By Beth Duckett | The Arizona Republic
Scottsdale is on the verge of buying an additional 2,365 acres of mountainous desert for its McDowell Sonoran Preserve.
The land, south of the Bell Road alignment, is likely to be auctioned off later this year by the Arizona State Land Department. It would expand the preserve to a little more than 30,000 acres — about 4,000 acres shy of the city’s 34,000-acre goal.
But the remaining 4,000 acres could prove the most difficult — and costly — to acquire, with some of it possibly facing competition from homebuilders that also may bid.
Scottsdale already has targeted the next parcel it would seek to acquire after this year’s purchase. The city wants to buy 290 acres northeast of Pima Road and Dynamite Boulevard, not far from Pinnacle Peak. The land, zoned for residential development, could face competition from developers seeking to build high-end homes on the vacant desert.
