Arizona's Cool (Planned) Places

By Terri Shepherd Hogan, AICP

Cars, suburbs, Sprawl. That is the familiar story of post-World War II America. Planners, though, looked for inspiration when trying to make those suburbs more livable. They found it in England, among other places, and especially in Ebenezer Howard's late 19th century garden city, a new town surrounded by a green belt. Comprehensive planning and physical planning could fix social problems, the thought went.

Many new town experiments were conducted in the U.S., resulting in new communities such as Columbia, Maryland; Radburn, New Jersey; Reston, Virginia; Rexford Tugwell's Greenbelt Towns; Sunnyside Gardens, New York; and The Woodlands, Texas.

In today's suburban communities, planners are still trying to find more sustainable solutions to sprawling growth and development. Since the 1950s, developers have been creating large-scale master planned developments in the Phoenix metro area and throughout Arizona to accommodate the state's rapidly increasing population.

Characterized by exponential growth during the last few decades, Phoenix grew nearly 9.5 percent between 2000 and 2010. Although the state was hit particularly hard in the area of housing and population growth during the Great Recession, recent economic indicators indicate significant growth trends. (Local economist Elliott Pollack projects increases in single-family permits next year of between 18 and 20 percent and a 1.5 to 1.7 percent population growth).

Much of the region's development can correctly be deemed sprawl. Our urban center has continuously expanded into outlying rural areas to the extent that the Phoenix metro area has often been characterized as an endless spread of suburban sameness.

But look closer and you can also see that Arizona offers its residents a lot of choices. Decentralized Arizona has been concentrating on strengthening city centers, but also has produced diverse and cohesive suburban development within large-scale master planned communities. These communities can be viewed as a type of new town, or rather an evolution of the garden city movement — they are a valid effort at more holistic planning and succeed in increasing quality of life.

Many of them exemplify some of the finest living environments, with historically significant and influential advocates and designers — including John F. Long, Paolo Soleri, Frank Lloyd Wright, and William Wrigley Jr. — and well-known and highly regarded development companies such as Del Webb and DMB Associates.

My interest in planned communities began during a 1997 student trip to Europe, followed by graduate studies in urban planning at Arizona State University. As a native Phoenician that has seen the boom and bust development cycle firsthand, urban planning has always interested me. I wondered how we could efficiently and effectively accommodate the masses of population that were projected to locate in Arizona — in a pretty short amount of time — without sacrificing our quality of life.

There are generally five types of planned communities in Arizona: ecological, incorporated, resort, retirement, and traditional.

The world famous fountain in Fountain Hills, Arizona, runs every hour and can reach up to 560 feet — five feet higher than the Washington Monument. Photo by Ed Boik, AICP.

Ecological: Arcosanti, Yavapai County

Arcosanti is an experimental ecological planned community located about 70 miles north of Phoenix in unincorporated Yavapai County. The community was designed and built by Italian architect Paolo Soleri and his students in the 1960s. Soleri also coined the term arcology, a combination of architecture and ecology.

Soleri originally intended to build a utopian town of 5,000 people on 860 acres. Today, Arcosanti is only partially built, with few structures and about 80 permanent residents, but its goal of having a minimal impact on the environment has panned out. The community frequently hosts educational workshops and overnight guests who want to learn about the vision and architecture of Soleri, who died in 2013 and is buried there.

About 50,000 tourists visit Arcosanti each year, and many purchase Soleri-designed bronze or ceramic windbells, which help fund improvements and maintenance of the community as well as other nonprofits. Acrosanti has a cafe, art galleries, and gardens as well as diverse events staged in an outdoor amphitheater.

Also worth checking out is the award-winning ecological Civano community (pop. 2,227) on the east side of Tucson. Through careful energy conservation and land planning, Civano uses significantly less energy, reuses more of its graywater, and produces less vehicle trips than similar developments.

Incorporated: Fountain Hills

Fountain Hills (pop. 23,573) covers more than 12,000 acres of land about 30 miles northeast of Phoenix. It was planned in the 1970s by a development company owned by Robert McCulloch, the chainsaw maker (and the man who bought the 140-year-old London Bridge in 1968 and had it moved to Lake Havasu City, Arizona). Fountain Hills incorporated in 1989, although it is uncommon for Phoenix-area master planned communities to incorporate. Two other well-known ones are Youngtown (1960) and Litchfield Park (1987).

Although smaller than the 70,000-person community that McCulloch envisioned, Fountain Hills is known for its natural beauty, panoramic views, and world-famous fountain (one of the world's tallest at 560 feet, it operates for 15 minutes at the top of each hour).

While Fountain Hills has multifamily homes and commercial development, most of the land has been developed as single-family residential surrounded by hundreds of acres of open space, protected in open space land-use designations within the original master plan. The population swells with retirees in the winter, but year-round residents are mostly families.

The circular roads of Sun City in Maricopa County, Arizona, are a signature feature of the 1972 master planned retirement community. Courtesy Maricopa County, Arizona.

Resort: Arizona Biltmore, Phoenix

The Arizona Biltmore properties, which include the hotel and resort, the Wrigley Mansion, Biltmore Fashion Park, and Residential Estates, is an eclectically planned community that was developed over a period of time by different companies. It encompasses nearly two square miles of land at 24th Street and Camelback Road in Phoenix. The hotel was codesigned by Frank Lloyd Wright and Albert Chase McArthur, and has hosted the rich and famous, including movie stars and presidents, since 1929.

The Arizona Biltmore is known as the "Jewel of the Desert" because of the resort's ornate architecture and design. The Wrigley Mansion, atop a hill overlooking the resort, was constructed in 1932 by the chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. as an anniversary gift to his wife.

The resort has had many different owners and planned renovations, all or most undertaken and inspired in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright. It is now one of the largest hotels in Arizona, with meeting spaces, swimming pools, fitness centers, championship golf courses, a spa, diverse restaurants — including in the historic Wrigley Mansion — and world-class shopping at Biltmore Fashion Park.

Surrounding it are the Arizona Biltmore Estates Neighborhoods and Commerce Centers, which first came in the 1950s, where housing types range from patio homes to multilevel condominiums to estate-style homes on large lots. Biltmore Fashion Park opened in the 1960s but has had many renovations in recent years. Newer yet is the Class A office space situated along the north entrance to the resort property. The million-dollar housing stock around in and around the Arizona Biltmore is some of Arizona's finest and most expensive real estate, with spacious properties, mature landscaping, and scenic views of the city, as well as proximity to Phoenix Mountain Preserve, resort recreational amenities, and high-end retail and dining.

Many Arizona planned communities have elements of luxury living, but other truly resort style communities include Encanterra (Queen Creek); Pebble Creek (Goodyear); Pine Canyon (Flagstaff); Terravita and Trilogy at Verde River (Scottsdale); and The Villas at Montelucia (Paradise Valley).

Retirement: Sun City, Maricopa County

Sun City is a census-designated place of approximately 40,000 people in unincorporated Maricopa County. Sun City was originally called "the great social experiment" and is considered by many to be the world's first active adult retirement community.

The age-restricted enclave is located at Bell Road and 99th Avenue, about 20 miles northwest of Phoenix. The 1972 master plan described Sun City as a "completely self-contained community with three large shopping centers, eight bank branches, four savings and loan associations, two brokerage firms, three medical buildings, and other service oriented uses," most of which have come to be. One of the distinguishing characteristics of Sun City is the circular street pattern, which looks pretty cool from the air. Del E. Webb Development Corporation began construction in 1960, and by end of that year, 2,000 homes had been sold. In 1971 the community had a population of 21,000. Today, the population is nearly double that.

Single-family and multifamily residential are the leading land uses, with supporting recreational and commercial development. While some of the amenities are showing signs of age, baby boomer owners have begun to renovate the housing stock and are also demanding more active pastimes. Gone are the shuffleboard courts and potlucks of the early days. They've been replaced by seven recreational centers and hundreds of clubs and activities, as well as five championship and three executive golf courses.

Although the first, this Sun City isn't the only one in the Phoenix metro area (it's also now a national brand), which is home to Sun City West (1977), Sun City Grand (1995), Sun City Anthem (1999), and Sun City Festival (2006). Many other Arizona planned communities also cater to active adult living and retirees. Given Arizona's average of 299 days of sunshine in a given year and the abundance of golf courses and other recreational activities, it is no wonder that the state is one of the top destinations for retirees.

Seventy miles north of Phoenix, artisans at the Arcosanti metal foundry pour up to 100 pounds of bronze a day to craft world-renowned windbells designed by Italian architect Paolo Soleri. Proceeds from the windbell sales provide a major source of funding for the ongoing construction of the Arcosanti planned community. Photo by Chihiro Saito.

Traditional: Verrado, Buckeye

Verrado, developed by DMB Associates, Inc., is built upon land formerly originally known as the "Caterpillar Property" because it was once the construction equipment manufacturer's proving ground. It is an award-winning community within the city of Buckeye (pop. 59,470), some 25 miles west of Phoenix.

Verrado, which broke ground in 2002, is unique among Arizona's planned communities because of its well-executed new urbanistic development pattern. Its residential architecture also provides a touch of whimsy, with many front porches, alley-loaded garages, and neotraditional design that alludes to the character of small-town America. Verrado features a distinctive Main Street, a new active adult component called Victory at Verrado, and a freeway-fronted commercial component called Marketside.

Verrado covers 8,800 acres and land uses are mixed, planned with over 14,000 residential units, 1,000 resort rooms, and four million square feet of commercial and mixed use allowed by the community's flexible zoning entitlement. Verrado's master plan describes the design characteristics, open space policies, and development potential; however, there is no defined land-use plan. Rather, city staff and the master developer continually collaborate to rapidly respond to market needs and development trends without diminishing the quality and character of the community.

Open space and outdoor recreation is an integral part of Verrado, which has a comprehensive system of 66 parks and 21 miles of trails which link neighborhoods to natural open space in the nearby White Tank Mountains and regional Maricopa Trail. Less than a third of the community is built out; the population is about 12,000 but growing daily. Retail and employment is limited to the vibrant Main Street, but larger scale commercial and employment is highly planned and anticipated along the I-10 frontage and eastern boundary of the community.

Traditional planned communities are by far the predominant planned community category and are numerous. Buckeye alone has 25 entitled traditional master planned communities and there are several other well-known ones throughout the region: Ahwatukee, Desert Ridge, and Maryvale (Phoenix); Anthem (Maricopa County); Arrowhead Ranch, (Glendale); Dobson Ranch (Mesa); Estrella Mountain Ranch and Palm Valley (Goodyear); McCormick Ranch and Desert Mountain (Scottsdale); Ocotillo (Chandler); Power Ranch (Gilbert); Rancho Sahuarita (Sahuarita); and Vistancia (Peoria).

There are hundreds of planned communities in Arizona. You've seen just a handful, but hopefully it's changed your perception a little bit. Whether or not you call Arizona communities garden cities, new towns, new communities, or something else entirely, these are some of the best places, and they are all planned, diverse, and really cool.

Terri Shepherd Hogan is the planning manager for Buckeye, Arizona.

Resources

Arcosanti: An Urban Laboratory? Though only five percent of the master plan for Paolo Soleri's experimental community is complete to-date, his vision of arcology (architecture + ecology) endures. http://youtu.be/qBGDXxvn1k4