Pancho Villa helped create successful Cobblestone Farms

Cobblestone Farms got some positive notice in the national press recently when Bristol Palin bought a house there in December. But the community had cache before the “Dancing with the Stars” celebrity waltzed onto on the scene.

Along with Rancho El Dorado across John Wayne Parkway, Cobblestone is one of the two Maricopa neighborhoods closest to the Valley, making it desirable for commuters who head north each morning.

All the houses were built by Fulton Homes, which gives the community a consistent style and quality; and Fulton didn’t scrimp on amenities. The palm-lined entrance drive is beautifully landscaped and leads up to a lake with fountains; there are several parks and playgrounds and a swimming pool.  According to Brad Hinton, development expeditor with the city of Maricopa, between 15 and 20 percent of the subdivision is open space.

The commercial area where Ace Hardware and Walgreens are located was part of the Cobblestone development so retail and restaurants are close. Bashas’, along with dozens more shops and restaurants, is just across Smith-Enke Road, within easy walking distance.

Another important plus for Cobblestone is there is no through traffic, which tends to be good for neighborhoods. Because of the way the triangular subdivision is situated, with open land on two sides and a highway on the third, there is no way to cut through it to someplace else, making the entire 891-home development a kind of cul-de sac, with the added security that comes from a controlled access neighborhood where strangers stand out.

“Cobblestone is the best,” said Tom Wharton, a retired federal worker from Maryland who moved to the community with his wife Connie in June. “I know that is like saying your wife is the prettiest — you are prejudiced — but I really mean it. We absolutely lucked out when our realtor brought us here. We didn’t know anything about the area, but he brought us to the perfect place.”

“I love it here,” said Connie Wharton.” It is so clean and beautiful. People are friendly but they are not in your business. With the parks and water features and palm trees it is like living in a resort.”

The Wharton’s were thrilled when Palin moved into the neighborhood and feel like her choice reinforces their own.

“We don’t plan to move again,” said Connie.

“Residents here care about each other and work very hard to keep Cobblestone Farms a premier community in Maricopa,” said Community Manager Michael Woolington. “You see a lot of pride of ownership in homes and yards.”

Rural past and revolutionary drama
There is some fascinating history behind the modern subdivision.

“My family bought the land where Cobblestone Farms is in 1949, 1950 and 1951,” said Ken Skousen, a former Maricopa school board member who moved away in 1990 and now is an attorney in Kingman, Ariz. “Our land stretched all the way from the highway back to where the Southern Dunes golf course is. It was called Maricopa Farms and we mainly raised alfalfa and cotton.”

Skousen said his family, which was Mormon, came to Arizona in 1889. They later moved to Mexico to avoid conflict with American authorities over the issue of polygamy.

“In Mexico, it was not illegal to have two wives,” Skousen said. “So they moved to Colonial Juarez and farmed there.”

The Skousens returned to Arizona during the turmoil of the Mexican Revolution.

“Pancho Villa raided the farm in Colonial Juarez and took all the horses for his soldiers,” Skousen said. “They couldn’t farm without horses so they came back to Arizona in 1915.”

Skousen’s grandfather eventually bought a farm in Chandler, which was passed down to his father, K.K. Skousen.

“My dad’s brother Clarence went away to college to become a school teacher, but after a while decided he would rather return to farming. He didn’t have the money to buy a farm, so my father and he became partners. My dad backed him to buy the land in Maricopa and Clarence ran the farm.”

For the next three and a half decades, Clarence and K.K., eventually joined by Ken, owned the Maricopa farmland.

Then in 1987, there was talk that the Supercollider was going to be built in the area. Robert Roe, then chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, called the proposed multi-billion dollar research complex “the biggest public works project in the history of the United States,” and the prospect of it being constructed south of Phoenix made Maricopa land prices jump.

In the speculative atmosphere created by the Supercollider rumors, an investment broker named Ben Friedman offered to buy the Skousens’ land for what Skousen called “a high price.”

Over the next eight years, Friedman went through an extraordinary series of partnerships and attempted ventures with the land that included filing more than 100 deeds and other documents with the county clerk and eventually reselling the land without ever paying for it, according to Skousen.

“In my opinion, he should be in prison,” Skousen said. “He paid 25 percent down and made a couple of payments, but that was it.”

Friedman eventually ceded half the land back to the Skousens in lieu of foreclosure, and Ken’s cousin, Troy Skousen, still farms the land behind Cobblestone today.

The property where the subdivision is located passed through the hands of several seemingly related development companies in the 1990s and early 2000s, including Maricopa Enterprises, LLC, Western Maricopa 280, LLC and Western Holdings LLC, gaining value as Phoenix expanded and demand for housing increased.

In 2001, the Cobblestone tract changed hands for $3.5 million. Two years later, when ownership was transferred again, the price had increased to $15.7 million.

On June 18, 2003 Lawrence Braund, managing agent for Western Holdings LLC, and various county officials signed off on the final plat for the subdivision, the document that defined lot dimensions, street locations and other details of the 234-acre neighborhood.

The finished lots were sold shortly afterward to Chandler-based homebuilder Fulton Homes.

Fulton Homes hits one out of the park
“Cobblestone Farms was a huge homerun for us,” said Dennis Webb, Fulton Homes vice president of operations. “Our timing was good on that one. We started construction in late 2003 and only had about 80 homes left when the market crashed.

“We lost money on every one of those 80 houses, and still have six vacant lots in there, but we made enough money on the other 800 that the project was still a big success.”

Webb said Fulton was drawn to the project in part because of the success of Rancho El Dorado on the other side of the highway. Rancho, Maricopa’s first modern subdivision, began in 2001, and the rapid pace of home sales there attracted builders to the area from around the county.

“As we were opening Cobblestone, we noticed that many of the national builders in other subdivisions were going for price only,” said Webb. “We took a different approach. We decided to build the best community and win that way. We wanted it to look the best and be built the best. We spent a ton on landscaping and other amenities.”

Fulton built three basic models in Cobblestone, each in one- and two-story designs. The Moonlight was the smallest home, built on lots that were 35 feet wide and ranged in size from 1,300 to 2,200 square feet. The Sunrise was built on 45-foot-wide lots with models starting at 1,800 square feet and going up to 4,000 square feet. The largest model, the Crystal, was set on 55-foot-wide lots, and ranged from 2,200 to 4,400 square feet.

“It was kind of challenge to build houses that big down here at that time,” said Webb. “Nothing that size had been built in Maricopa and appraisers had to go to Chandler to get comps. People thought we were little nuts to be building these huge homes with basements so far out, but the Crystal turned out to be our fastest-selling model. Overall, Cobblestone was one of the best-selling communities we ever built.”

High HOA dues and foreclosures
Despite the subdivisions many distinct attractions, life is not ideal in Cobblestone. HOA dues are higher than the Maricopa average — $1,077 annually according to community manager Webb — and the neighborhood has been hit by the same economic forces that ravaged the rest of the Arizona real estate market.

“As with all communities, foreclosures and delinquent accounts are realities to be dealt with,” said Webb. “Containing costs to keep the annual assessments at a reasonable level with water, electric and insurance is another challenge for the board.”

Nevertheless, it is safe to say that Fulton Homes’ “build the best” philosophy, along with the neighborhood’s prime location, made it one of Maricopa’s most successful and popular communities, a place even a television star would want to live.

And it might never have happened if Pancho Villa hadn’t raided Colonial Juarez back in 1915, forcing the Skousen family to return to Arizona where a later generation put together the parcel of land that became Cobblestone Farms.

HOME TYPES
The Moonlight (368 built)
Average initial sales price: $215,400
Lots: 35 feet wide
Size: 1,300 to 2,200 square feet
One and two stories

The Sunrise (390 built)
Average initial sales price: $279,000
Lots: 45 feet wide
Size: 1,800 to 4,000 square feet.
One and two stories

The Crystal (126 built)
Average sales initial price: $375,000
Lots: 55 feet wide
Size: 2,200 to 4,400 square feet
One and two stories
(40 were built with basements)

A version of this article was published previously in InMaricopa News.

Photo by Steven M. Thomas