A canvas of 12,000 acres of land on the southeast side will become a master-planned city capable of housing up to 250,000 people under an agreement signed Friday (Jan. 11) between the Arizona State Land Department and developer Westcor.
 Westcor’s plan will straddle I-10 and will border Davis-Monthan to the east. When it is complete it will be able to house 250,000 people. |
Besides the principles, those participating in the public ceremony marking the agreement were Tucson City Councilwoman Shirley Scott, whose ward includes the area, and Mayor Bob Walkup.
Westcor’s vision for the project is for a variety of uses, from residential neighborhoods and regional shopping centers to workplaces and recreation sites.
"The overall vision is to create a sustainable, economically viable community, attractive to both existing and future residents and businesses," Westcor said in a statement.
Under the agreement, the first goal is for Westcor to identify a portion of the land for the State Land Department to put up for auction in about a year. After that, the state and Westcor would continue analyzing parcels for subsequent auctions. Once the first parcel is sold to a developer, the winning bidder would still have to do its due diligence and site planning.
By law, state trust lands must be sold or leased for their highest and best appraised use to the highest bidder at auctions. The money raised goes to support the state’s public schools. Since the trust was established in 1910 as part of the process for Arizona statehood, more than $2 billion has been put into the schools’ permanent fund.
The 12,000 acres included in the master planning permit issued by the State Land Department borders Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Rita Ranch, the University of Arizona’s Science and Technology Park, Rancho del Lago, Rocking K Ranch, the Union Pacific Railroad and extends along both sides of Interstate 10 near Houghton Road.
"Planning at this scale will benefit everyone," Arizona State Land Commissioner Mark Winkleman said in a statement at Friday’s signing. "Working collaboratively, we will create a vision for the future of southeast Tucson that balances new residential communities, open spaces and economic development opportunities."
Scott said Westcor told her it intends to use data that was gathered in previous planning efforts in the area and that it will invite public participation and full discussion for its vision for the use of the land.
"I am confident that our combined efforts, and through this partnership, we will bring to planning table the many contrasting interests and voices that will make for a first-class plan," she said.
Walkup said the public-private partnership brings more resources to the table "to plan a fully integrated, functioning community with the highest quality of life."
Westcor, a Phoenix-based division of the Macerich Co., started as a shopping center developer almost 40 years ago. One of its earlier projects was Scottsdale Fashion Square. In Tucson, the company is known for its development of the lifestlye center, La Encantada, which opened in 2004 at Skyline Drive and Campbell Avenue in the Catalina Foothills.
The company has expanded beyond shopping centers and is currently developing portions of a 3,555-acre master planned community in Surprise named Prasada. Two years ago, the company won approval to integrate high-rise towers at the landmark Biltmore Fashion Park in Phoenix for a new hotel and office and residential space.
For Tucson’s southeast side, Westcor’s team will be headed by Mitch Stallard, vice president of development, who has worked in the industry 27 years and was the lead developer on La Encantada and previously worked a 4,000-acre master planned community in Las Vegas.
Westcor has enlisted five consulting partners to help with the master planning:
• EDAW, a San Francisco-based urban design and planning firm whose recent work included leading a multi-disciplinary team to work on a redevelopment project to support London’s bid for hosting the Olympic games and working in Denver on the nation’s largest urban infill project, transforming the 4,700-acre former Stapleton airport in a mixed-use community.
• Jacobs Carter Burgess was selected for its regional knowledge, with 180 employees in Phoenix. The company is working on master planning and development projects in Maricopa County, Buckeye and Sacramento, Calif.
• Wood/Patel, a Phoenix civil engineering firm that includes a speciality in water and wastewater engineering. In Tucson, it is currently working on projects including the Mission San Augustín/Convento and Tucson Origins Park west of downtown and the expansion of the Omni Tucson National Resort and Spa.
• Greenberg Traurig law firm.
• Economists Elliot Pollack and Mark Baud. Pollack, who now has his own firm, was the chief economist for Valley National Bank of Arizona for 14 years. He specializes in real estate trends. Boud is the principal and found of Real Estate Economics and specialize in research on the relationships between jobs and housing.
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