City Council to re-address $15 million Peed Property and alternative City Hall sites Tuesday

Tomorrow is a big day for the city of Maricopa. It’s a big day for members of the City Council, a big day for city staff and a big day for city taxpayers. The primary purpose of the Special Meeting of the Maricopa City Council scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Maricopa High School Room 1 is to decide whether or not to complete the $15 million purchase of the Peed Property. And, if not, to consider six alternative sites to house the future City Hall complex.

Following is information garnered from the proposals submitted and supplemented with information from the sellers’ real estate representatives:

PEED PROPERTY
Owner – Estate of Dennis Peed
Seller’s Real Estate Broker or Representative – Stephen Baker, AMS Real Estate
Location – 1.5 miles west of John Wayne Pkwy., north side of SR 238 (Pinal County; not within the city limits)
Size – 150.6 acres (12.1 acres already purchased)
Cost / Acre – $97,000
Total Land Cost – $14.6 million ($1.2 million already spent on initial 12.1 acres)
Terms – None
Utilities on Site – Electric, telephone
Amount of Property in Flood Plain – “The whole freaking city’s in the flood plain,” Baker said. “Any parcel you pick you’re going to do some dirt work.” Baker did not know how much of the property was buildable and how much was in the flood plain, saying, “I’m a realtor, not a land know-it-all.” Baker indicated that the owner, the late Dennis Peed, previously had an ALTA survey completed, and “I think the city has done an updated ALTA on it, but you need to talk to an engineer about that.”
Comments – “If the city continues to grow as expected, one day you’re going to have 300 people working for the city,” Baker said. “Why do you want to push all that work traffic through the residential area?” In addition to moving some traffic to the SR 238 corridor, Baker also noted that it will encourage economic development in the area.

ALTERNATIVE #1 – BRAD BUTZ PROPERTY
Owner – Brad Butz
Seller’s Real Estate Broker or Representative – Tom Bradbury, Re/Max Supreme
Location – 2 miles west of John Wayne Pkwy., .25 miles south of SR 238 (Pinal County; not within city limits)
Size – 80 acres
Cost / Acre – $95,000
Total Land Cost – $7.6 million
Terms – 50% down, balance over five years
Amount of Property in Flood Plain – Unknown (“The Brad Butz property is 15 foot higher than the Peed Property,” according to Bradbury.)
Utilities at Site – None
Comments – “Number one, it’s about to be annexed,” Bradbury said. “It’s only 80 acres versus 150 so the price of the property is $7 million less. It is on major route, Amarillo Valley Road.” Bradbury said a neighboring developer to the east has said he’d “help, if not pay for, a grade separation across the railroad.” Bradbury also said the owner will pay to have anything removed and the property “will look like total desert when turned over to the city.” In summary, Bradbury said, “The big thing is it’s a totally flat piece of property that has no issues as far as water problems or any environmental problems.”

ALTERNATIVE #2 – EL DORADO HOLDINGS PROPERTY
Owner – Eagle Shadow, L.L.C.
Seller’s Real Estate Broker or Representative – K. M. Ingram, El Dorado Holdings, Inc.
Location – Maricopa-Casa Grande Hwy. & White & Parker Road (within the city limits)
Size – 100 acres
Cost / Acre – $65,000
Total Land Cost – $6.5 million
Terms – Available with higher price
Utilities at Site – All
Amount of Property in Flood Plain– Unknown

ALTERNATIVE #3 – HBE FARMS PROPERTY
Owners – HBE Farms (Helen & Rudolph Echeverria)
Seller’s Real Estate Broker or Representative – Tom Gardner, Gardner Real Estate
Location – SEC Murphy Road and Farrell Road (within the city limits)
Size – up to 200 acres
Cost / Acre – $100,000
Total Land Cost – up to $20 million depending on size
Terms – Negotiable
Utilities – Electric, gas, telephone
Amount of Property in Flood Plain – None (In their proposal to the City, the Echeverrias wrote, “We are pleased to report that our farm is ‘high and dry!'”)
Comments – “The Location – we’re ‘high and dry,'” Helen Echeverria exclaimed. “We’re not at city center but in a good position to serve the north, south, east and west depending on how the city continues to grow.” Regarding the city’s size requirements, Echeverria said, “We’ve heard 60 to 140 acres, which we can easily accommodate.”

“We can be as big as your want to be – or as small as you want to be,” the Echeverria’s broker, Tom Gardner, said. “You can do with this site whatever your heart desires.”

ALTERNATIVE #4 – KELLY/DUNN PROPERTY
Owners – Shirley M. & Owen J. Kelly Trust (88.98 acres) and W.A. & Dorothy J. Dunn (14 acres)
Seller’s Real Estate Broker or Representative – Owners (Owen Kelly)
Location – SEC Maricopa-Casa Grande Hwy. and Porter Road (in process of being annexed)
Size – 103 acres
Cost / Acre – $97,000
Total Land Cost – $10 million
Terms – None
Utilities at Site – All
Amount of Property in Flood Plain – Unknown (“I’d speculate all of it,” Kelly said.)
Comment – In their proposal, Kelly sited paved access, accessible utilities and the central location of the property “giving the community equal access to hospitals, law enforcement and city government plus a huge energy savings.”

The sellers are pledging to donate $225,000 to a local Maricopa charity(ies) “to be determined by the City Council and the People of Maricopa.” According to Kelly, “We feel that, since we are pledging monies to charities, you should disclose or make it a public record of the commissions other licensed agents are asking or will receive. After all, regardless whether the commissions are paid by the seller you are still spending taxpayer dollars, and the public taxpayer has a right to know where his tax dollar is going.”

ALTERNATIVE #5 – STEVE MURRAY PROPERTY
Owner – Shaun Ridge, LLC (Ed Peters)
Seller’s Real Estate Broker or Representative – Steve Murray, Pro America Real Estate
Location – East of John Wayne Pkwy., south of railroad tracks; property borders railroad easement on the north (within the city limits)
Size – 43 acres
Cost / Acre – $291,000
Total Land Cost – $12.5 million
Terms – TBD (cash price would be lower)
Utilities at Site – All
Amount of Property in Flood Plain – None
Comment – “The location, of course, is huge,” Murray said about the 43 acre-parcel. “It’s within the city limits, all the utilities are there including septic and water, and it has frontage to John Wayne Parkway.”

ALTERNATIVE #6 – WARREN & McDAVID PROPERTY
Owner – Wildcat Capital Managers, Inc.
Real Estate Broker or Representative – Wendy Nelson, Long Realty
Location – SWC Warren & McDavid; 5 miles west of John Wayne Pkwy., .75 miles south of SR 238 (Pinal County, not within the city limits)
Size – 158.3 acres
Price / Acre – $44,000
Total Land Cost – $7.0 Million
Terms – Additional 30 days COE with price increase to $46,300 per acre ($7.3 million) or additional 60 days COE with price increase to $49,000 per acre ($7.8 million)
Utilities at Site – Electric, telephone, 3 wells
Amount of Property in Flood Plain – Unknown
Comment – “It’s slightly removed from the highway, eliminating traffic conditions and highway issues,” Nelson said. “There is so much growth in the county in that area it seems like the ideal location.”

Tuesday’s meeting, like all City Council meetings, is open to the public. Residents who wish to have a voice in where the city’s municipal complex is located and how – and how much – taxpayer funds are invested in the project, will have that opportunity. The meeting starts at 7 p.m.