Scottsdale buys nearly 2,000 acres for Sonoran Preserve

Scottsdale was the winning and only bidder Wednesday for 1,937 acres of state trust land that will be added to the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

State Land Commissioner Maria Baier said the city paid the appraised price of $41 million for the land. That amounts to $21,165 per acre.

The Scottsdale Preserve South parcel is on both sides of Rio Verde Drive between the alignments of 122nd to 136th streets.

Scottsdale hopes to buy another 2,482 acres of state trust land for its preserve next Wednesday. That land, valued at $45 million, is northeast of Pima Road and Dynamite Boulevard and along Lone Mountain Road to 136th Street.

by Peter Corbett The Arizona Republic Dec. 7, 2011 03:19 PM


Scottsdale buys nearly 2,000 acres for Sonoran Preserve