Four Seasons at Rancho del Lago, a Vail-area active adult lifestyle community developed by K. Hovnanian Homes, already has a master plan that includes an 18-hole golf course, nine lakes and a golf club. Now the development also has Arizona’s largest putting green.
With a 30-foot Saguaro cactus as its centerpiece, the 37,000-square-foot green has 18 putting holes, including a designated green with two holes exclusively for chipping, complete with manicured sand traps.
 The giant putting green covers some 37,000 square feet and has 18 putting holes. |
The green, designed by Toby Bourguet, president of Tucson Turf Waterless Lawns, uses the same artificial turf as the Dallas Cowboys stadium. The turf has a dual-color blade system to give it a freshly mowed appearance, while saving nearly a million gallons of water a year compared to what would be required to maintain an acre of grass in the desert.
"The Four Seasons putting green is more than three times larger than the biggest we can identify in the state of Arizona," Bourguet said. "Designing and building it was an incredible challenge. Each phase was a process in itself. Now that it’s finished, we’re very proud of this landmark putting green."
Four Seasons, a gated community that will have 522 homes when completed, also includes two pools, sports courts, an events lawn, and walking trails. Its floor plans range from 1,200 to more than 2,800 square feet. Prices start from the $170s.
For more information, visit www.khov.com/TucsonActiveAdult or call 877-BUY-KHOV.
Pima County, Sahuarita lead pack in building permits
So far this year, Pima County and Sahuarita lead the pack in the number of single-family home permits issued, according to John Strobeck of Bright Future Business consultants.
While total permits issued everywhere in Pima County through May were just a little more than half of what they were by this time a year ago (1,537 vs. 2,596), Strobeck said 59 percent of them were issued in Pima County and Sahuarita.
In his June 2008 issue of the Southern Arizona Housing Market Letter, Strobeck said Pima County has issued 509 permits through May, followed by Sahuarita, with 404 permits. So far this year, the City of Tucson has issued 319 permits, southern Pinal County had 118, Oro Valley reported 108 and Marana trailed with 81.
Despite this year’s lag in building permits compared to 2007, Strobeck said he thinks there will be a steady increase through the year and that total permits will reach 4,000 by the end of 2008.
Strobeck also noted a continuing slide in average and median sales prices for both new and resale homes. The new home average sales price in May was $262,877, dropping nearly $43,000 from the average sales price of $305,824 in May 2007. The median new home sales price in May was $232,963 — down more than $16,000 from the median new home price of $249,526 in May 2007.
Resale homes fared little better in May. The average resale price was $245,548, down more than $20,000 from the average resale price of $266,831 in May 2007. And the median resale price in May dropped to $195,000, also down nearly $20,000 from the median resale price of $214,000 in May 2007.
Was there a real estate bubble back in 2005, when prices and sales were booming upward? Strobeck acknowledged that he didn’t think so at the time. The reasons? First, investors were signing those affidavits promising they would be living in the properties they were buying. Unfortunately, Strobeck said, "the affidavits meant nothing to many of the real estate investors. And, as a consequence, many of them have lost a great deal of money and have had their credit ruined."
Second, Strobeck said, all those buyers were getting financing. But who would have thought that in the first five months of 2008, 13 percent of all resale home sales would be foreclosure sales? Strobeck said foreclosure sales typically make up just 1 percent of the market. He predicts that 2010 will be very high in foreclosures when the five-year ARMS issued in 2005 become due.
Kevin B. Howard moves to new Oro Valley office
Kevin B. Howard Architects has moved into its new office and studio in Plaza de Vida at 8339 N. Oracle Road, Suite 110.
The award-winning architectural firm doubled its space at its new location featuring 4,412 square feet — 3,362 square feet on its first floor and another 750 on a second floor. The firm had outgrown its previous 2,260-square-foot location at 4547 E. Fort Lowell Road, Suite 421.
The firm purchased 0.46 of an acre of land from Pahlmeyer LLC in early 2006 and built a new office and studio there. In December 2007, the Southern Arizona American Society of Interior Designers named the firm as the "best local architect." The firm employs 10, including three registered architects, and is known for its high-end contemporary home designs.
The firm’s website is www.kbharchitect.com and its phone number is (520) 322-6800.
Midfirst Bank buys land in Steam Pump Village
Midfirst Bank, among the 100 largest U.S. banks, purchased 1.47 acres of land for $1,150,000 at Steam Pump Village on Oracle Road, just north of First Avenue, for construction of a bank branch.
Midfirst’s primary markets are Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Tulsa and western Oklahoma. The bank also has commercial real estate lending offices in Chicago, Houston, New York, Southern California and an affiliate in Denver.
The bank has yet to solidify its Tucson plans, according to Daniel Adams, the bank’s first vice president in Oklahoma City. He said Midfirst currently is expanding into the Phoenix market and is "selectively acquiring sites in Tucson as good opportunities arise."
Steam Pump Village is a 40-acre mixed-use commercial development featuring California Design Center, Carpet One, Chili’s, Loewen Windows & Design, and a new Wingate Hotel. The planned Midfirst Bank will be part of Phase III of the development. Brenna Lacey and Dave Hammack of Volk Company Commercial Real Estate represented the landlord, Evergreen-Steam Pump LLC.
Local real estate pros buy Prudential Foothills agency
Prudential Foothills Real Estate, 64 N. Harrison Road, has been purchased by a team of local veteran real estate professionals — Frank "Pancho" Apodaca and Fawn and Mel Whitford.
The firm, which operates in Tucson, Phoenix, Sierra Vista, Green Valley and Casa Grande, plans to double in size during the coming year with two new offices in Tucson and additional offices in Sierra Vista and Green Valley, according to Fawn Whitford.
Prudential Foothills Real Estate has launched a recruiting effort for sales professionals to support its growth plans. For more information, visit the website at www.prudentialfoothillstucson.com or call (520) 577-8333.
E-mail items for this feature to eegger@azbiz.com. Real Estate & Construction appears weekly.
Comments