By Melissa St. Aude | Casa Grande Dispatch
A cluster of about 2,800 lots at the Desert Carmel subdivision is currently for sale and community advocates believe if the deal is finalized, it could lead to major improvements in the struggling neighborhood on the western edge of Casa Grande.
“I don’t want to speculate on if the sale will go through,” said Robert Itkin, a court-appointed receiver who oversees the Desert Carmel homeowners association.
The lots are in escrow, and Itkin believes if they are sold to a developer, at some point there will be construction on the land.
“The first thing they’ll do is some significant work on infrastructure, landscaping, roads and invest in those things,” Itkin said.
Steven Cheifetz, an attorney who represented the Desert Carmel homeowners in a 2007 lawsuit against the owner of the 2,800 lots, said the timing for the sale could be right.
“Our hope is that with the improvement in the real estate market right now, some- one will be interested in buying that property,” Cheifetz said.
The 2,800 lots are owned by a group of investors known as the Desert Carmel majority lot owners.
For years, the majority owners controlled the community association and while in charge, changed HOA bylaws to absolve them of the requirement to pay their annual assessments.
Minority owners, many of them with one or two lots, were still required to pay annual assessments and reportedly were sent demand letters by the majority owners for back dues and threatened with foreclosure for failing to pay.
