saguaro springs
Marana Spectrum – A Huge Retail “Power Center” coming in 2010
June 6, 2007 by Tucson Realtor - Michael Krotchie · 4 Comments
Adding to the explosive growth in Marana, AZ is the steady progress of a new 1.3 million square foot retail shopping center dubbed Marana Spectrum. It will be located at the southeast corner of Camino de Manana and Linda Vista Boulevard (east of I-10 between Cortaro and Avra Valley) and will cover nearly 170 acres. Estimated to have roughly 100 stores, Marana Spectrum will carry 3 “anchor stores” of at least 100,000 sqft, making the total square footage approximately equal to that of the Tucson Mall. That’s HUGE! Take a look at the proposed layout below:
The ball started rolling about one and a half years ago and plans have been released by the company in charge of the construction of the center (Kimco Developers Inc.). A brief excerpt from their site on what they do:
“Kimco Developers pursues the development of quality open-air retail shopping centers with national tenants, both on our own and through joint ventures with quality developers.
These projects will be supermarket anchored power centers, mixed-use or lifestyle centers.”
What is even more exciting about this center is the fact that it basically ensures a Twin Peaks interchange at I-10. With such a large retail center being built the Town of Marana will finally have to build the interchange that most Continental Ranch residents have been clamoring for over the past five years. It will also alleviate some of the congestion that has been building up during the past few years at the Cortaro Road interchange and also ease the traffic that will be generated from the pending subdivision of Saguaro Springs (read about it here).
The project is slated to begin in 2008 and be completed by 2010 (I wonder if that will coincide with the opening of the Twin Peaks interchange & the completion of the 3 year I-10 expansion project!).
As of yet no anchor stores have been announced but possible candidates will probably be stores along the lines of Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Circuit City, etc.
This is definitely going to be a huge step in Marana’s development plan and I can’t wait for it to be finished!
UPDATED 8/13/2007 – From today’s Arizona Daily Star article: “Plan update: The developer, Barclay Group, is still in negotiations with the town of Marana on a development agreement. The retail center’s opening is contingent upon the completion of the planned I-10/ Twin Peaks Road interchange. Construction on the interchange is expected to begin in early 2008. The Town Council approved a site plan for the center on Tuesday.”
UPDATED 3/14/2009 – Ground breaking should be any time now. The areas on both sides of I-10 have been cleared in preparation for construction to begin and two massive power poles have been erected just east of I-10 where the interchange will be; I assume to put power lines over I-10.
saguaro springs
Saguaro Springs – A New Subdivision Coming to the Tucson Real Estate Market
May 29, 2007 by Tucson Realtor - Michael Krotchie · 1 Comment
Greetings everyone! Just wanted to let you know about an upcoming subdivision in the Tucson Real Estate market, Saguaro Springs.
Saguaro Springs is a 2,500 home project being developed jointly by KB Homes and Empire Companies and is nestled behind Rattlesnake Pass by the intersection of Silverbell Road and Twin Peaks Road in NW Tucson. It is slated to be built in the same manner as the existing Gladden Farms subdivision north of Tangerine Road with large greenbelts, walking paths and tree-lined boulevards. A neighborhood Community Center will include a fitness center, pool area, youth center and banquet facilities with meeting rooms for casual or formal events. There are currently 6 floorplans being offered ranging from 1,422 to 2,273 square feet. More info here from the KB website.
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Responding to the quickly growing senior population in the Tucson real estate market, Saguaro Springs will also have a 600 home “‘age-restricted” section of homes in the NW corner of the development. Currently zoned R-6, which means 6,000 square-foot minimum lots, the “age-restricted” section may include smaller plots of land.
One of the main concerns with the current residents of Continental Ranch is the growing traffic headache. With only one freeway entrance readily accessible to most of the community (Cortaro Farms Road) the new additions of thousands of residents at Saguaro Springs will become a headache very quickly. The Town of Marana has already set money aside to improve Twin Peaks Road west of Continental Ranch. There has been talk of creating a new freeway entrance by extending Twin Peaks Road east to I-10 for several years but nothing has come of it yet. Hopefully they can figure something out soon!
On a side note, to pay for the improvements spurred by Saguaro Springs and all the recent and upcoming growth in Marana the Town is looking at implementing a higher property tax rate to generate more income.
I tried to include as much information in the included pictures as possible by showing where I took the pictures and in what direction, and also included a few panorama shots I assembled. Enjoy!
EDIT: 5/16/2008:
I spoke with a KB Sales Rep at one of their other communities and asked about Saguaro Springs, and I was told the community is on hold “until further notice” because of the softened housing market. If you drive out there you can see the models are up, main street is paved, and the land is graded. We shall see when and if this development is ever brought back to life!
UPDATE: 5/16/2008:
The Saguaro Springs master-planned is now on hold according to this just-published article from the Arizona Daily Star. Too bad since all the infra-structure of the community is already complete! We’ll have to wait and see where this one goes.
I've lived in the Old Pueblo for more than a decade and have an intimate knowledge of Tucson as well as the surrounding areas. I go hiking and traveling whenever I have a break from real estate (which isn't often enough!) and enjoy taking in an Arizona sunset while relaxing in my backyard. 
