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$79 million is successful bid for approximately 269 acres of State Trust land near Desert Ridge Marketplace in northeast Phoenix
PHOENIX – Bidding $79 million, Texas-based homebuilder D.R. Horton was the successful bidder today for approximately 269 acres of State Trust land in northeast Phoenix at an Arizona State Land Department public auction. The land is located northeast of Desert Ridge Marketplace, east of 56th Street and north of Deer Valley Parkway.
The sale included an additional 36 acres of right of way for public road and underground utilities. The total appraised value of the subject property was $54 million. D.R. Horton will pay an additional $19 million for flood control improvements in the Rawhide Wash near the parcel.
Proceeds from land sales are placed in a permanent fund benefiting Arizona’s K-12 public schools. The fund is administered by the Arizona State Treasurer.
“I appreciate the proactive management of the Trust portfolio by the State Land Department. Their commitment to responsibly administering the Trust is another example of the state’s dedication to long-term investments in K-12 education,” said Arizona Governor Doug Ducey. “I commend Commissioner Lisa Atkins and her Department for their successful business strategies that are increasing value and revenue for the State Land Trust.”
“Mature assets such as this parcel, when sold, provide opportunities for economic growth for not only the Trust beneficiaries but also contribute to economic growth for all Arizonans,” State Land Commissioner Lisa Atkins said of the sale. “Proceeds from the sale of this parcel will benefit K-12 public education, in accordance with the Land Department’s mission and its charge from both Congress and the Arizona Constitution to serve the Trust beneficiaries.”
Public education is by far the largest beneficiary of the Trust managed by the Arizona State Land Department The Department’s mission since 1915 is to manage the assets of a multi-generational perpetual trust in alignment with the interests of the Trust’s 13 beneficiaries and Arizona’s future. Congress passed legislation in 1910 enabling Arizona to become a state and creating the Trust.
All uses of its land and resources must benefit the Trust, a fact that distinguishes it from the way public land, such as parks or national forests, may be used or managed. While public use of Trust land is not prohibited, it is regulated to ensure protection of the land and compensation to the beneficiaries for its use. Today the Arizona State Land Department pro-actively manages more than 9.2 million acres of Trust land, which comprises 13 percent of the land within the State of Arizona.
