Mountain Shadows Resort owner will sell property to JDM Partners

The owner of the shuttered Mountain Shadows resort in Paradise Valley has agreed to sell the property to a well-known local development company co-owned by Jerry Colangelo, town officials said.

California-based Crown Realty & Development Inc. has entered a purchase agreement for the sale of the resort to JDM Partners LLC.

The high-profile developer's projects include Chase Field, US Airways Center and Comerica Theatre. A recent project was the renovation of the Wigwam resort in Litchfield Park.

The resort at Mountain Shadows, 56th Street and Lincoln Drive, on the northeastern side of Camelback Mountain, closed in September of 2004.

Tom O'Malley, chief operating officer for JDM Partners, said the group is looking forward to restoring Mountain Shadows' reputation as a top destination.

"We have the same interests with Mountain Shadows as we do with the Wigwam,'' he said. "There are certain properties in Arizona that are iconic, and Mountain Shadows and the Wigwam are two of them. We want to bring those properties back to their prominence.''

Paradise Valley Mayor Scott LeMarr said the agreement will bring in a company with a proven track record.

"Many people have wanted to develop Mountain Shadows, but few have gotten permission to do so," he said. "Now, we have a reputable and capable company to do it."

The resort aspect of the property is closed because of a lack of available equity in the economy, LeMarr said. However, the 18-hole executive golf course and residential components remain open.

"Our residents have had to endure the condition of Mountain Shadows for too long," LeMarr said.

Crown Realty, developer of the Montelucia Resort and Spa, bought the 68-acre Mountain Shadows from Host Marriott Corp. for $42 million in January 2007. Host Marriott Corp. is now known as Host Hotels & Resorts.

Later that year, owner Robert Flaxman proposed a boutique-style resort and residential project for Mountain Shadows that included 320 rooms and 26 resort patio homes. However, the plan never moved forward and the resort remains shuttered.

Flaxman put it on the market near the end of 2008, citing a desire to spend more time with his family after his work on the Montelucia resort.

Mountain Shadows originally opened in 1959.

by Philip Haldiman The Arizona Republic Dec. 7, 2011 06:34 PM




Mountain Shadows Resort owner will sell property to JDM Partners