By Paul Maryniak | Ahwatukee Foothills News
The massive Upper Canyon development in western Ahwatukee is taking shape far slower than originally projected – partly because the site owner hasn’t paid most of the $175.1 million it owes Arizona for the site.
While developer Blandford Homes told the city last year it expected to be selling homes by 2024, no construction activity has occurred on the 373-acre parcel of former State Trust Land along Chandler Boulevard between 19th and 27th avenues.
And no date has been set for D.R. Horton and Blandford Homes to start building the 1,050 single-family homes and 479 apartments and townhouses they plan for site, which Blandford won with its whopping bid in a June 7, 2021, auction.
Still, city records obtained by the Ahwatukee Foothills News show Blandford, its subsidiary Reserve 100 LLC and D.R. Horton have been steadily submitting a variety of plans for the parcel.
The installment plan Blandford negotiated for paying off its bid has been extended twice – most recently last Dec. 1 with a final payment of $31.6 million now due on June 7, 2029.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean construction won’t start before then.
