PHOENIX-In the wake of its winning bid of $149.5 million for 269 acres from the Arizona State Land Department, a local company is pursuing entitlements for development. Going by the temporary name of Oasis at Desert Ridge, the project will contain 2,800 condominium and apartment units, 900 single-family homes and a 20,000-sf to 30,000-sf neighborhood shopping center.
The project borders the high-end Desert Ridge Marketplace and fronts Loop 101 between 40th Street and Tatum Boulevard. The retail development is planned for three acres at the intersection of Deer Valley Road and 40th Street. Construction costs have not yet been estimated.
"It'll take us about a year to get through the final entitlement process and get to construction," says Rick Burton, principal with Rightpath Limited Development Group. He and partners Danny Hendon and Robert Banovac paid a record-setting price for the land. He says it will take three to five years to complete the development.
Burton tells GlobeSt.com that Rightpath will handle all the development although he acknowledges the team's been approached by nationally known apartment developers interested in a joint venture for the high-density portion. "We're considering that possibility," he adds.
The land's location near a major retail shopping center and the Mayo Clinic definitely had its appeal, but Burton points out that a major benefit is it adjoins 60 acres earmarked for a future city park. "The adjoining property was up for bid as well. We were there to make sure the City of Phoenix would get it," he says. "We were willing to bid higher on it, if we needed to, to make sure they got it. That park will be a phenomenal amenity."
Architects and general contractors are still being selected for Oasis at Desert Ridge. Zoning attorney Nick Wood of Snell & Wilmer is handling the entitlement phase on behalf of Rightpath, which was uncontested for the land at the state auction, led by Mark Winkleman, commissioner for the Arizona State Land Department.
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