Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Believe it or not, a failed development?

What a great day. E & sheoflittlebrain took bro & me out to the Verde headwaters & then we had occasion to explore an interesting Arizona land development. Nearby. One that didn't make the scene. Very unusual in these days of the big boom, just ended.

Here are for sale signs at the point where the road in takes off from Old Hwy. 89.

If I recall correctly, infrastructure (i.e., graded roads) was put in in the late 80s or early 90s. A long, long time ago for Arizona real estate. Then there was some sort of a hassle with the county over water and sewage because of the location vis a vis the headwaters. Don't know the current status. But it sure impeded any housing starts.

The lots are parcels of 5 to 10 acres. Horse property, of course. Well, almost all land outside city limits is horse property; lot sizes are at least 1 acre in some developments and a minimum of 2 acres in most areas.

Plenty of for sale signs. Some of them quite current.

And, as bro found out, also quite pricey -- $490K for 10 acres, according to the flyer he's reading.

Of course, this sign has been around for a while, I'd say.

Now here's one of two parcels that've been developed. A very upscale, prosperous looking, long established horse property, with several animals. Note the dividing line on the hill where grazing on the right has eliminated the grass, which shows up on the left. Believe me, I was very surprised to find that all this land is still lying fallow.

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:33 AM

    blue sky, cirrus clouds
    over vast stretches of brown
    land in Sweet Valley

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  2. Ugh. I'm so sick of overdevelopment.

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  3. Olivia -- I think it will take much more than an excellent haiku to move that land!

    kmf -- welcome! You've got some fine pictures from the other side of the world...

    qd -- I think you one among many. The only enthusiasts, I'm convinced are 1) politicians (they love the sales tax represented by new roofs) and 2)landowners who want to cash in their chips. But it's sure a sad thing for the present population. Unlike all those local folk who talk PC (I'm not against growth, just against uncontrolled growth...), I'M AGAINST GROWTH. PERIOD. I think we've long since past the capacity of our land & weather to sustain us. And the though of being rescued by a Colorado River pipeline is scary-expensive.

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  4. Anonymous8:46 AM

    It will certainly take more than a haiku to move that land, Granny J, but this is the way I feel about the land and I tried to express it in words.

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  5. olivia -- actually, that land's perfectly fine, tho parched these days. Because it is so close to the river headwaters, water for a well is probably reasonably close to the surface, tho a subdivision full of wells (or a water company) would probably draw down the water level and the little lake at the headwaters might well dry up. If there weren't entanglements, I suspect that land would sell in no time...

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