By Scott Shumaker | YourValley
Mesans have been waiting over a decade to find out the long-term fate of the historic Buckhorn Baths spa buildings near Main Street and Recker Road since the passing of Alice Sliger in 2010.
Sliger created the storied Buckhorn Mineral Wells and Wildlife Museum in East Mesa with her husband Ted Sliger, who died in 1987.
But residents and history buffs may be waiting a while longer to find out if the old buildings will be saved amid disagreements between the current owner, Aktar Verma of Paradise Valley and Mesa city planners.
Verma has expressed an intention to preserve Buckhorn’s historic buildings, which sit within a larger 11-acre parcel of mostly vacant land that he wants to turn into multifamily housing.
Developers for Verma and city planners are at odds over what the housing complex adjacent to Buckhorn should look like.
The owner is focused on getting the apartments built and generating revenue; plans for the historic structures’ ultimate use are still hazy.
The city doesn’t oppose apartments on the site, but it isn’t sold on the current designs and its relationship with the historic section of the property.
