Greasewood Flat, land for sale in Scottsdale

Scottsdale's Greasewood Flat, fenced in by suburban development, is on the market with Reata Pass steakhouse and 42 acres for $21 million.

The rustic outdoor saloon east of Pinnacle Peak has been a popular watering hole with bikers, cowboys, locals and visitors for more than 35 years.

Greasewood's founder, George "Doc" Cavalliere, who died in September 2009 at age 92, set up a trust to manage his assets.

M&I Trust Co. hired Bruce Campbell of CB Richard Ellis to market the property southeast of Alma School Parkway and Pinnacle Vista Drive.

"We're trying to preserve the history of the property, to carry on the tradition of the Cavalliere family," Campbell said.

Cavalliere, the oldest native-born Scottsdale resident before his death, managed the family blacksmith shop for a half-century. His home was adjacent to Greasewood and Reata Pass, a 50-year-old restaurant with remnants of a stagecoach stop on the Fort McDowell wagon route.

The 42-acre site is zoned for commercial use and is being offered as a mixed-use site, Campbell said.

It includes 6.89 acres for Greasewood Flat, 4.6 acres for Reata Pass and 6.8 acres along Pinnacle Vista Drive that includes three residential properties. A sliver of land west of Alma School contains a rustic real-estate office and water tower.

Dusty Greasewood and Reata Pass have been boxed in by upscale neighbors such as the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale and gated residential developments over the past 30 years.

The original business license lists Greasewood as being 27 miles north of Scottsdale, said Paul Mutschler, founder of the Greasewood Flat Volunteer Fire Department, a non-firefighting group that does charity work and meets at Doc's saloon.

Mutschler, who worked 20 years for Cavalliere, said Doc did not depend on revenue from Greasewood and Reata Pass or care to cash in on its land value.

Trust beneficiaries

But that might not be the case for the trust beneficiaries, three of Cavalliere's grandsons, he said.

"I understand that, but I think it's horrible," Mutschler said of Greasewood's threatened demise. "I believe it's an Arizona icon."

Tom Kettler, M&I Trust Co. vice president of real estate, said the property has been on the market for about six months.

"We've had interest from many different parties, and we're exploring several of those," he said.

As a trustee, Kettler said, he could not "divulge any of the details of the documents that we work from" regarding the Cavalliere property.

by Peter Corbett The Arizona Republic May. 6, 2011 03:15 PM





Greasewood Flat, land for sale in Scottsdale