The dusty desert fades away at the entrance of Maricopa Meadows’ lush lakeside entrance. Inside, mature trees and 44 acres of emerald grass wind around more than 1,600 homes.
Today, Maricopa Meadows is the oasis its developers envisioned, but not long ago, the community suffered.
The once-lush grass turned brown; residents worried sulfates in the soil would cause their foundations to crumble; and poor drainage allowed mosquitos to plague the neighborhood.
Like other Maricopa communities, the housing crash also threw many homes into foreclosure, leaving massive vacancies and little money for the homeowners association to maintain the expansive community.
“Aesthetically, it was not a very appealing place, especially in the summer time,” said Eric Schmidt, the HOA’s board president.
But with a new management company operating the community, new landscapers maintaining the grounds, and with more homes staying occupied, Maricopa Meadows has not just improved its aesthetics – it has positioned itself for a strong future.
“It used to be an area where it seemed like people were intentionally avoiding purchasing there, and the values seemed to be a little lower, but I don’t really see that as much anymore,” said Dayv Morgan, a Maricopa Realtor with HomeSmart Success.
He added, “It’s better maintained, the yards are kept up, and there is a higher occupancy rate … I notice a difference, and I think people do, too.”
On Oct. 1, Tempe-based Associa Arizona took over management of Maricopa Meadows. The community is the first in Maricopa to be managed by Associa Arizona. FirstService Residential previously managed the community.
Jake Hoffman, the company’s director of client relationships, said Associa Arizona aims to help the community think strategically and plan for the future and also wants to provide an increased level of customer service.
“We believe every community deserves exceptional stewardship and every homeowner deserves to be treated with respect,” Hoffman said.
In just the first month of managing Maricopa Meadows, Associa Arizona has already implemented a newly-designed and better-optimized website, created secure online voting for annual meetings and launched an onboarding process to better understand the community to match the right community manager with the residents.
Schmidt said the board selected Associa Arizona because they wanted to improve communication and relationships with residents to increase their engagement in the community.
“It’s the only way for a community to grow and move forward with new ideas … you don’t want a board with four or five people saying ‘This is the direction,’ without the residents’ input,” Schmidt said.
Eric Lacz has lived in the community since early 2011 and said he has noticed the positive changes.
“They’ve really worked to make the whole Meadows look like a nicer community again,” Lacz said.
Some other additions to the community include shade covers and LED lighting in playground areas, Pickleball courts, half-court basketball and a Disc Golf course that is among the top five in Arizona. The community also cut down on water use and better preserved its block walls by converting several acres of grass into desert landscape.
Schmidt credits the prudence of previous HOA boards with the current board’s ability to make additions to the community.
