December 21, 2011 • Vol. 10, No. 2
POSTAL PATRON CAVE CREEK
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ECRWSS Carrier Route PreSorted Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 371 Cave Creek, AZ
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Anthem • Black Canyon City • Carefree • Cave Creek • Desert Hills • New River • N. Phoenix • Tramonto
Development group expects lot sales to begin in January MARC BUCKHOUT MANAGING EDITOR
Arroyo Norte, a development on the east side of I-17 between Anthem and New River, will have lots for sale as early as January. Owned by Starwood Land Ventures, the 150 acre development which is expected to one day be home to close to 300 homes, recently completed the infrastructure including water and sewer lines, electricity and gas lines. Arroyo Norte Drive, the street leading into the development, is expected to be completed by the end of December.
Mike Forsum, Co-CEO for Starwood Land Ventures, said his company plans to sell the lots in phases, the first of which will be 100 60 foot wide lots on the south end of the development. “We’re thinking we’ll start marketing to the builder community in the first quarter and hopefully have some models up by the summer. I think we’ve got a unique niche with good sized homes in a great area.” Forsum said in the second phase of the project his company will put 100 70 foot wide lots up for sale sometime in 2013.
And then the final phase would be 80 foot lots that are closer to the mountain. “We don’t think it makes sense to bring all 300 online at the same time,” he said. “With the market the way it is we’ll hold back and wait for it to rebound a little bit.” Starwood Land Ventures (SLV) is a Florida-based residential real estate investment firm focused on land acquisition, development and financing nationwide. The group bought the 150-acre plot from Pulte Homes.
Marc Buckhout/The Foothills Focus
Lots for Arroyo Norte, a development on the east side of I-17 between Anthem and New River are expected to be for sale beginning in January. Starwood Land Ventures owns the 150-acre plot.
Carefree gallery offers visitors insight into artistic craft MARC BUCKHOUT MANAGING EDITOR
Marc Buckhout/The Foothills Focus
Anthem resident Robert Hutchinson runs the Easy Street Gallery in Carefree. The gallery features contemporary art. To view photos from the gallery go to facebook.com/thefoothills.focus.
Inside:
SPORTS:
Eddie Sparr looks at bird feeders and sewing machines and sees potential parts for his next project. The Cave Creek resident, who displays his work at the East Street Gallery in Carefree, said walking railroad tracks is one of his favorite places to find material. One of his pieces on display, a golfer crouching to read a putt, uses part of a printing press as the spine. “Sometimes I walk out of my studio saying, I’m going on an arm hunt today,” the welder said. “I tell people what I do is kind of like a Lego set without direction.” For Robert Hutchinson, who opened Easy Street Gallery earlier this year, Sparr’s
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creativity and unique works are just the type of art he’s looking to promote. “I tell people that there are plenty of galleries around where you can get Western art with the cowboys and that sort of thing, but if you want to see some really unique contemporary art we’ve got a bunch of really talented artists in here.” Hutchinson, an Anthem resident, is a native of Essex, England, who moved to California in 1983 and then to Arizona in 2007. The abstract acrylic and oil painter, was drawn to open a studio gallery in Carefree because of the pool of talented artists in the area. “We’ve got six artists that work in here and then we’ve also got the gallery where we have that group as well as other
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artists on display,” he said. Hutchinson said that people that visit the gallery, located on Ho Hum Road next to AZ Wine, 100 yards from the Carefree Sundial, are intrigued by the opportunity to watch artists perform their craft. “For the artists we have 2,000 square feet of space, so it’s a good place to work, but the people love to talk to the artists as well,” he said. “I think people are naturally interested in having a little bit of understanding about what artists are doing. I think it gives them a greater appreciation and a sense of being able to relate to what we do.” Hutchinson said that sometimes people get
GALLERY
continued on page 9
OTHER :
Defense keys Boulder Creek basketball team’s recent run
Desert Hills couple honored for efforts to limit smoking in public places
We Care in Anthem hosts benefit for Boulder Creek student
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