, builder and real estate manager specializing in fully integrated solutions for over 75 years.

To learn more, see RED Comp #5457.

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.