The changing face of Tubac
Tubac has scenery, art, history, climate and lots of high-end development

TUBAC--Tubac has scenery, art, history, climate and consequently it's becoming a more and more desirable place in which to live or to own a second home.

It seems Tubac real estate has turned a corner toward really, really high-end property values.

New houses are offered at $400,000, $500,000 and $600,000. There's at least one $1 million re-sale on the market.

And some of the developments are fairly large, with more than 100 houses.

Some residents are wary of such growth, but others see growth as inevitable.

Those seem happy it's clean and not too punishing on the environment like a factory, truck depot, mine or mill would be.

The southwest corner of the Tubac Golf Resort was originally undeveloped and was zoned commercial.

But the new owners decided about two years ago to use the land to expand the golf course and for 229 houses, not commercial development.

Anza Trail is developed

Barrio de Tubac, another new development south of the village, has helped develop the historic Anza Trail and created a public park, complete with barbecue grills, a performance area and bandstand.

"Development is going to happen. It could have been worse," said Dennis Kizerian, owner of the Tubac Trailer Tether.

"People need to realize change is inevitable," he added.

Kizerian also said he wondered if there were enough home buyers to buy all the proposed houses.

Irene Deaton, a 30-year-plus Tubac resident, said she thinks the village is losing its charm and "Tubac is losing its atmosphere."

She's worried that soon "we'll need a traffic light."

David Grounds, president of Dorn Homes and co-owner of Tubac Homes, one of the most important developers in the area, said the growth will benefit the village.

"I think it (new home development) is going to help the business owners in the village. There'll be more consumers."

He said the fact that luxury homes are being built "allows us to do interesting things architecturally, simulating historically accurate homes."

He praised the work at golf resort saying "it has kept to our Spanish roots."

The resort is greatly expanding its operation, adding new buildings in the process.

And Grounds said homes here are still a bargain, "when you compare Tubac with Santa Fe and Telluride."

He said Tubac will never be "over-developed" because of the surroundings--public lands to the east and the Tumac‡cori National Park to the south.

Grounds is developing The Sanctuary, a 106-house project just south of the golf resort. Twenty-three of them will be open for sale in October. "Each one will have a casita," he said, and if the owner desires, those could be managed by the golf resort.

The public report hasn't been issued, so Grounds can't say too much about the project, but one real estate agent who has sold other golf resort property said, "They'll be in the 5's and 6's ($500,000 to $600,000 range.)"

Range to $700,000 and up

Another Grounds' project at Tubac is the 27-unit Tubac Golf Gallery Resort priced in the $600,000 to $700,000 range.

Grounds is partner with Gary Brasher in Tubac Homes, which is the builder at Barrio de Tubac south of the village.

Barrio de Tubac developments includes the new Embarcadero, 180 townhouses along the east frontage road. Work is under way there.

Other Barrio projects in the works or completed include Sentinel Hill with about 40 upscale homes; San Miguel, 24 houses all sold out; and the Bosque, 31 houses, sold out; Trails Head, 60 percent sold out; and Santiago, 72 lots almost sold out.

The Tubac Chamber of Commerce calls the village a place where art and history meet.

It was founded in 1752 as a Spanish frontier fort. Settlers include the family of soldiers and other colonials.

Juan Bautista de Anza II, a Spanish Indian fighter, explorer and governor of New Mexico, commanded the fort, or presidio.

State park is at Tubac

Arizona's first state park is located here, the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park.

And art is ever present.

There are about 30 art galleries and artist studios plus the Tubac Center of the Arts.

Earlier this year, American Style magazine ranked Tubac as America's No. 4 art destination in smaller locations, ranking it ahead of Sedona, Santa Fe, Taos and Boulder, Colo.

Every February, thousands of visitors come to the Tubac Festival of the Arts.

Realtor and developer Gary Brasher said Tubac should always keep its edge as a good place to live over other popular Southwestern locations.

He credited the art and history. "You know our history and art is a very large part of Tubac," and should sustain the village. He said places like Sedona don't have ties to the past.

He also said the housing development seems to have kept large commercial development at bay.

'No truck stops, strip malls'

"We don't have truck stops or strip malls," Brasher said.

Realtor Meg Flanders wonders if the new construction is affecting the resale market.

She said not too many houses are in the resale market now, adding, "the inventory is low." But she said she thinks the new boom is probably causing resale houses to command higher prices. "They're bringing up the market," she said.

Houses that once sold for $180,000 "are now listed for $250,000," she said.

The Morning Star Ranch development lies to the southeast of Tubac.

It's northeast of San Cayetano Mountain and consists of 121 parcels, all of them 36 acres or larger.

Realtor Fred Johnson said 14 houses have been built so far. Some are for sale, "The least expensive is listed at $685,000."

The most expensive is $12 million.

There are projected developments west of Interstate 19, all high-end.

In May, the Santa Cruz County Supervisors approved the first phase of Aliso Springs Ranch with 20 houses. Eventually another 20 to 25 will be added.

Lots will run about $250,000 and houses will run about $400,000 real estate experts predict.

Sopori Ranch development

And the owners of the Sopori Ranch recently announced plans to develop two sections, or two square miles, west and northwest of Tubac.

First United Realty of Phoenix bought the ranch of about 12,600 private acres for $22 million last year.

First United's plans, discussed in Tubac in May, call for about 320 houses, but few specifics were given on the size or lot size.

And there may be another development coming north of Tubac.

The county Planning and Zoning Commission is to meet at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Tubac Community Center to hear a developer's plans to build a high and medium density development on 624 acres east of Amado and south of the Rex Ranch.

The developer is seeking a major amendment to the county's new master plan, said Mary Dahl, county director of development.

Tubac lies along the Santa Cruz River, a perennial stream lined by bird-filled cottonwoods and willows.

Away from the river coyotes, rabbits and an occasional bobcat dwell in the grass and ocotillo and cholla cacti.

Mountains nearby

There are the Tumac‡cori Mountains to the west including forbidding Diablo Peak.

The Santa Rita Mountains with Mount Hopkins, Mount Wrightson and Josephine Peak are to the east.

The multi-million-dollar Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's cluster of telescopes crown Mount Hopkins.

There are three things to consider when contemplating growth at Tubac--water, sewage and light pollution.

Although large scale pumping of water is regulated by the Arizona Department of Water Resources, there's a provision in the state water code that lets individual owners drill what are called "exempt" wells.

No permit is required to drill an exempt well and users can withdraw 35 gallons a minute from it.

At a recent Tubac meeting, custom home builder Rich Bohman warned about too many of these smaller wells being drilled.

He said they'd be like "a whole bunch of straws" taping into the area's water reserves.

There are only two sewer systems in Tubac, at the Tubac Golf Resort and Barrio de Tubac.

All other houses and business, including those in the village, use septic tanks. The waste water filters into the ground from the tanks' leach fields.

Houses generate light

And every new house generates more light, the bane of astronomers.

There are half a dozen or more astronomical telescopes on Mount Hopkins.

"Eventually if there's too much ambient light, you can't see the stars anymore," said astronomer Emilio Falco, a Tubac resident.

He said that in many places in the world, "people have never seen the Milky Way," that band of million of stars that appears as a cloud of light in the darkened skies.

The Milky Way is still visible from dark areas in Southern Arizona.

So for astronomers "the more light, the less we can see," Falco said.

There are ways to control light with such things as shades that keep it pointed downward. And there are low pressure sodium bulbs that produce little polluting light.

"Everyone says they want dark skies, but do they really want them enough to do something about them?" Falco asked.

jlamb@gvnews.com | 547-9749