By Eugene Scott | The Arizona Republic
The owner of a 15-acre parcel at one of Phoenix’s most-trafficked intersections has stopped making payments on the property, leaving its fate up in the air.
The federal government could regain ownership of the parcel — on the northeastern corner of Central Avenue and Indian School Road — and that concerns some city officials.
“It’s an incredibly important parcel,” Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said. “We probably have more traffic north, south, east and west going at Central and Indian School than any other intersection in the entire city.”
Barron Collier Cos., a Florida-based developer, began paying the federal government for the land after a complicated land swap involving the company, Phoenix and the federal government. The swap took several years during the 1990s to finalize and helped establish Steele Indian School Park, adjacent to the Barron Collier property.
The company has since paid the government about $55 million. It still owes more than $60 million over the next 15 years, Barron Collier President Blake Gable said.
