Tucson, AZ (October 6, 2022) – Self-driving truck developer TuSimple has more room to grow in Tucson after christening a new facility at its development center and terminal on East Old Vail Road.

Gov. Doug Ducey and local officials were on hand Thursday for a formal ribbon-cutting event at the new, 35,000-square foot office, lab and warehouse space.

TuSimple Chairman and CEO Xiaodi Hou, in a video recording since he couldn’t attend, thanked Ducey for enabling testing of self-driving vehicles and local leaders for helping the company thrive, calling Arizona “the leading place in the U.S. for investments in autonomous technology.”

Hou said TuSimple’s technology can significantly improve traffic safety, reduce trucking fatalities and help relieve current supply-chain shortages, citing a shortage of an estimated 80,000 truck drivers.

TuSimple’s milestone comes after the recent announcement that robo-taxi developer Pony.ai will base its first and only operation in Arizona at Pima Community College’s new Automotive Technology & Innovation Center at its Downtown campus. Google’s Waymo has been testing self-driving cars in the Phoenix area.

Ducey congratulated TuSimple on its expansion milestone and said the state has become a magnet for autonomous-vehicle development after beating other states to form a regulatory framework for testing.

“With our flag firmly planted as America’s AV hub, high-tech jobs and companies have come flocking to our state,” he said.

Partnering with truck makers including Navistar, Peterbilt and Traton, and shippers including UPS and the U.S. Postal Service, TuSimple has been testing its self-driving trucks with monitor drivers along Interstate 10 from its Tucson site since 2017. More recently, the company has logged more than 500 miles of completely driverless runs in cooperation with transportation and law enforcement.

The company, which is subject to a federal probe of a minor crash involving a TuSimple truck in April, hopes to win federal approval for autonomous truck runs by 2024.

With the new building, San Diego-based TuSimple has roughly doubled the footprint of its Tucson operation, which after the company added about 100 jobs in the past two years now employs about 300 workers.

By David Wichner, Arizona Daily Star

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TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — In between large plots of unkempt land, over 600 young gymnasts head into Springs Gymnastics each week.

“We have kids that come from Sierra Vista which is an hour south of us, we have kids from Sahuarita and with have kids from inside Tucson too,” Shelly McNulty, the manager and director of Springs Gymnastics, said.

Since McNulty moved to the area three years ago and took over leadership at the gym, she has seen the community change.

“We’re a growing community which is great that obviously helps us and hopefully we expand too,” she said.

And now the change is landing right outside her gyms parking lot in the form of the 43.11 acres of barren land, which was recently sold for $4.4 million. Diamond Ventures bought the land a few weeks ago. It’s the same company that owns the 118 acres across the street, which contains TJ Maxx, Ross, Petco and Northwest Emergency Center.

“It would likely be an industrial use,” Bill Kelley, the CFO of Diamond Ventures, said. “It would likely be a manufacturing facility or distribution facility.”

This project is just one of many that the company has completed in the area from Target to TuSimple Campus. It’s in early stages of planning but he said the project will begin soon and continue over the next two years.

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Scottsdale, Ariz. (March 15, 2022) – Castle Hill Partners, an Austin-based community developer, purchased the 5,261-acre master planned community project known as Saddleback Heights. The parcel is the largest remaining undeveloped master planned community project site in the city of Peoria, Arizona.

Saddleback Heights was initially planned in the 1990’s. Castle Hill Partners has immediate plans to commence development of the site. The purchase marks the developer’s first master planned community development in Arizona. Land Advisors Organization professionals Greg Vogel, Ryan Semro, Bret Rinehart, Mike Schwab and Wes Campbell represented Vandon Partners, LLC, a partnership between Diamond Ventures and VT LandGroup, the seller in the transaction.

“This is one of the highest quality sites for a new master planned community we have seen in our search of the major U.S. growth markets,” said John McKinnerney, principal with Castle Hill Partners. “We are excited to begin our development journey with the city of Peoria and create a lineup of high-quality builders that will allow us to provide a variety of new home options and desirable community amenities for future residents.”

Vandon Partners representatives David Goldstein, president of Diamond Ventures, and Chris Haines, president of VT LandGroup, expressed their support of the new community developer stating, “We look forward to Castle Hill Partners developing the property into a vibrant North Valley master planned community.”

Saddleback Heights is set amongst the natural Sonoran Desert foothills in the northwest Valley, providing panoramic mountain views, excelling schools, parks, trails, significant open space and only minutes to the popular Lake Pleasant recreational area. Located in the immediate path of growth along Highway 74, the development is adjacent to the popular Vistancia community and only 15 minutes from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) $12 billion computer chip fabrication plant, which is expected to open in 2024.

“Saddleback Heights is one of the last remaining development opportunities of its size in the Phoenix MSA,” said Greg Vogel, CEO of Land Advisors Organization. “Castle Hill’s development expertise and ability to execute a project of this scale will certainly ensure its success and provide much-needed new residential options to accommodate the West Valley’s growing employment base.”

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Tucson, Arizona (March 11, 2022) – Sunbelt Holdings had a record year in 2021 in a number of its Tucson master-planned communities, and that activity shows no signs of slowing in 2022. Sunbelt continues to be one of the largest developers in the Tucson metro region with active, record-breaking projects such as La Estancia, Star Valley, Red Rock Village, and Sycamore Canyon.

Lennar Arizona recently closed on 237 lots in Block J and Block N (60’X120’ and 68’X120’) at Sunbelt’s Sycamore Canyon project in the Corona de Tucson area of Tucson. The lots back up to substantial open space and will feature wide ranging views. Construction on the lots will begin immediately.

In February, SBH Verano LP (Sunbelt Holdings) closed on approximately 700 acres for a new master-planned community, located near Tucson’s airport area/I-10 corridor and major employment base. The project, named Verano, is zoned for approximately 2,200 residential units and is anticipated to have lots available for sale to builders in early 2024. The seller in that transaction was South Wilmot Land Investors, LLC (Diamond Ventures, Inc, David Goldstein, President).

“We are proud to add Verano to our existing collection of Tucson master-planned communities,” said Greg Mohl, Vice President of Sunbelt Holdings. “Since entering the southwest submarket in 2015, our team has not only been focused on creating meaningful value at each of our properties, but proactive in delivering lots to homebuilders to meet the demands of the market. The addition of Lennar at Sycamore Canyon, and the acquisition of the Verano master-planned community further demonstrates our commitment to the Tucson market and homebuilders.”

Sunbelt has emerged as an efficient supplier of lots to Tucson’s homebuilders in a number of master-planned communities in the greater Tucson metro area. Sunbelt Holdings is well-positioned in Tucson, where large land holdings and infrastructure come at a premium. All-in-all, the company has acquired projects that will allow it to deliver between 7,000 and 10,000 lots to Tucson homebuilders over the next several years, which should make a meaningful impact in a market that expects to need upwards of 20,000 lots over the next 48 months alone.

Both transactions were handled by Will White and John Carroll of Land Advisors Organization -Tucson. Land Advisors has the marketing assignment for lot sales at Verano.

Will White with Land Advisors -Tucson said, “Tucson’s lot supply is getting tighter by the quarter. Sunbelt Holdings has stayed ahead of this by preparing new plats in their projects to meet the schedules of the area homebuilders. They also have identified new acquisitions around Tucson that will continue provide their homebuilder partners a solid pipeline for several years to come.”

For more information White and Carroll should be reached at 520.514.7454.

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