Having witnessed the area vacant for decades, hearing rumors of development that fell through, many long-standing members of the community probably doubted the 172-plus acres west of the Bashas’ shop- ping center would ever see shovels turning dirt.
Now, Silverado at Simonton Ranch, a 55-plus community of 585 lots intended for 1,300- to 1,800-square-foot manufactured homes, has taken the penultimate step toward construction with Scottsdale-based developer CFT Ventures at the helm.
“The Camp Verde Planning Commission recommended approval to rezone the property to R1- Planned Area Development, which allows for the developer to develop a 585-unit manufactured home community with amenities on 172-plus acres,”
Camp Verde Community Development Director Carmen Howard said. According to Howard, town council will review the rezoning action on Jan. 3. “The next step is for the developer to submit a development plan to define and detail the development features,” Howard said. “This will also be reviewed by commission and council as part of the Planned Area Development process.”
CFT Ventures announced the project in September, offering a community profile, approximate costs of homes ranging around $140,000 and a list of amenities including a pool, walking trails, extensive golf cart paths, an amenities center, a dog park and six pickleball courts.
Land leasing is the only option for buyers in the sub-development: Property owners do not own the land on which their property sits. As a result, monthly mortgage payments will be less because the home price is reduced, but the owner will pay an additional fee for the land lease.
CFT Ventures’ Patrick Clifton has not disclosed how much this fee will be at Silverado, only stating that owners will sign a three- to five-year lease term. Clifton also has not specified how long CFT Ventures intends to keep the land or at what rate lease increases are likely to occur.
“Even though this project is going to be a land lease project, the developer is going to sub-divide the property into individual lots,” Howard said. According to Howard, these reviews can run concurrent to the development plan and approvals. “After the development plan is approved [and financial] assurances are posted, the applicant can apply for building permits and start construction,” Howard said.
