Report (Part 2): Just returned from looking at lots around Tucson (Green Valley: jobs, hospitals)

[LordBalfor]

...continued from Part 1:

Three Points:

This area is to the SW of Tucson and has generally had a somewhat poor reputation. There is a nice development in the area known as Diamond Bell Ranch that has some very nice site-built homes (all on 1 acre min lots) as well as a number of sites (lots of them actually) available for mobiles and modulars. There have been issues with folks coming across the border and leaving trash in their wake as well as smuggling drugs etc in. As a result, property here is relatively cheap (sometimes with all the utilities in place) and much of it (probably pretty much all of it actually) has very nice views, with mountains all around. The downsides are that some of the lots are not very well kept up and you are a bit aways from many services (I don't think there is any garbage pick-up in some of the areas for example). Keep in mind too that many of the secondary roads here are dirt (pretty good dirt roads in many cases, but still dirt) Overall, we really liked the look of the area in regards to the vegitation (a bit greener than around Marana). We actually found a couple of very nice lots (one of them next to a brand-new site-built home). This area has lots of long-term potential, but I don't think that there is much improvement coming in the very short term. Development seems to be slow in coming and Tucson's development growth plan pretty much ignores the SW area, instead choosing to concentrait on growth to the NW (towards Marana), N (towards Catalina), S (towards Green Valley) and E (towards Vail) so if having good choices in regards to shopping, medical services, dining etc is important to you, this is probably not the area for you. If you are seeking isolation and independence but still within a reasonable distance to Tucson it might well suit you.

Benson/Sunsites/Pearce: Vail, the small community adjoining Tucson on I-10 to the SE, is exploding, with a brand new mega mall mixed-use complex (The Passages of Tucson) and over 90,000 homes expected to be built over the next 10-15 years. Having been there, I beleive it. The amont of construction going on north of I-10 in Vail is enormous - most of it pretty darned upscale, with a new country club etc. The bad news is the roads there are currently terrible and not nearly up to the traffic that is starting to build in the area. I can only assume that that situation will be taken care of soon. Vail is reputed to have an excellent school system (for those of you with children). It's also, in my opinion, likely to be swollowed up by Tucson and incorperated into that city (there's going to be lots of tax revenues there).

Beyond Vail there is a 15 mile stretch along I-10 that is all state land and thus unable to be built upon, leading developers to look at J-6 Ranch (where we bought), Whetstone and Benson for future growth. This has resulted in plans for another 30,000 homes to be built in that area and construction has already started there in earnest - though nowhere near at the scale found in Vail. Evidence of this expected growth is found in the fact that Walmart has just opened a brand-new (open 24 hrs/day) superstore in Benson - which currently has a population of only around 6,000 or so - not nearly enough to support a store that size. Also, several other "big box" stores (Home Depot etc) are looking at building in town. All in all, I think this area will grow rapidly - especially once the building in Vail gets a bit further along.

Sunsites is very small retirement focused community that's in the process of growing as well (though a lot more slowly). It has a very nice feel to the place - with golf course lots at reasonable prices, but there is no real shopping nearby at this stage. All in all it feels like a nice, safe little village where folks probably get to know each other pretty well and life is slowwwwww.

Pearce is really a ghost town that probably only exists because of the folks in nearby Sunsites.

Hope those of you considering moving to the area found this of interest. Any questions, feel free to ask.

Ken

[june]

Originally Posted by LordBalfor

...continued from Part 1:

Three Points:

This area is to the SW of Tucson and has generally had a somewhat poor reputation. There is a nice development in the area known as Diamond Bell Ranch that has some very nice site-built homes (all on 1 acre min lots) as well as a number of sites (lots of them actually) available for mobiles and modulars. There have been issues with folks coming across the border and leaving trash in their wake as well as smuggling drugs etc in. As a result, property here is relatively cheap (sometimes with all the utilities in place) and much of it (probably pretty much all of it actually) has very nice views, with mountains all around. The downsides are that some of the lots are not very well kept up and you are a bit aways from many services (I don't think there is any garbage pick-up in some of the areas for example). Keep in mind too that many of the secondary roads here are dirt (pretty good dirt roads in many cases, but still dirt) Overall, we really liked the look of the area in regards to the vegitation (a bit greener than around Marana). We actually found a couple of very nice lots (one of them next to a brand-new site-built home). This area has lots of long-term potential, but I don't think that there is much improvement coming in the very short term. Development seems to be slow in coming and Tucson's development growth plan pretty much ignores the SW area, instead choosing to concentrait on growth to the NW (towards Marana), N (towards Catalina), S (towards Green Valley) and E (towards Vail) so if having good choices in regards to shopping, medical services, dining etc is important to you, this is probably not the area for you. If you are seeking isolation and independence but still within a reasonable distance to Tucson it might well suit you.

Benson/Sunsites/Pearce: Vail, the small community adjoining Tucson on I-10 to the SE, is exploding, with a brand new mega mall mixed-use complex (The Passages of Tucson) and over 90,000 homes expected to be built over the next 10-15 years. Having been there, I beleive it. The amont of construction going on north of I-10 in Vail is enormous - most of it pretty darned upscale, with a new country club etc. The bad news is the roads there are currently terrible and not nearly up to the traffic that is starting to build in the area. I can only assume that that situation will be taken care of soon. Vail is reputed to have an excellent school system (for those of you with children). It's also, in my opinion, likely to be swollowed up by Tucson and incorperated into that city (there's going to be lots of tax revenues there).

Beyond Vail there is a 15 mile stretch along I-10 that is all state land and thus unable to be built upon, leading developers to look at J-6 Ranch (where we bought), Whetstone and Benson for future growth. This has resulted in plans for another 30,000 homes to be built in that area and construction has already started there in earnest - though nowhere near at the scale found in Vail. Evidence of this expected growth is found in the fact that Walmart has just opened a brand-new (open 24 hrs/day) superstore in Benson - which currently has a population of only around 6,000 or so - not nearly enough to support a store that size. Also, several other "big box" stores (Home Depot etc) are looking at building in town. All in all, I think this area will grow rapidly - especially once the building in Vail gets a bit further along.

Sunsites is very small retirement focused community that's in the process of growing as well (though a lot more slowly). It has a very nice feel to the place - with golf course lots at reasonable prices, but there is no real shopping nearby at this stage. All in all it feels like a nice, safe little village where folks probably get to know each other pretty well and life is slowwwwww.

Pearce is really a ghost town that probably only exists because of the folks in nearby Sunsites.

Hope those of you considering moving to the area found this of interest. Any questions, feel free to ask.

Ken

Very good information sir, Thank you very much. Can you tell me about how far of a drive from Benson to The UOFA in Tucson. And you think the area will do fine., Is benson More North of Tucson? Are there any jobs, restaurants hospitals etc?

[june]

Originally Posted by LordBalfor

...continued from Part 1:

Three Points:

This area is to the SW of Tucson and has generally had a somewhat poor reputation. There is a nice development in the area known as Diamond Bell Ranch that has some very nice site-built homes (all on 1 acre min lots) as well as a number of sites (lots of them actually) available for mobiles and modulars. There have been issues with folks coming across the border and leaving trash in their wake as well as smuggling drugs etc in. As a result, property here is relatively cheap (sometimes with all the utilities in place) and much of it (probably pretty much all of it actually) has very nice views, with mountains all around. The downsides are that some of the lots are not very well kept up and you are a bit aways from many services (I don't think there is any garbage pick-up in some of the areas for example). Keep in mind too that many of the secondary roads here are dirt (pretty good dirt roads in many cases, but still dirt) Overall, we really liked the look of the area in regards to the vegitation (a bit greener than around Marana). We actually found a couple of very nice lots (one of them next to a brand-new site-built home). This area has lots of long-term potential, but I don't think that there is much improvement coming in the very short term. Development seems to be slow in coming and Tucson's development growth plan pretty much ignores the SW area, instead choosing to concentrait on growth to the NW (towards Marana), N (towards Catalina), S (towards Green Valley) and E (towards Vail) so if having good choices in regards to shopping, medical services, dining etc is important to you, this is probably not the area for you. If you are seeking isolation and independence but still within a reasonable distance to Tucson it might well suit you.

Benson/Sunsites/Pearce: Vail, the small community adjoining Tucson on I-10 to the SE, is exploding, with a brand new mega mall mixed-use complex (The Passages of Tucson) and over 90,000 homes expected to be built over the next 10-15 years. Having been there, I beleive it. The amont of construction going on north of I-10 in Vail is enormous - most of it pretty darned upscale, with a new country club etc. The bad news is the roads there are currently terrible and not nearly up to the traffic that is starting to build in the area. I can only assume that that situation will be taken care of soon. Vail is reputed to have an excellent school system (for those of you with children). It's also, in my opinion, likely to be swollowed up by Tucson and incorperated into that city (there's going to be lots of tax revenues there).

Beyond Vail there is a 15 mile stretch along I-10 that is all state land and thus unable to be built upon, leading developers to look at J-6 Ranch (where we bought), Whetstone and Benson for future growth. This has resulted in plans for another 30,000 homes to be built in that area and construction has already started there in earnest - though nowhere near at the scale found in Vail. Evidence of this expected growth is found in the fact that Walmart has just opened a brand-new (open 24 hrs/day) superstore in Benson - which currently has a population of only around 6,000 or so - not nearly enough to support a store that size. Also, several other "big box" stores (Home Depot etc) are looking at building in town. All in all, I think this area will grow rapidly - especially once the building in Vail gets a bit further along.

Sunsites is very small retirement focused community that's in the process of growing as well (though a lot more slowly). It has a very nice feel to the place - with golf course lots at reasonable prices, but there is no real shopping nearby at this stage. All in all it feels like a nice, safe little village where folks probably get to know each other pretty well and life is slowwwwww.

Pearce is really a ghost town that probably only exists because of the folks in nearby Sunsites.

Hope those of you considering moving to the area found this of interest. Any questions, feel free to ask.

Ken

Can you tell me a little more about the J6 area where you bought? Not really sure where it is and about how far to the UOFA? Any jobs in this area? Im a hairdresser and my husband will be attending the UOFA. Thank you once again your a big help to us.

[LordBalfor]

June -

Actually, I can do better than just tell you where Benson is. Follow the link below and you'll go to a Webshots album I've posted for my family to see the property (and a few other misc shots of the area). There are also a couple of maps that will help you find J-6.

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/...57149538zALwkS

Unlike my albums of tropical locations, this is not really a public album as there's not much of interest for the casual viewer, but for folks looking to see what the J-6 area looks like it can be useful, so feel free to take a look.

Its about 40 minutes or so (barring traffic) from J-6 into downtown Tucson (near the university). Any other questions, feel free to ask. I also took a few shots of some properties around Marana and Three Points (Diamond Bell Ranch etc). IF someone is interested, I can post some of those in the album as well so that they can get an idea of what those areas look like.

In regards to jobs in the area, I'm not sure about Benson itself as the town only has around 6,000 people or so, but with all the new development about to hit the area I would imagine that the availablity of jobs will only increase. Some folks of course commute into Tucson and in fact we met 3 different people (one in Benson, two in Tucson who actually live in J-6).

Ken

[LordBalfor]

PS - Note that all the photos on the first page of the album are about J-6, as are all but the last photo on the second page. Following pages are of other stuff, with the last few photos being of some relatively inexpensive property some 8 minutes north of Benson.

Ken

[june]

Originally Posted by LordBalfor

June -

Actually, I can do better than just tell you where Benson is. Follow the link below and you'll go to a Webshots album I've posted for my family to see the property (and a few other misc shots of the area). There are also a couple of maps that will help you find J-6.

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/...57149538zALwkS

Unlike my albums of tropical locations, this is not really a public album as there's not much of interest for the casual viewer, but for folks looking to see what the J-6 area looks like it can be useful, so feel free to take a look.

Its about 40 minutes or so (barring traffic) from J-6 into downtown Tucson (near the university). Any other questions, feel free to ask. I also took a few shots of some properties around Marana and Three Points (Diamond Bell Ranch etc). IF someone is interested, I can post some of those in the album as well so that they can get an idea of what those areas look like.

In regards to jobs in the area, I'm not sure about Benson itself as the town only has around 6,000 people or so, but with all the new development about to hit the area I would imagine that the availablity of jobs will only increase. Some folks of course commute into Tucson and in fact we met 3 different people (one in Benson, two in Tucson who actually live in J-6).

Ken

Sorry but the page you wrote to view keeps saying not available, so excited to see the photos and cant retreive them.

[june]

Originally Posted by june

Sorry but the page you wrote to view keeps saying not available, so excited to see the photos and cant retreive them.

ok finally got to see the pictures. looks beautiful and i wish you luck with everything. did you also buy the manufactured home on there?

[tucsondesertdweller]

What is J-6? Never heard of it. Are there developments or builders down there. Also be very very careful of the builders out here. Yikes they are terrible well at least we think so

[LordBalfor]

No, our particular lot does not have anything on it. The lot north of us has a single-wide, the lot across the street (to the east) has a nice site-built home, the lot diagonally across from us has the really nice Santa-Fe style site-built home and the lot to the south of us is vacant.

Ken

[LordBalfor]

J-6 is the first development east of Vail (about 15 miles east of it actually). They are 1 acre+ lots just before Whetstone. No particular builder as the development is already subdivided and sold rather than under ongoing sale.

Ken