One of the largest privately owned parcels of land in the cool pines of Northern Arizona outside of Flagstaff is currently in escrow and scheduled to close this year.
Located in Williams, just 30 minutes from Flagstaff in Coconino County, the 500 acres are owned by Valley entrepreneur Max Biegert, who spent $85 million to develop and build the Grand Canyon Railway and Hotel in the late 1980s. He is selling the land to developers to make way for a new mini master planned community that would include custom homes as well as other housing options. Developers are also in negotiations with an undisclosed theme park entertainment design company to develop 85 acres of the land into a possible western themed story park including other hospitality uses. Williams is already a tourism destination as evidenced by Bearizona, which saw 500,000 visitors in 2020 alone.
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Listed for $20 million, the property is currently in escrow after a comprehensive two-year marketing campaign. The property is located at interstate 40 and Grand Canyon Boulevard. The purchase is scheduled to close escrow later this year. Plans for the land include building as many as 1,000 homes and a possible theme park.
Principals Brent Moser and Mike Sutton of Lee & Associates are representing the transaction. Moser and Sutton specialize in large and complex mixed-use land and development projects throughout Arizona.
Moser said this will be one of decade’s most significant sales for the region.
“There is nothing of this magnitude currently for sale or possible for development on the private land side in Northern Arizona,” said Moser. “We are moving swiftly to get the property closed and entitled so that we can announce more exciting plans for the project in the coming months.”
Moser says once completed the project will have regional and even a global draw as it sits at the gateway to the Grand Canyon National Park. Gail Jackson, President and CEO at ECoNA says, “This new development will bring much needed housing and diversity to our strong tourism offerings in Northern Arizona.
Offering views of the 35-acre lake, pine trees and Bill Williams mountain, the property is expected to draw a huge interest list. While it’s still early in the process, Moser says 90 of the 500-acres will be used for private custom lots which will be elevated over 100 feet above Gonzales Lake and available for purchase by the general public.
“Housing is really the driving force for this project, as the demand has never been greater in Northern Arizona,” said Moser. “We are in the process of getting all the approvals and entitlements in place with a plan of breaking ground in early 2022.”
More details will be announced in the coming months.
