Pima Canyon gave Tucson a boost

Recently I noticed that the sales center at Pima Canyon, which is really just a luxury home with some office equipment and a conference table, was itself For Sale, for $2,215,000.
It got me thinking of when I first saw Pima Canyon in late 2000.
The sales staff there had arranged for a fleet of chauffeured jeeps to take us on a grand tour of the property and then to a lavish buffet lunch on the patio of the sales center. I was new to Tucson and I was dazzled by the whole experience. I saw Pima Canyon from the beginning, and I've seen how it has played a key role in revitalizing the luxury home market in the Tucson Foothills. More than any other event or development in recent years, Pima Canyon popularized the notion and broadened the appeal of luxury home ownership in Tucson.
Ideally located high in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains, and bordered by the Coronado National Forest, Pima Canyon was developed on the last large parcel of land in the Tucson Foothills.
With 290 home sites on 450 acres of gorgeous Sonoran desert, and all of it carefully primped and planned down to the last detail, it's sheer size alone made a huge impact on this market.
And although there were plenty of other luxury home communities in the Foothills at the time, when Pima Canyon opened for business in 2000, there was a surge of excitement and publicity not seen before in Tucson. Home buyers, from in town and out of town, and plenty of the just curious, all wanted to see Pima Canyon.
In early 2001 I was scheduled to meet a client at the guard house entry gate one morning to look at a few new spec homes.
Unknown to us, some anti-development terrorists had set fire to a few vacant homes in Pima Canyon the night before, and the place was crawling with FBI and other law enforcement. We were denied entry and told that it would be three days or more before anyone, other than residents, could get in.
This put a bit of a scare into my client, and we wondered if it would put the kibosh on Pima Canyon for a while.
No way. Pima Canyon responded with a security and PR blitz that quickly put the negative aspects of the incident behind them, and simultaneously raised the awareness and recognition of Pima Canyon to new heights, on a national level. 
And timing is everything. Pima Canyon got started at the height of a booming run-up in the stock market, and at a time when many
well heeled baby-boomers began easing into second home ownership and eventual retirement. 
Because of the ruboff effect of it's popularity and tremendous success, Pima Canyon paved the way for a big leap forward in the growth of the luxury home market in Tucson, justifying further luxury development in the Foothills and other areas of Tucson as well.

Details
Here's a quick peek at what's happened to sales, prices and appreciation in Pima Canyon between then and now.
LOTS
In 2000, you could have bought a lot in Pima Canyon for $145,000, with many selling in the $200,000 to $300,000 range. But even back then, the most expensive lots were very expensive, the highest price paid for a lot that year was $900,000.
This year the least expensive lot sold for $550,000, with many selling in the $700,000 to $1mil range. The most expensive went for $1,500,000.
HOMES
In 2000, you could have bought a home in Pima Canyon for $600,000,
with many selling in the $650,000 to $750,000 range. The most expensive sold for $865,000. The average $/sf back then was $181.80
This year the least expensive home sold for $1,100,000, with many selling in the $1,150,000 to $1,600,000 range. The most expensive sold for $2,855,000. The average $/sf is now $377.18.
While price appreciation has been strong and steady in Pima Canyon, albeit with a little drop this year, it's also true that once it became obvious that it was going to be a success, owners and builders began putting up much larger and more exotic homes in Pima Canyon, which has contributed significantly to today's higher prices.
If you'd like to see all the homes currently for sale in Pima Canyon
click HERE