A lonely patch of desert north of Sun City West may soon be home to thousands of new residents thanks to the recent revival of a long-dormant housing project.
Called Rancho Mercado, the project had been shelved since 2007 due to the Great Recession, but has found new life with the June 20 approval of an agreement between the city of Surprise and land developer William Lyons Homes, who broke ground earlier this year.
The developer is now building infrastructure for the area, including water, sewer and roads, according to Troy Wahlberg, director of land acquisition for WLH.
