PV Mountain Shadows resort owner defaults on loan

The owner of the Mountain Shadows resort in Paradise Valley has defaulted on his loan but says the long-shuttered property's redevelopment will move forward.

A trustee's sale for the resort has been set for July 26.

However, officials with California-based Crown Realty and Development Inc., say that the firm wants to avoid the foreclosure, and is negotiating with lender U.S. Bank Special Assets Groupon a resolution.

Crown Realty, owned by Robert Flaxman, also developed the InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa in Paradise Valley, which defaulted on a $180 million loan about three years ago.

Flaxman owes at least $360,000 in taxes on the Mountain Shadows property, according the the Maricopa County Treasurer's Office.

Jason Rose, a spokesman for Crown Realty, said if they are successful in negotiations, there will be no sale. If they are not, Crown can bid on the property at the auction.

"They are optimistic about a resolution," Rose said. "They feel confident in a favorable resolution with the bank that will translate into a favorable re-development of Mountain Shadows for the town."

Dozens of residents showed up for a preliminary presentation of their plans for re-developing the resort, at a Town Council meeting Thursday afternoon.

The plan includes resort hotel, residential, golf and retail facilities.

At the meeting, Flaxman, said his firm plans to work through the loan default.

He bought the 68-acre property from Host Marriott Corp. for $42 million, in January 2007. Host Marriott Corp. is now known as Host Hotels & Resorts.

"We are committed to this project and plan to see it through," Flaxman said.

Town Manager Jim Bacon said Crown Realty has had an application on file with Paradise Valley for several years.

The firm plans to submit a revised application this week.

"The owner has the right to move forward with an application," Bacon said, whether the property is in default or not.

The Mountain Shadows resort, which remains closed at 56th Street and Lincoln Drive, has drawn potential re-development possibilities in recent months.

Residents became hopeful when Phoenix-based JDM Partners, co-owned by sports mogul Jerry Colangelo, entered into a purchase agreement for Mountain Shadows in December.

JDM's projects include Chase Field, US Airways Center,Comerica Theatre and the remodel of the Wigwam resort in Litchfield Park, which represented the company's first foray into the hospitality industry.

However, the firm announced last month that it was unable to reach a final agreement with Crown Realty and is no longer under contract for the property.

JDM officials provided no more information, citing a confidentiality provision in the purchase agreement.

by Philip Haldiman - May. 15, 2012 10:06 AM The Republic | azcentral.com



PV Mountain Shadows resort owner defaults on loan

Restoration plan for Paradise Valley hotel stalls again

Efforts to restore the iconic Mountain Shadows resort in Paradise Valley have stalled once again.

Mountain Shadows has been shuttered since 2004, but hope came to the town in December when a high-profile company made plans for its redevelopment.

Phoenix-based JDM Partners LLC and California-based Crown Realty & Development Inc., developer of the resort, entered into a purchase agreement that month for the property, which is at 56th Street and Lincoln Drive.

However, JDM Partners announced Wednesday -- the day the deal expired -- that it was unable to reach a final agreement with Crown Realty and is no longer under contract for the property.

The company had been in the process of finalizing a conceptual plan to redevelop the resort.

Tom O'Malley, chief operating officer for JDM Partners, said the company had every intention of getting an extension for the purchase agreement and acquiring the property.

He said the town's efforts had nothing to do with the contractual breakdown, but he gave few other details, citing a confidentiality provision in the purchase agreement.

"We worked hard with the seller and did everything we could," he said. "We were really excited about the prospects, but if the opportunity presents itself in the future, we will take a look at it."

Rick Carpinelli, senior vice president of acquisitions and development for Crown Realty, said company officials will meet with the town to discuss redeveloping the property.

Thoughts of the resort's redevelopment had brought high hopes to town officials and residents expecting the rebirth of the beloved Paradise Valley landmark.

Those hopes hinged on the reputation of JDM Partners, co-owned by sports mogul Jerry Colangelo.

JDM's projects include Chase Field, US Airways Center, Comerica Theatre and the remodel of the Wigwam resort in Litchfield Park, which represented the company's first foray into the hospitality industry.

Town Manager Jim Bacon said he is disappointed that JDM wasn't able to complete the purchase, but Bacon is optimistic that Crown Realty will submit a special-use permit to redevelop Mountain Shadows.

"They told us they plan to submit an application," Bacon said.

by Philip Haldiman - Apr. 8, 2012 09:55 PM The Republic | azcentral.com



Restoration plan for Paradise Valley hotel stalls again

Mansion in PV sells for $10.5 mil

John McLean/The Arizona Republic M56 Place LLC, a New Mexico limited liability company, paid $10.5 million in cash for this 17,015 square-foot home at Mummy Mountain Estates in Paradise Valley.




Metro Phoenix's high-end housing market received a boost earlier this week when a 35,000-square-foot mansion in Paradise Valley sold for $10.5 million in cash. It's the region's highest price home resale since the boom, though there have been some pricier homes built.

The house, situated on 5 acres, was once owned by Phillips Smith, former chairman of Taser International. He gave the home back to lender M&I Bank in 2011.

The buyer, M56 Place LLC, has carefully covered the names of its principals, the people who will own the home.

"The house is in great shape and was a great deal for the buyer," said Joan Levinson of Realty One Group. She negotiated the sale for the lender and buyer and declined to disclose names of the people behind M56 Place.

The house was originally listed for $20 million, and then lowered to $15.9 million. The mansion comes with a 21-car garage, two swimming pools, a guesthouse, seven bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, $1.2 million in security and sound equipment, a 13-seat movie theater and two large libraries

Smith lived in the home and maintained it until the sale.

Price per square foot

For anyone still in doubt about home prices increasing in the metro Phoenix area: on March 28, the price-per-square-foot of a home sale in the region had climbed 8.68 percent from the end of February, according to the Cromford Report.

Mike Orr, publisher of the online real-estate report, said that beats the highest monthly price jump during the region's housing boom: 7.47 percent during January 2005.

The biggest 30-day price change during the past decade happened during September 2007, but that was a drop of 9 percent.

Valley Home Values

The Republic's annual analysis of metro Phoenix home prices and sales will be in Sunday's paper and online at homevalues.azcentral.com.

Some homeowners may look at the data and think prices look low for their neighborhood.

The report is based on annual data from 2011, and many areas didn't start to see increases in home values until late last year.

by Catherine Reagor - Mar. 30, 2012 04:50 PM The Arizona Republic | azcentral.com

Mansion in PV sells for $10.5 mil

Paradise Valley residents get first glimpse of resort plan

Paradise Valley residents are getting their first glimpse of plans for the renovation of the shuttered Mountain Shadows resort.

Specifics are still minimal, but officials with JDM Partners LLC expect more information to be available when their special-use permit is submitted in the next week.

Stephen Earl, zoning counsel for the developer, said the firm's permit application is nearly complete. The Town Council met Friday to go over plans for the resort, at 56th Street and Lincoln Drive, on the northeastern side of Camelback Mountain. The resort closed in September 2004, but residences on the property are still in use.

JDM agreed to buy the 68-acre property late last year.

"We've been working intensely on this for the last month and a half, but we're not quite ready to file the (special-use permit)," Earl said. "We have a draft and hope to file very soon, but we don't know yet."

JDM, co-owned by sports businessman Jerry Colangelo, has projects that include Chase Field, US Airways Center and Comerica Theatre.

The company's purchase of the Wigwam resort in Litchfield Park about two years ago marked its first foray into the hospitality industry. The parties involved with the resort in Paradise Valley are looking to JDM's experience in the renovation of the 82-year-old Wigwam as a touchstone for Mountain Shadows.

Architect Erik Peterson, principal with PHX Architecture, said the team that worked on the Wigwam is working on the Mountain Shadows project.

Litchfield Park officials have said that sustainable changes were made to the Wigwam's pool areas, restaurants and bars, and that events like golf tournaments are beginning to draw more visitors to the Southwest Valley city.

"The Wigwam was rundown, broken and in disrepair," Peterson said.

The Mountain Shadows resort plan for renovation includes residential and retail components.

Peterson said the site will be reminiscent of California resort destinations like those in Santa Barbara.

Paradise Valley Town Councilman Michael Collins said past plans formally submitted for the Mountain Shadows site never truly captured the opportunity for the historic resort to be a legacy project -- something that transcends rudimentary development calculations, with the owners making a long-lasting contribution to the fabric and quality of life of the community.

Collins served on the Planning Commission for three years before being elected to the council in 2010.

He said the current concept embraces the proposed 2012 General Plan update, with a low-density resort town center that provides amenities to Mountain Shadows residents and includes a limited amount of community-oriented commercial services.

The General Plan update goes before voters on March 13.

"None of the plans before spoke to the true heritage of the site as a community gathering place," he said.

by Philip Haldiman - Feb. 23, 2012 10:30 AM The Republic | azcentral.com




Paradise Valley residents get first glimpse of resort plan

Mountain Shadows Resort owner will sell property to JDM Partners

The owner of the shuttered Mountain Shadows resort in Paradise Valley has agreed to sell the property to a well-known local development company co-owned by Jerry Colangelo, town officials said.

California-based Crown Realty & Development Inc. has entered a purchase agreement for the sale of the resort to JDM Partners LLC.

The high-profile developer's projects include Chase Field, US Airways Center and Comerica Theatre. A recent project was the renovation of the Wigwam resort in Litchfield Park.

The resort at Mountain Shadows, 56th Street and Lincoln Drive, on the northeastern side of Camelback Mountain, closed in September of 2004.

Tom O'Malley, chief operating officer for JDM Partners, said the group is looking forward to restoring Mountain Shadows' reputation as a top destination.

"We have the same interests with Mountain Shadows as we do with the Wigwam,'' he said. "There are certain properties in Arizona that are iconic, and Mountain Shadows and the Wigwam are two of them. We want to bring those properties back to their prominence.''

Paradise Valley Mayor Scott LeMarr said the agreement will bring in a company with a proven track record.

"Many people have wanted to develop Mountain Shadows, but few have gotten permission to do so," he said. "Now, we have a reputable and capable company to do it."

The resort aspect of the property is closed because of a lack of available equity in the economy, LeMarr said. However, the 18-hole executive golf course and residential components remain open.

"Our residents have had to endure the condition of Mountain Shadows for too long," LeMarr said.

Crown Realty, developer of the Montelucia Resort and Spa, bought the 68-acre Mountain Shadows from Host Marriott Corp. for $42 million in January 2007. Host Marriott Corp. is now known as Host Hotels & Resorts.

Later that year, owner Robert Flaxman proposed a boutique-style resort and residential project for Mountain Shadows that included 320 rooms and 26 resort patio homes. However, the plan never moved forward and the resort remains shuttered.

Flaxman put it on the market near the end of 2008, citing a desire to spend more time with his family after his work on the Montelucia resort.

Mountain Shadows originally opened in 1959.

by Philip Haldiman The Arizona Republic Dec. 7, 2011 06:34 PM




Mountain Shadows Resort owner will sell property to JDM Partners

'Floating' house by Taliesen-trained architect fetches $4.34 million

Courtesy of High Res Medi This 10,000-square-foot home in Paradise Valley sold at auction recently for $4.34 million. The one-acre property near 32nd Street and Lincoln Drive includes 4 bedrooms, 5 1/2 baths, a wine cellar and 4-car garage.


A Paradise Valley home sold at auction last month for $4.34 million, one of the highest prices paid recently for a 1-acre property in the town.

The four-bedroom, 5½-bath home of more than 9,500 square feet is southeast of 32nd Street and Lincoln Drive with views of Camelback Mountain, Piestewa Peak and the Valley's city lights.

The contemporary home was designed by architect Charles Schiffner, the former son-in-law of Frank Lloyd Wright. He trained for 15 years at Wright's Taliesin West in Scottsdale.

"I think it's a fair price," Schiffner said.

Schiffner added that Wright often said that "good architecture is good business."

Linda Masaryk hired Schiffner to design the home on a hillside lot that presented challenges in adhering to Paradise Valley's building codes for mountainous terrain.

"I floated the home over the site and you walk underneath it to get to the front door," Schiffner said.

Steel beams, thick walls

The main living space has floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a zero-edge reflecting pool.

It is built with thick concrete walls and exposed steel beams. Amenities include a wine cellar, game room, elevator, four-car garage and a separate guest suite.

There was much interest in the 2-year-old home before the Oct. 20 auction, said Maverick Commins, a principal of Supreme Auctions. He sold the property to an unidentified couple who outbid 10 other prospective buyers.

"There are views from every single window in this house," Commins said. "I was there twice for sunsets that were just spectacular."

The buyers had been looking for properties in the Valley for about five years and could not find what they wanted until they saw this property, Commins said.

He is a strong advocate for selling luxury homes via auctions.

Lots of luxury inventory

There is no shortage of luxury homes in Paradise Valley to sell.

Since Oct. 1, 10 homes in the town have sold for more than $2 million, said Tom Tischer, ReMax Excalibur associate broker.

That included a 9,185-square-foot home on 3 acres in Clearwater Hills that recently sold for $5.5 million. The home on Longlook Road was on the market for more than 14 months.

"It's encouraging to see that kind of activity," said Tischer, chairman of the Scottsdale Luxury Home Tour.

There is a lot of luxury-home inventory in Paradise Valley "that is overpriced, it's a dog or both," he said.

Prices have dropped to 2003 levels and some sellers are still trying to get 2007 prices, Tischer said.

Contemporary-design homes like Schiffner's are in a much shorter supply. Kurt Warner's multimillion-dollar home on Cheney Drive is among the available choices for buyers, Tischer said, but it's not as impressive as the house that Schiffner designed.

"That's a stunning house," he added.

Schiffner is pleased with the way the home turned out but is not ready to say it's his favorite design.

He quoted Wright who always said "the next one" was his favorite or most successful design.

by Peter Corbett The Arizona Republic Nov. 22, 2011 08:28 AM



'Floating' house by Taliesen-trained architect fetches $4.34 million