By Jackee Coe The Republic
Those traveling on north Peoria’s Lake Pleasant Parkway will soon see a gold, four-story, Byzantine-style dome glistening in the sunlight.
The dome will sit atop an elevator tower in a new cluster of vacation condominiums at Cibola Vista Resort and Spa. It will be called the City of Gems.
The 6-year-old Cibola Vista, which was the first resort built in the West Valley since Litchfield Park’s Wigwam Resort opened in 1929, has begun construction on the third phase.
In all, seven phases of condos and amenities are planned for the resort near Lake Pleasant Parkway and Jomax Road.
The architecture in the newest phase will pay homage to Arizona’s mining history. Streams of gold-tile patterns will adorn the stucco walls to give guests the feeling of uncovering a vein of gold in a mine wall. Dry riverbeds running through the desert scrub will be sprinkled with colored glass gemstones.
The 40-room expansion, which will be only half of the City of Gems, should be completed by May. Construction on the second half should begin about 18 months later.
The resort’s architecture is a confluence of Arizona history, where Mediterranean elements brought by the Spanish conquistadors meet Native American features and where frontier life rubs up against modern design.
The resort’s name is inspired by the Native American legend of the Seven Cities of Cibola, which lured the conquistadors to the American southwest in search of wealth. The resort has clusters of condos called cities that carry a theme.
