SPRING 2008

THE BIG FUTURE OF VERDE VALLEY MEDIC AL CENTER

very day, developers are faced with clearing the path for man’s grand building ambitions. However, it’s not

every day that developers actually restore the path to its natural state before ever building a thing, nor is it every developer who does it. But Communities Southwest, the company behind The Aerie, isn’t your average land developer and, as land goes, The Aerie is miles and maybe even millennia from average.

It’s the kind of place where one could imagine legends coming to life, especially on an overcast day when dramatic clouds crown the snowcapped Mogollon Rim, and fog fl oats like ghost ships between the mythic formations of the Red Rock/Secret Mountain Wilderness. Nothing but an amphitheater of nature is visible from every lot in this 178-acre luxury neighborhood, and the view is not expected to change much after its limited number of homes are completed — or ever, for that matter.

This island of private land, surrounded by Coconino National Forest property, is tucked south of Boynton Pass Road, west of Seven Canyons golf community and Enchantment Resort. The gated community, which Communities Southwest intends will someday be one of the world’s fi nest collections of residential architecture, is being developed in two phases. Aerie I is nestled between the southwestern base of Doe Mountain and the northeastern base of Cockscomb Mountain. Aerie II lies just around the bend, one half-mile from Aerie I, on the other

side of Cockscomb Mountain. The beauty of The Aerie, besides the obvious,

jaw-dropping scenery, is that its phases are being developed gradually and with great discernment. No retail space, no sprawling golf course and no rows of cookie-cutter construction that voraciously consume the landscape seemingly overnight. Instead, Communities Southwest is taking its sweet time to make sure this land deal remains as sweet as possible for everyone involved — including Mother Nature.

Formerly the Sedona Tree Farm, The Aerie’s landscape was once dotted with non-native trees. And, though Communities Southwest did cut down those trees, it replaced them with indigenous trees (including piñon pines and juniper, which require less water) before a single structure went up.

“We replanted native trees to bring it back to what it was,” says Jay Pennypacker, vice president of operations for Communities Southwest.

Planting trees is just one of many things the company has done to fi t The Aerie pieces into the fragile puzzle of its natural surroundings.

After the tree farm was sold, the land sat in developmental limbo. According to Pennypacker, there were initial plans to re-zone the property and build a new hotel and golf course. Similar plans by another company also made tracks through Yavapai County’s approval process before Communities Southwest came on board in 2003.

OPPOSITE PAGE: West of Enchantment Resort and Seven Canyons golf community, The Aerie is a peaceful enclaveof pristine landscape near Red Rock/Secret Mountain Wilderness.

PAGE 76 SEDONA MAGAZINE SPRING 2008

by JoBeth Jamison

It’s the kind of place where one could imagine legends coming to life.

fter 9-11, the golf course industry was struggling,” says Pennypacker. Fancy fairways were a hard sell, so Communities Southwest opted for a

simple but elegant residential solution. “We looked at this land and thought it deserved something that would work for a long time; that would be timeless, and thought ‘What would it look like if we just developed it as a custom-home site?’” Pennypacker recalls. The idea made sense since the land had already been zoned with one lot per every 2 acres.

The lots — a total of 41 homesites in Aerie I and 33 in Aerie II — are being methodically marketed by Communities Southwest and

Russ Lyon Realty Company of Sedona, with the release of no more than six lots for sale at a time.

“We do a slow release so that we can focus on what each lot offers and show them in the best light,” states Pennypacker, although, apparently, the lots are quite capable of casting their own best light. “The fi rst 11 lots were sold from dirt roads,” he says.

From March 10, 2006 (when The Aerie held its grand opening) to date, 18 homesites have sold. The lots are priced at $725,000 and up.

Beyond a luxury living community that would encompass the fi nest collection of architecture, the company wanted to develop an understanding, not just of the land, but of Sedona itself. The principals sought the counsel of John Sather, a world-renowned architect and land planner with Arizona’s own award-winning Swaback Partners Architecture and Planning. Sather, a 32-year Sedona resident, helped develop the City of Sedona Community Plan upon incorporation.

“I’m highly protective of Sedona,” states Sather, offering one of the reasons he took on the Aerie project. “I have an interest in seeing that it gets better every day instead of diminished.”

Sather feels that Sedona’s potential for great architecture has long been undervalued; that the area’s natural beauty should inspire some of the fi nest design in the world but often falls short.

“We (Swaback Partners) do work all over the world, so I would say we’re fairly knowledgeable.”

Sather predicts that The Aerie, containing some of the last available Sedona land, will become that architectural treasure trove.

But relying on individual property owners to achieve this greatness poses a bit of a dilemma. “The challenge as a developer is, if you’re not really building anything, how do you command great architecture?” states Pennypacker.

This is where Sather has been instrumental — in designing The Aerie vision, developing its layout and creating and implementing its architectural principals. Sather

also sits on The Aerie’s architectural review committee to ensure that new homes meet requirements outlined in the Architectural Principles and Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions.

“We’re not trying to grade people’s papers,” Sather says of the committee. “We’re trying to enlighten and inspire them to greatness and to help them understand the position this property holds in the world.” He adds that the principles were established to encourage architects to produce their best work.

ABOVE: An aerial-view rendering of what will be The Aerie’s fi rst completed home, designed by Andy Byrnes.

OPPOSITE PAGE: The Aerie affords amphitheater views of Red Rock Country.

The architectural guidelines will encourage ‘singular artistic statements that belong with the land.’

fresh views fresh style fresh start

uilding-envelopes at The Aerie range from approximately 25,000 to 45,000 square feet, but are each created to protect the integrity of the landscape and

to preserve the views for each resident. While The Aerie isn’t a “green” development

(green methods and elements are largely up to the homebuilder), Sather and Communities Southwest have taken plenty of steps to ensure that its overall infrastructure is environmentally sound and sustainable. The architectural guidelines will encourage “singular artistic statements that belong with the land,” says Sather.

The building-envelopes, which are independent of but in addition to Yavapai County’s envelopes, protect the existing and replanted trees by allowing only a limited number to be felled as the structures go up. They also impose height restrictions as well as limit the second-story element of Aerie homes.

Even the roads work in favor of nature. “They follow trails that animals would migrate around,” says Pennypacker.

Another thing we’re doing is limiting the amount of grass,” says Aerie sales director, Monty Cooper, with Russ Lyon Sedona. “People can’t have 2 acres of irrigated grass. We want it to look as natural as

possible with the existing landscape.”The area is equipped with an alternative septic

system. “It’s a little more expensive,” says Cooper, “but it basically treats [waste water] to the point where it’s safe enough to dispense back through a sprinkler system.”

Pennypacker says Communities Southwest is “trying to be responsible; to work with the environment that existed before people got here and be good stewards of the land.”

The Aerie Conservancy, the community’s homeowner’s association, will apply a portion of HOA fees toward a Forest Service stewardship fund to provide education on living within forest surroundings and to assist the Forest Service in protecting the land.

The aim behind The Aerie’s well-conceived and organic-oriented rules and restrictions is

that every home will fi t into the terrain of its respective lot. Pennypacker says that the intent is also to promote great architecture.

“We envision The Aerie to be a collection of great residences to be passed down from generation to generation,” he says.

Already setting the stage for the developers’ sensible but stylish ambition is the building that houses the water reservoir, which was carefully designed to disappear into the terrain rather than impact the views. According to Pennypacker, the fi re department requires the reservoir to hold only 60,000 gallons. To be on the safe side, Aerie planners designed this one to hold 120,000 gallons. Also, on the side of safety, they decided to require that each home be built with a sprinkler fi re-extinguisher system.

The next building on the Aerie horizon will be its fi rst completed home — a spec home — on Lot 31, designed by Phoenix architect Andy Byrnes and the Construction Zone. Byrnes’ work is not unlike that of Swaback Partners, in that it’s artful, modern and fresh with echoes of Frank Lloyd Wright, and has a way of blending exactly where it’s built. Applying a linear style and using such materials as steel, glass and poured concrete, Byrnes successfully incorporates organic principles into timeless architecture and enduring structures. Fortunately, this is just what Communities Southwest is looking for and the hope is that Byrnes’ design will serve as an inspiration for future Aerie homes.

“Other than this pack of trees, the house really fi ts here without signifi cant damage or grading,” says Byrnes pointing to a small group of piñon pines as he conducts surveys of Lot 31, which backs right up to forest property. Byrnes and Construction Zone also will design and build The Aerie’s sales center at the junction of Aerie I and Aerie II. The center will eventually be sold as a portion of the site’s future home.

When all is bought, built, said and done, The Aerie is destined to become the most sought-after luxury living space in Sedona.

“Ultimately The Aerie will be timeless,” Sather predicts. “It will be known as a heritage project — not by grand gestures, but by doing a lot of little things right.”

And with The Aerie’s eco-sensitive and solid approach to establishing a truly enduring Sedona style, it likely will be a model Arizona development for generations to come.

ABOVE: Aerie architecture is intended to be as awe-inspiring as nature’s own design.

fresh views fresh style fresh start

Published in SEDONA MAGAZINE © Spring 2008 Sedona Publishing Company Cover Photo © Tom Johnson