The Sarver Family Inducted into Tucson Real Estate Legends

Legends award Sarver
(l to r) Greg Boccardo, 2016 CCIM Chapter President; George Larsen, CCIM (Legends co-founder); Robert and Penny Sarver (Legends 2016 Inductees); and Jim Marian, CCIM (Legends co-founder)

Six years ago, the Southern Arizona CCIM Chapter realized that the newest generation of commercial real estate brokers and agents might not know of the many contributions of the prior generations of real estate practitioners and set about to make our real estate history an important part of the culture and fabric of the industry.

Many of Tucson’s pioneering real estate families are still with us and some of Tucson’s Real Estate Legends are still active and can recount their experiences through interesting and sometime hilarious, real estate stories.

Last year, Dan Lyons and Andy Romo were honored with induction into Tucson’s Real Estate Legends by CCIM members, Jim Marian, CCIM, and George Larsen, CCIM, who began the tradition.

And this year, at the 25th Annual CCIM Forecast Meeting, Robert Sarver and Family received the honor.

THE SARVER FAMILY HISTORY

The First Generation

Patriarch Jack Sarver grew up in Flint, Michigan. At the age of 11, he began to work at his father’s gas station. He attended the University of Michigan but had to quit after his freshman year for financial reasons. He returned to working with his father at the family gas station. But, this young man had a bigger vision for his future.

One year later, Jack borrowed $500 and began a tire retreading business. With his hard work, he turned that business into the largest tire retreading company in Michigan. He earned enough to support his two sisters, and he sent his brother to dental school. Jack’s initial success in Michigan began a family legacy that continues today here in Tucson, in banking, in the family’s continuing involvement in real estate and in the Sarver family giving generously to many different Tucson causes.

In 1947, Jack met Irene on a double date. Irene was a young teacher, working in an inner city school district. It was love at first sight. Jack and Irene married that same year and had their first child Gary in 1949. Unfortunately, Gary died three and a half years later. Daughters Betty Anne and Ellen Gail also came into the world while Jack and Irene lived in Flint, Michigan.

Jack’s entrepreneurial success continued. He started an auto and home supply store. He developed the Auto-Rama Hotel, which became the largest hotel in Michigan. Jack, together with partners, then began to develop shopping centers and apartments in Flint. In 1948, he founded and served as President of Flint Savings and Loan.

In 1960, Jack was asked to relocate to Tucson to finance and develop the Desert Inn Hotel in downtown Tucson. Irene was shocked at this sudden turn of events. Her family and friends all lived in the Flint, Michigan area. She cried for days but reality was that Irene had so much love for Jack that she would follow him anywhere. So they both agreed to make the move to Tucson on the condition that the family would return to Flint if Irene did not like life in Arizona. Jack, Irene, and the girls moved into the Country Club Apartments at 6th and Country Club. They immediately became involved in our community, and Irene fell in love with Tucson. Shortly thereafter, son Robert was born.

Jack opened and ran the Desert Inn. In 1962, he founded and served as President and Chairman of American Savings and Loan, located at Casas Adobes Plaza. Son Robert began working at American S&L while still in high school. In 1965, Jack developed the Aztec Inn on Alvernon. Room rates at the Aztec in 1965 were $7.50/night, with free TV, direct dial room phones and Tucson’s first Olympic sized pool.

In 1969, Jack developed Tucson’s first Howard Johnson’s hotel and around that same time, purchased the downtown Redondo towers out of foreclosure.

The most well-known Sarver hotel development was built in 1971 at the southeast corner of Speedway and Campbell. It was the Plaza International Hotel. The U of A had just opened its medical school, and the Plaza Hotel provided facilities for medical meetings and university conferences. Jack also was a key advocate of the Downtown Convention Center and helped shape our downtown cityscape. He worked hard to promote tourism for the region.

Irene was a devoted wife, mother, and a strong minded business partner with Jack. She used her boundless energy and talents to help many Tucson philanthropic organizations, such as Jewish Family and Children Services, the National Council of Jewish Women, the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, and the Brewster Center for Domestic Violence. She was also an original board member of the Arizona Cancer Center. Irene loved Tucson, and our community loved her back.

Jack died in 1979 at 58 years old. Our city lost one of its real estate legends. Irene remained a positive force in the Tucson community until her passing in July of last year.

The Robert Sarver Saga

Son Robert inherited his father’s ambition and then some. He graduated in three years from the University of Arizona in 1982. At the age of 23, he founded National Bank of Arizona, which he subsequently sold to Zions Bancorp. He later founded Alliance Bank, where he is now Chairman of the Board.

Robert knew real estate. He founded Southwest Value Partners in 1990 at the depth of the RTC Recession. That was both gutsy and courageous, and the result was to start an investment company that has prospered over the past 25 years, with 3,000 apartments, 6 million square feet of offices and shopping centers, 7,000 hotel rooms and over 10,000 acres of land investments.

Robert is majority Owner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and recently formed a group that took over control of a professional Spanish soccer team.

In 1998, Robert and his wife Penny made a very substantial gift to the University of Arizona Heart Center. The Heart Center was thereafter renamed the Sarver Heart Center. Robert and Penny described their generous donation more as an investment rather than a gift; an investment made in honor of his father Jack, who not only experienced life saving heart surgery, but also counseled patients who were considering new heart procedures and were scared.

We are proud to honor The Sarver Family for both their business contribution and endless community contributions made to our community. The family truly lives out the family motto that has been passed down over several generations. That motto is: If you live in a community and you take from that community, you must give back to that community. There is no question that Family members have been and continue to be true Legends to the Tucson community.