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Wednesday, May 26, 2021
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Suspense hangs over Trust Land auction today BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
GENEROUS AND THEN SOME
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T
he most significant development in Ahwatukee since the South Mountain Freeway is scheduled to begin unfolding today as the Arizona State Land Department auctions 373 acres of State Trust Land. Located along Chandler Boulevard between 19th and 27th avenues, the sprawling piece of desert could eventually be home to as many as 1,050 single-family houses and an undetermined number of condominium and apartment complexes. But a certain amount of suspense will be
hanging over today’s live auction in the wake of the postponement of two May 19 auctions – a 1,099-acre parcel in Goodyear and a 946acre tract in Queen Creek – to June 10. Minimum bids were $127.7 million and $86.1 million, respectively, But no one showed up for the either auction and a Land Department official said he could to speculate on the reason. Assuming today’s auction won’t see a repeat of those puzzling no-shows, the bidding will start at $105 million on the Ahwatukee parceland, ultimately will benefit K-12 public education – one of the 13 beneficiaries of Trust Land sales designated in the Arizona Constitution.
There is no way to stop the auction – or construction of the homes. As Mark Edelman, the Land Department’s director of planning and engineering, told the Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee in December 2019: “State Trust Land is not public land. It is land held in trust and the land really belongs to our beneficiaries. The state Land Department was created to act in their stead to manage this land.... we really need to be thought of more like private land owners.” Moreover, most of the land already is zoned
see LAND page 12
Ahwatukee Legionnaires salute departed comrades BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
On Monday, Americans will remember the men and women who gave their lives for their country. On May 19, American Legion Post 64 – Ahwatukee’s only military veterans organization – held its traditional ceremony to remember those members who passed away in 2019 and 2020. The Post’s annual ceremony was canceled last year by pandemic-related restrictions. So, Post 64 Commander Pete Meier and his colleagues were grateful to be able to gather inside the Ahwatukee Recreation Center for the first time in more than a year for a formal commemoration of comrades in arms who were “transferred to Post Everlasting.” It was particularly gratifying because for the
see MEMORIAL page 4
Ahwatukee American Legion Post 64 held a memorial service May 19 for members who were “transferred to Post Everlasting” in 2019 and 2020. It was the first time the post could gather inside its home base at the Ahwatukee Recreation Center in 14 months. Post Commander Pete Meier called the meeting and ceremony to order in front of a hologram designed by ARC member Ed Doney. (Pablo Robles/AFN Staff Photographer.
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