Homebuilders buy 600 Lots for ‘Scottsdale of the West Valley’
By Angela Gonzales | Phoenix Business Journal | Mar 14, 2025
Two of the nation’s largest homebuilders just plopped down a total of $54 million to buy the first nearly 600 lots at Saddleback, a new, 5,300-acre master-planned community being developed in north Peoria.
Miami-based Lennar Corp. and Scottsdale-based Taylor Morrison Home Corp. are the first two homebuilders to buy land at Saddleback, being developed by Austin-based Castle Hill Partners.
Lennar’s landbanker AGWIP Asset Management paid $27.81 million to Castle Hill Partners for 289 lots, while Taylor Morrison paid $26.05 million for 293 lots, according to Tempe-based Vizzda LLC real estate database.
In addition, Scottsdale-based Camelot Homes is under contract for 19 larger, 80-foot wide lots, said Carlee Ryan, vice president of asset management for Castle Hill Partners.
This will be Camelot’s first community in the northwest Valley.
Two homebuilders are the first to buy lots within a new 5,300-acre master-planned community in Peoria.
Taylor Morrison and Lennar are within the first village called Saltbrush, while Camelot’s larger lots are a bit further north in an exclusive gated enclave, higher up the mountain with premium views.
“We are speaking with two additional homebuilders for the next phase,” Ryan said. “At the moment, I would imagine we would go into escrow this summer and look to close in early 2026.”
Greg Vogel, Ryan Semro and Bret Rhinehart of Scottsdale-based Land Advisors Organization represented Castle Hill Partners in all the transactions.
Land Advisors CEO: ‘Scottsdale of the West Valley’
Vogel, founder and CEO of Land Advisors, said he’s worked on many projects across the country but that the property at Saddleback is the most beautiful piece of raw land he’s ever seen.
“The views are exceptional throughout most of the project,” Vogel said. “The quality of builders that are being selected along with the quality of homes that will be built and the price point of these homes, as people have said many years ago this area of north Peoria really is the Scottsdale of the West Valley.”
Located near the southwest corner of State Route 74 and Quintero Lane, Taylor Morrison and Lennar’s lots are minutes away from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s $165 billion chip factories under development in north Phoenix, which is attracting other companies and will create thousands of jobs and a need for more homes up in that area, Vogel said.
“On the whole, Saddleback is just drop-dead gorgeous,” Vogel said.
So true, said Jeff Gunderson, senior vice president of land acquisition for Lennar.
Saddleback’s strongest amenities are the surrounding mountains and opportunities for hiking and outdoor activities, Gunderson said.
“It’s literally tucked into the mountains,” he said.
Gunderson had been eyeing this land even before Castle Hill took ownership of it in March 2022, when it paid $106.58 million for the vacant land.
“We’ve been working on this for years with Castle Hill,” Gunderson said. “We opened escrow over a year ago. We’ve been hanging with them as they’ve been going through the entitlement period. We couldn’t be happier to work with a great seller and master developer like Castle Hill.”
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