Desert Ridge a hot spot for state land auctions, with more on the way

By Hailey Mensik

Jim Poulin | Phoenix Business Journal

The Desert Ridge area north of Paradise Valley has turned into a hot spot for developers wanting to scoop up prime state-owned land in recent years.

One of the highest-priced state land auctions last year happened when Mortenson outbid Verde Investments for over 200 acres in the area, spending $136 million for a site now planned to become a new Arizona Cardinals training campus.

And major national homebuilders turned out to bid on about 53 acres of residential land by the J.W. Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa, with K. Hovnanian Homes ultimately placing the winning bid of $71 million – up from a starting price of $37.75 million.

The next big auction for Desert Ridge land is happening April 30, when the Arizona State Land Department will sell off about 293.5 acres on Deer Valley Road and 40th Street. The starting bid is $108.3 million.

The property is just across the street from Desert Ridge Marketplace and zoned by the city of Phoenix for multifamily residential, with varying densities allowed throughout the site.

AZ18 LLC – an entity tracing to Michael Lieb – submitted the application triggering the auction. Lieb is president and CEO of Phoenix-based Michael A Lieb Ltd, and known in the Valley as the “infill king.”

Lieb declined to comment for this story.

According to ASLD documents, additional parcels of state-owned land near that site going up for auction next month have drawn interest from other notable developers.

Phoenix-based Vestar submitted an application for a 15.45-acre site on Deer Valley Drive and Black Mountain Parkway, where it wants to build a grocery-anchored retail center. The appraised value of the property – which is zoned for commercial uses – is $4,850,000, according to ASLD documents. The appraisal price is typically the starting bid at auction, though an auction date has not yet been set.

Meanwhile, Lennar applied for a 60-acre site on Deer Valley Drive and 34th Street, where it wants to build single-family homes. An appraisal price was not available in ASLD documents.

The ASLD’s process for auctioning off land is under scrutiny right now, with the department up for sunset review by the Arizona State Legislature this year. Republican lawmakers have introduced several bills to reform how the agency operates, as proceeds from land sales are distributed for funding K-12 public education.

More than eight million acres of state trust land in Arizona sit vacant and unused, according to a December report from think tank Common Sense Institute Arizona.

Final Thoughts :
The surge of interest in state land auctions around Desert Ridge highlights how quickly this area is transforming into one of the Phoenix region’s most active development corridors. With major bids from national homebuilders, plans for a potential Arizona Cardinals training campus, and additional residential and commercial proposals in motion, the demand for prime land in this part of the Valley continues to grow. As more parcels move toward auction and development, Desert Ridge is poised to see significant expansion that could reshape the area’s housing, retail, and employment landscape in the coming years.