A developer is looking to build a resort-style community complete with large waterways and other entertainment amenities on a 741-acre parcel in Cottonwood. The Cottonwood City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission heard a presentation for the proposed project at a joint special session Sept.14, during which they were asked to provide feedback and direction.
Bruce Barrett, a developer for Chromatic Resorts out of Utah, is looking at a parcel of Arizona State Trust land off of State Route 260 near Camino Real, around 741 acres of which lies within Cottonwood city limits.
“We’re very interested in Sedona and Cottonwood,” Barrett said. “The area is stunning, the Verde Valley tourism is exceptional, very charming, the historic downtown streets in Jerome and Cottonwood and such. What we feel is we have an ability to put something in here that would be profitable for us, clearly, but also incredibly beneficial for the greater Verde Valley area.”
The proposal involves working with the Arizona State Land Department to divide the land up into parcels and auction them off over time. Instead of seeing the land developed as simple neighborhoods, Barrett would like to use the area to build a resort-style village consisting of manmade water recreation areas and residences.
The 741 acres would hold around 3,700 units, a third of which would be a resort, a third would be primary residential homes, including houses, townhomes and condos, and the other third would be secondary residential homes that could be used as short-term rental properties or vacation homes. Barrett also made it known that, if approved, he intends to provide affordable housing for those within the $60,000 to $170,000 income range as well as employee housing.
All of the housing would be backed by either a trail or the extensive canal-style waterways Barrett intends to weave through the resort. Other potential amenities include public parks and trails, public access water recreation and a surf park, a bike pump track, a family entertainment center consisting of a movie theater, restaurants, retail shopping and virtual reality experiences and office space. And, if possible, he would like to include an amphitheater, Top Golf or Big Shots Golf, a culinary institute and desert botanical gardens.
He would also like to include intra-community shuttles and those providing rides to Cottonwood, Sedona, Jerome, Phoenix and the Pheonix Sky Harbor Airport. Barrett envisions building the entire resort so that vehicles aren’t needed at all.The entire project would cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 billion and would take between 1 to 20 years to complete.
Barrett said he believes the project would compete with any of the best resorts in Sedona and would have substantial benefits to the community of Cottonwood by driving additional tourism, providing recreational and entertainment amenities for residents, providing much-needed housing as well as sales and transient room tax revenue.
“If we’re going to build a resort that says we’re not in Sedona but we think we’re in a better place than Sedona that gives you more recreation, more amenities, more opportunities, plus you can go into Sedona for one or two days while you’re here, that is an economic message that makes sense,” he said. “We believe we can be successful at that, but in order to have that message and have it go out into the market and make sense, this resort has to be better than any resort in Sedona …. But we don’t think it will work without something big like the waterway or the surf park.”
Water is a core element in the resort project, and Barrett made it known that should he not be allowed to include the surf park and waterways, he will not be interested in building at all.
“The issue for us is we would love to be in this area, we’d love to be on this property, but unless we’re able to put in these water features, we just wouldn’t do it,” he said.
Barrett said the water features are not designed to consume water, and the only loss of water would come from evaporation and residential and commercial use. He also expressed interest in purchasing water rights from the Friends of Verde River for evaporation and would like to either collect rainwater or use reclaimed water, which he thinks would be enough for the water amenities.
“Overall, we’re talking about making this development as water-wise as it can conceivably be,” he said. “We’re not unaware of the issues with water and what’s going on, but people like water play. People in the community like waterplay. Visitors like waterplay. It seems like there’s probably a lifestyle and an economic justification for providing water play.”
Several council members were not convinced and expressed concern about the project’s water usage as well as doubt that their generally conservation-minded constituents would be on board.
“We’ve got water. It’s called the Verde River,” Councilwoman Debbie Wilden said. “I think visually and mentally the high use of water would be, including the evaporation, an eyesore for this community in more ways than one. I can’t imagine the public would want this.”
Mayor Tim Elinski echoed her comments, expressing support for many of the proposed amenities and the addition of much-needed housing but also worries that the project doesn’t align with the community’s values.
“There’s so much about this project that I like and I think that this community needs. Certainly, we all know we need housing, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “We know that tourism is important to our economy, but really where I feel friction with the development is in use of water. I know that you can prove time and again that it’s not consumptive, it’s certainly not as much as golf courses, etc., but it just seems to go against the grain of the culture of conservation that we’ve built here in the Valley.”
Several council and commission members were, however, in full support of the project, saying they are excited by the possibility of providing additional jobs, housing and tourism dollars that the town needs as long as they can reach an agreement on water conservation.
“We do have quite a bit of service industry in this town, and we do thrive off of tourism, so that is a bulk of our job base,” Planning and Zoning Commissioner Angela Romeo said. “I think that this is the kind of project that Cottonwood needs; we need more family activities … we need something that stands us apart from Sedona. And this is the type of project that I would be, as long as we had these kinds of water conservation techniques in place, I would absolutely support.”
Councilman Michael Mathews argued that because Barrett intends to be water-wise in his development, it would likely be better than any alternative that will come as the land is likely to inevitably be developed for another use like neighborhoods.
“Think about the water use that’s [neighborhoods] going to make,” he said. “I don’t see this [resort] densely packed with residences, so I think as far as the water use goes, that’s a trade-off right there …. I’m kind of proud of Cottonwood that you would even consider bringing something like this to us.”
“Personally, I think its great,” he added. “That land is going to be used for something, and it’s probably not going to be a wilderness preserve in the future, so I think it’s good.”
The council also expressed their desire for Barrett to include additional low-income housing in his plans, which he said he would be willing to do.
Overall, the council and commission gave Barrett their support to keep pursuing the project. Following what is sure to be a lengthy public process. If approved, Barrett would want to start by using local builders to construct the surf park and residences.
To view a recording of the meeting, visit Verde Valley TV on YouTube. To ask questions or comment on the project, email Tourism & Economic Development Director Tricia Lewis at attlewis@cottonwoodaz.gov.
September 23, 2021
To the Editor:
In a recent article about a resort proposed for Cottonwood, Bruce Barrett with Chromatic Resorts said that he was interested in purchasing water rights from the Friends of the Verde River. I want to correct the record. Friends of the Verde River does not own water rights and thus has none to sell.
Friends of the Verde River works for a healthy, flowing Verde River system. The Verde River depends on groundwater for its life flow. People who live here also rely on groundwater for our supply of water. And yet, establishing new groundwater uses is essentially unregulated in the Verde Valley. This means that anybody can drill new wells and use that water for most any reason. New wells for large developments can threaten river flows and our water supplies.
A healthy, flowing Verde River supports our vibrant communities. That’s why in 2016 we began operating the Verde River Exchange. The Exchange lets groundwater users reduce the impacts of their pumping on river flows when they fund projects that keep water in the river. This year we are launching the River Friendly Living family of certifications to guide and acknowledge people who do the right thing for our rivers. River Friendly means reducing water use, protecting water quality, preserving native habitats, and supporting river conservation. The Verde River Exchange and River Friendly Living are two ways we can keep our rivers flowing for generations to come.
We hope that all water users, including developers, join with us in reducing their impacts on the rivers and supporting the Verde River.
Nancy L.C. Steele
Executive Director
Friends of the Verde River
115 S. Main St.
Cottonwood, AZ 86326
