Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., a Fortune 100 company with an existing office complex in Scottsdale, successfully bid $83 million Tuesday for about 134 acres of State Trust Land with plans for a mixed-use development, including a regional corporate headquarters, State Land Commissioner Lisa A. Atkins said.
The property is included at the northwest corner of Hayden Road and the Loop 101 Freeway in Scottsdale.
As the result of a collaborative effort between the Land Department and Nationwide, the Scottsdale City Council voted in June to approve a rezoning package. The package calls for a variety of commercial uses including offices and hotels, as well as for several hundred residential units.
“Today’s successful auction represents another major milestone for Arizona — Nationwide‘s significant investment speaks to the confidence businesses have in our state’s thriving economy,” Arizona Governor Doug Ducey said. “I look forward to working with Nationwide as it plans for an expanded presence and an even brighter future in Arizona.”
“The responsibilities of the Land Department include triggering economic development through the sale of State Trust land,” Commissioner Atkins said. “The land is bought for business, businesses are developed, and jobs are created. We see the raw assets of the Trust as a catalyst for creating an even more healthy and prosperous economic future for Arizona.”
The successful bid amount reflects the appraised value of the subject parcel and will be deposited into an account of the Permanent Land Endowment Trust Fund at the Office of the Arizona State Treasurer, Commissioner Atkins said. The investment account is designated for the benefit of Arizona K-12 public education.
K-12 public education is by far the largest of 13 Beneficiaries of Trust Land managed by the Arizona State Land Department, whose mission since 1915 is to manage the assets of a multi-generational perpetual trust in alignment with the interests of the Beneficiaries and Arizona’s future.
All uses of the land and resources held in the Trust must benefit the Trust, a fact that distinguishes it from the way public land, such as parks or national forests, may be used or managed. While public use of Trust Land is not prohibited, it is regulated to ensure protection of the land and its resources and compensation to the Beneficiaries for its use. Today the Arizona State Land Department pro-actively manages more than 9.2 million acres of Trust Land, which is 13 percent of the land within the state of Arizona.
Upcoming Land Department auctions are listed at www.azland.gov/upcoming-auctions.
