By Philip Haldiman, Editor-in-Chief | Dealmaker
About 200 prospective buyers came out Saturday for the grand opening of one of the more unique housing developments in Phoenix.
A dozen homesites make up Crown Canyon, a gated community located in an isolated section of the southeastern Phoenix Mountain Preserve, between the Arizona Biltmore and Paradise Valley, where 40th Street ends.
Eight sites are available, two have been sold and two spec homes are to be built.
Mayor Greg Stanton spoke at the event and touted the unique project’s natural surroundings partnered with the proximity of big city amenities.
“No offense to our friends at Silverleaf,” Stanton said. “But this project has all the amenities of our city. Nowhere can you find such beauty right in the middle of the city.”
From an architectural perspective, developer Montage Acquisitions intends to be highly sensitive to the surrounding Sonoran Desert, he said.
“The desert preserve binds us,” Stanton said. “And as a major metropolitan area, it’s important to have the widest range of housing available and that includes projects like this.”
Vernon Swaback, who studied at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture and designed the project, said once the homes are built about 80 percent of the natural environment will remain.
However, the homes should have maximum expression, he said.
“But (the final product) has to be like movements of a great symphony, and can’t be of detriment to the surroundings,” Swaback said.
