The housing market is on the rise with a Buckeye development, Tartesso, creating new and exciting opportunities for residents and the Arizona real estate industry.

Tartesso is an 11,000-acre master-planned community in the Phoenix area’s westernmost suburb. In early September, Dolphin Partners of Irvine, Calif., paid $80 million for the land, making it the largest land purchase in the area since the housing market crash of 2008.

The Tartesso community will have 41,000 homes at full build-out and currently includes 2,000 homes that were built before the Recession halted construction. Homes will be built north of Interstate 10 and on both sides of the San Valley Parkway, according to plans for the development.

According to George Flores, Buckeye development services director, this is a long-term project, continuing until 2038. Flores says the project does not have a timeline, but he expects steady growth.

Others in Arizona are watching Tartesso because it is one of the first big developments to end a long hiatus that began with the housing market crash, says Flores.

Though the Tartesso development dates back to before the Great Recession of 2008, it is now regaining its momentum.

No other commercial developers have expressed interest in the development, but that could quickly change as the Buckeye population grows, Flores adds.

Len Becker, Buckeye economic development director, says it is just a matter of time until retail, convenience businesses and professional services take notice of the Tartesso development and growth in the Buckeye area.

Becker explains the Tartesso community expects to draw a “mix of families,” including active adults and multigenerational households. While some new residents will be commuters, employed all over the Valley, others will work in the area.

Luke Air Force Base and the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station surround the Tartesso community, giving residents an abundant resource of jobs as well as providing other economic opportunities for the area, according to Becker.

In addition, Buckeye is working on adding other large-scale employment ventures along the Rail Corridor, State Route 85, Verrado Way and Watson Road, with the addition of 1,000 jobs and hundreds more expected in the next 12 to 18 months, says Becker.

“People are — and continue to be — attracted to Buckeye because of our natural attributes, excellent schools, low crime rates, natural beauty and wide array of housing choices and price points,” he says.

While Tartesso is important to Buckeye, Flores points out that “home development has already been jump-started,” and the community welcomes the growth.

The 2015 U.S. Census called Buckeye the 15th fastest-growing community. In 2014, the City of Buckeye voters changed the name of Buckeye from the “Town of Buckeye” to the “City of Buckeye.”   

Buckeye Mayor Jackie Meck notes that the community has been experiencing an increase in single-family home building permits over the past 18 months. “The city has reached the plateau in that monthly permit activity that the city was experiencing in mid-2008 before the housing construction downturn,” he says.

Real estate is on the rise in Buckeye, and the mayor and others in that community believe that as Tartesso builds, people will come. They see Tartesso as kickstarting the city’s successful future.