A.F. Sterling Homes

Building Quality Communities & Custom Homes since 1987.

Homes, Offices Could Be a Finale

June 15, 2007

Two large-scale projects — a development of 54 closely spaced single-family homes and another consisting of six office buildings — may be the last developments of their size in the Catalina Foothills.

The projects are spread across 23 acres along East Sunrise Drive west of North Pontatoc Road. Both are being developed by Tucsonan Peter Aronoff.

"There are very few lots available in the Foothills," John Schneider, a Long Realty agent who writes The Tucson Foothills Real Estate Blog, said when told of the residential development. "There were no large parcels (left) that I knew of. Fifty-four units is very significant. That's big news."

The combined total development costs are expected to top $50 million, Aronoff said.

The residential subdivision, Paloma Ridge, will put 54 two-story, single-family homes — along with open space and nearly half-mile of private streets — on a 13-acre plot, creating a fairly high-density development in an area where many homes are on one acre or more.

The two-story homes will range from 2,700 to 3,100 square feet, and prices will likely start around the half-million-dollar range, said Randy Agron, vice president of A.F. Sterling Homes.

A.F. Sterling acquired the land, one of the last such parcels suitable for a subdivision in the Catalina Foothills, in late 2004, Agron said. The first homes are expected to be finished by the end of this year, and the project should be complete by late 2009.

Paloma Ridge will offer "an excellent location — high-end luxury homes in the Foothills District 16," Agron said, referring to the Catalina Foothills School District. "It's probably one of the last available chances to buy a new home in the Foothills."

On a 10-acre plot directly to the east, La Paloma Office Center will consist of six buildings totaling about 85,000 square feet. It's scheduled for completion in about a year.

Three of the buildings already have commitments from tenants, including a large medical group, a real estate firm and a mortgage company, said Andrew Sternberg of Oxford Realty Advisors, which represents the project.

With space for rent in the low $30s per square foot, the office center, Sternberg said, is among the last two large Foothills parcels available for office space and "the most high-end project built in the Foothills, and likely Tucson, to date."

The buildings will feature upscale touches such as columns and arched windows, he said.

Aronoff's Scotia Group is the managing member of Sunrise HDS limited liability corporation, which is developing the office project. Aronoff also is a principal at A.F. Sterling, which he co-founded, and Scotia Joint Ventures is listed on plans for Paloma Ridge filed with the county, making Aronoff "the common thread" in the two developments, Agron said.

Scotia Group is also developing the Embassy Suites Tucson-Paloma Village, a 120-suite hotel near North Campbell Avenue and East Skyline Drive, slated for completion this summer.

Craig Finfrock, owner of Commercial Retail Advisors, a real estate brokerage firm, expects the office project to be a success. He said Aronoff is a versatile developer.

"It's really unusual for residential developers to be active commercial developers," Finfrock said. "He's one of the few who've been able to be successful in both."

Several residents on North Pontatoc Road whose homes look across an arroyo to the new construction seemed resigned to accepting the development but aren't particularly thrilled.

Sallie Badger, who lives with her husband and son on the corner of Pontatoc and Sunrise, said she has no problem with the new development, and she assumed the buildings and homes would be "aesthetically pleasing."

Nonetheless, she preferred looking out her western windows to a desert landscape and has not enjoyed the sight of trucks moving dirt all day.

"They took out a lot of cactus, and we were certainly sorry to see that cactus go."

"We were hoping they were putting less homes in," said her husband, Bill Badger.

Sallie Badger added: "Tucson is just … I don't see any open space."