The Camp Verde Town Council has approved a deal that will set the stage for an expanded Verde Valley Archaeology Center.
The agreement is among the town, the archaeology center and Summerset at Camp Verde, the latter being the name of property originally planned for residential development by Scott Simonton.
The property is a few acres near Homestead Parkway to be donated by Simonton.
Additional options are being explored to possibly obtain additional land, including buying more from Simonton.
The Town of Camp Verde would also be given land for improvements in the area to support the center.
Ken Zoll, the center’s executive director, said he would like to see a number of shops, including a gift shop, an archaeology supply shop and a high end American Indian art shop.
Several years ago, when Simonton was looking at the land for potential development, a private archaeology firm was hired to target “those features most likely to be impacted by development activities, coupled with those that were the most significant, extensive, and likely to contain burial materials,” according to a report from the center.
To read the full story, see the Wednesday, July 1, edition of The Camp Verde Journal.
