Scottsdale-based CFT Ventures, a father and son development team, presented the Silverado at Simonton Ranch development to the community Thursday, Sept. 21, at Camp Verde Community Library.
“Our approach to this is [as] a legacy project for my family,” Patrick Clifton said, describing the 55-plus community of 585 lots as a different addition to the area — an “active older living community” that would one day be managed by his son, Ian Clifton. “We’re not a typical merchant sale development.”
According to Patrick Clifton, the concept is to sell each lot with a 1,300- to 1,800square-foot manufactured home, but zoning will allow custom-built homes, as well. Residents will not own the land upon which their home sits; instead, they will lease the land from the Cliftons for three- or five-year terms, paying a monthly, automatically renewable lot rental fee.
Currently, Patrick Clifton said, there is no limit on the lease lengths. Community amenities will include a pool, walking trails, extensive golf cart paths, an “amenities center,” a dog park and six pickleball courts. Additionally, the Cliftons have donated parcels adjacent to Arizona State Parksowned property north of the development, providing access to to-be-developed park land. Access from there will be open to the public.
“A big part of what we’re trying to do is provide more for less,” Patrick Clifton said, adding that being in Camp Verde will allow for a lower price, with better features, than in nearby Cottonwood and Sedona. “We want our average price point right around $140,000 … significantly below our competitors.”
Clifton said CFT Ventures will be seeking residents, not owners seeking to rent their property out. He did not address whether or not rentals would be allowed, however. Well over two dozen locals attended the Cliftons’ neighborhood meeting, asking questions prior to the developers’ submitting application and fees.
According to Camp Verde Community Development Director Carmen Howard, the town “accept[s] the neighborhood meeting and the results as part of the application.”
The development, which would sit on property west of the Bashas’ shopping center, has a storied history, including plans for over 1,000 homes going back to the late 1990s. By 2010, however, it looked like there was no hope for the project. Ian Clifton said that the expected build-out of the project is five years.
