Scottsdale Adds 400 Acres to Preserve; About 20,000 Acres Still Needed to Achieve City's Lofty Goal

By Ray Stern Tue., Dec. 15 2009 at 12:12 PM

Scottsdale snapped up an additional 400 acres for its McDowell Sonoran Preserve today, taking advantage of a state grant to pay half of the cost.

At least someone's buying big chunks of Valley real estate in this depressed market, right?

Image: www.scottsdaleaz.gov

Scottsdale, which is full of relatively rich folks, made the committment a few years ago to preserve about one-third of the entire city. Activists managed to find city and private funds to buy about 16,000 acres so far, though they want to add another 20,000 eventually.

This new piece is bordered by Deer Valley and Pinnacle Peak roads on the north and south, and 104th and 112th streets on the east and west.

Scottsdale made the winning bid of $6.5 million for the state trust land, but will use $3.25 million of the Growing Smarter State Trust Land Acquisition Grant to help finance the deal. It's the first time the city has used the grant, according to city officials.

Below is a map of the land from a state Web site:

As you can see, housing developments abut the new purchase. Those lucky homeowners will probably see their property values rise. But they won't be the only ones enjoying the wonderful Sonoran views -- thanks to the generosity of your near-bankrupt state, it's now your land, too.