Location, Location, Location: Tucson Arizona

Susan Kime

05/01/2003

“The Old Pueblo” is Tucson’s historically accurate nickname (after the 1783 walled Spanish Presidio that preceded today’s city), but it connotes a Wild West of dusty roads and cowpokes. To those who reside there, the label is endearing but outdated. Tucson’s enviable high-desert climate has made it a world-class destination for golf and spas—an unbeatable combination for many couples.

Some resorts contain the best of both worlds: The new Westin La Paloma has an Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa and a Jack Nicklaus golf course; the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort has two Tom Fazio courses, eight tennis courts and a spa. The PGA’s Tucson Open is played at the Omni Tucson National Golf Resort & Spa. Canyon Ranch and Miraval are consistently rated among the top spas in the country.

Those draws are reflected in the brisk market for multimillion-dollar homes. “Tucson’s high-end population who have chosen to live on our high Sonoran plateau, 2,500 to 4,000 feet above sea level, do so because they want a cooler, drier, less harried milieu than Scottsdale or Phoenix,” says Sharon Walsh of Coldwell Banker Success Southwest. “Some people need the tonic of desert solitude. Others need the tonic of great golf. Tucson provides both.” (Click image to enlarge)

Tucson’s best estate areas are nestled in the northern Catalina Foothills, especially in the Ventana and Pima Canyon areas, and in Oro Valley, northwest of Tucson. There were 26 sales over $1 million last year in the Foothills; in the Oro Valley area, there were five.

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FACTS & STATS

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Catalina Foothills
•Population: approximately 7,000.
•The Catalina Foothills School District is, reputedly, the best in southern Arizona.
•Barely 10 minutes to the Canyon Ranch Spa and about 15 minutes to the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salon & Spa.
•Approximately 20 minutes from downtown Tucson.
•Within five minutes of many elegant Foothills restaurants—Café Terra Cotta, Anthony’s in the Catalinas, Soleil, Trattoria Pina.
•Finisterra: A guard-gated estates community, no golf, located about 400 feet above the valley and near Ventana Canyon. Solitude is more important than golf; each property backs onto the Coronado National Forest. Currently there are five listings in Finisterra, all over $1 million.
•The Canyons: A guard-gated community, no golf. Each custom home sits on an acre or more on a bluff directly below Finger Rock, an unusual vertical rock outcropping. In 2002, seven homes sold, and there are six properties currently listed. The average price in the Canyons is $434 per square foot.
•Ventana Canyon Mountain Estates: A gated community with golf amenities at the Lodge at Ventana Canyon. This area has the highest altitude; it overlooks the city and the Rincon, Catalina and Santa Rita mountain ranges.
•Old Foothills: A community that has classic 1940s Josiah Joesler–designed homes that combine Spanish Colonial and Mission Revival architectural styles. His best-known work is the Hacienda Del Sol resort.
Oro Valley
•Population: 35,000, which has grown 345% in the past decade.
•Oro Valley is an incorporated town and is one of the safest communities in southeastern Arizona. With a very visible police force, locals know to never exceed the posted speed limits downtown.
•Thirty minutes from downtown Tucson and the Tucson International Airport.
•About 15 minutes north is Miraval, a 135-acre spa.
•Stone Canyon: An exclusive gated golf community on 1,400 acres, between the Santa Catalina and Tortolita mountain ranges. Estates are on one- to five-acre parcels. There is a new time-limited adjustment on lot prices, modified to reflect current market trends. The Jay Morrish–designed course is the only desert golf course listed in Golf Digest’s 2001 Top 10 Best New Private Courses.
•La Reserve: A secluded gated community, no golf, with high-end homesites and estates, many nestled below the Pusch Ridge area of the northwest Santa Catalina Mountains.

Realtor 101
•Jennifer Hunter, Hunter Douglas Properties, 520.577.7160, www.hunterdouglasproperty.com;
•Janell Jellison, Long Realty, 520.918.5469, www.janelljellison.com;
•Sharon Walsh, Coldwell Banker Success Southwest, 520.444.5533, www.tucsonarizonahomes.com