20 YEARS: Visionaries

Monty Ortman
El Dorado Holdings co-founder, Vintage Partners principal

Why did you decide to invest in Maricopa?
In the late 1980s, my partner and I had just started our company El Dorado Holdings. We saw the increase of land values in the Valley and thought that a good business plan would be to identify other opportunities for land development to provide less expensive housing located within a reasonable distance from Sky Harbor Airport. Our search led us to Maricopa, and the rest is history.

What are the biggest surprises of where Maricopa is today versus where you thought it’d be 20 years ago?
I am thrilled to see the tremendous growth, residential communities, opportunities in education, retail, medical and expanded services. Often, I come across individuals who either live in the city or have relatives living there and they comment about how much they enjoy living in Maricopa.

What do you hope for the city over the next 20 years?
I hope that as the town grows, the residents of Maricopa are able to continue to retain a strong sense of local community that everyone has come to know, love and appreciate about Maricopa.

What is your favorite memory of the early days of Maricopa?
One of my most vivid memories that is fresh in my mind, even today, is the day we cut the ribbon on the new Maricopa Road, the 347, which expanded Maricopa Road from a two-lane road to an expanded four-lane divided highway. We had worked on this project for over 10 years and the opening of that road made the dream a reality.

Rick Anderson
Orbitel Communications Co-Founder

Why did you decide to invest in Maricopa?
I was approached by Rancho El Dorado Holdings about supplying video and internet services because Cox had passed on the opportunity. I thank them every chance I get.

What are the biggest surprises of where Maricopa is today versus where you thought it’d be 20 years ago?
I’m still having a hard time comprehending the change. When I made my first visit to the area, there was not a single home — they had just begun grading. Once things got moving, it was truly amazing to see homes being built at the rate that they were.

What do you hope for the city over the next 20 years?
I hope that it can continue the journey of becoming a model city.

What is your favorite memory of the early days of Maricopa?
I have two great memories: The first was seeing the Orbitel sign turn from black in the daytime to white at nighttime. I guess once that was in place, I felt that we were a real part of the community. The second was going to the cable meetings and reminding Cox that we had twice as many HD channels as them and faster internet speed.

Larry Miller
Matrix Equities CEO

Why did you decide to invest in Maricopa?
We recognized in 2002 that Maricopa, before incorporation, was on the edge of future growth. We were excited to bring Maricopa Meadows to the community, followed that project with Tortosa and are now in process of building West Maricopa Village.

What are the biggest surprises of where Maricopa is today versus where you thought it’d be 20 years ago?
We have been surprised at how well the city has managed growth while maintaining its rural character. City staff and officials we’ve dealt with are considerate, cooperative and professional. Maricopa is a very pleasant place to do business.

What do you hope for the city over the next 20 years?
We hope to see more employment-based development to keep the community growth stable.

What is your favorite memory of the early days of Maricopa?
Working with the Tohono O’odham Nation, hunting in the pecan groves near the Santa Rosa Wash and lunch at the Headquarters Café.

Scott Bartle
InMaricopa founder and publisher

Why did you decide to invest in Maricopa?
I was introduced to Maricopa in 2000 by my dad, who was part of the team that developed Southern Dunes Golf Club. The growth projections for the community in the early 2000s were off the charts, and I wanted to take advantage of that. The hard part was deciding what type of business to start because the community was in need of everything.

What are the biggest surprises of where Maricopa is today versus where you thought it’d be 20 years ago?
Despite the tremendous growth, it’s nothing compared to the early projections. But Maricopa has overcome a lot. It was the posterchild for the economic and housing boom and also of the subsequent bust; and now it’s back on the growth leaderboard again. I am surprised larger employers have not yet located here.

What do you hope for the city over the next 20 years?
I hope the city lands major employers or fully commits to being the best bedroom community in the world. I also hope the electorate chooses smart, sensible and selfless servant leaders to represent us on the city council. We have a professional manager of the city, which wasn’t always the case, and when that is complemented by policymakers who are driven by the success of the community more than themselves, magic happens.

What is your favorite memory of the early days of Maricopa?
The barn dances in Sonny Dunn’s barn were great fun, as was having my sister and brother-in-law, who bought the house next door to me in Rancho in 2004, as neighbors.

The October edition of InMaricopa Magazine is in Maricopa mailboxes and available online.