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Blandford’s $175.5M bid wins state land auction BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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@AhwatukeeFN |
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fter spiriting bidding among four homebuilders, an affiliate of Blandford Homes won the auction of 373 acres of State Trust Land in Ahwatukee with a bid of $175.5 million– 67 percent above the appraised value of $105 million. Reserve 100 LLC, which is based at the Gilbert headquarters for Blandford Homes, beat out three competitors in the June 7 State Land Department auction of the parcel along Chandler Boulevard between 19th and 27th avenues. State Corporation Commission records for Reserve 100 list Jeff Blandford, presi-
Attorney rips 'seatof-the-pants' Lakes course restoration
dent of Blandford Homes, as a principal in the company. The auction did not disappoint the Land Department’s expectations for the property. Mark Edelman, the Land Department’s director of planning and engineering, told the Village Planning Committee in December 2019, “We have had a great deal of interest in this parcel from different parties, mostly home builders.” And small wonder why: the appraisal estimated that as many as 1,050 homes can be built on the land – which is already zoned for residential development. There also are small pieces of the land in the southeast corner that are zoned for apartments or condos and some retail. Evidencing the high interest in a prime piece
of real estate was the fact that there were 328 bids made by the four participants before Blandford came out on top. Ironically, this is the second consecutive bidding situation where some Ahwatukee land went to Blandford. The last parcel in Ahwatukee to be put up for bidding – though not in a live auction like the Trust Land parcel was – comprised 63 acrestthat Tempe Union High School District owned at Frye Road and Desert Foothills Parkway. Blandford paid $23 million for that parcel – well over the $12 million to $15 million that the district’s consultant felt it would sell for. Today, that parcel is home to the gated Pal-
Mission accomplished
see LAND page 9
BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
O
wner Wilson Gee plans to keep working to restore the Ahwatukee Lakes Golf Course despite a new blistering claim by two homeowners’ lawyer that he already is violating the court order to do it. Attorney Tim Barnes, who has waged the seven-year court fight with Gee on behalf of Linda Swain and Eileen Breslin, last week asked Superior Court Judge Theodore Campagnolo to levy a $500,000 penalty on Gee for failing to meet the first of three restoration
see LAKES page 4
Veronica Delgado, 14, picked up her certificate– as did 320 classmates – at a drive-thru promotion ceremony at Centennial Middle School in Ahwatukee. The PTO worked with the school on making the event memorable. For details, see page 3. (Pablo Robles/AFN Staff Photographer)
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