Commerce park in works for Safford

By Aimee Staten
Published on Wednesday, July 25, 2007 10:31 AM MST

managing editor

The city of Safford could see the beginning construction of one of the largest commerce parks ever built in the Gila Valley during the second quarter of 2008.

Situated on 28 acres that is now in escrow, the park will include two, two-story institutional buildings with underground parking, five office complexes, a restaurant, daycare facility and a bank. The developer is John Wilmot, who recently completed the Indian Bend Corporate Center in Scottsdale with his development partner Randy Todd of the Core Development. The 117,000-square-foot office condominium project was completed in 2006.

The Safford property is located north of Highway 70 across the street from the Graham County Chamber of Commerce and the General Services building. The entrance of the park will lie almost directly on the area where the old Hacienda Motorcycles and the white Hatch building now stand.

Not only will the park be a new experience for the local area, the entrance of the park will have a roundabout for traffic control rather than traffic lights. The traffic study for the roundabout has already been completed by the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Roundabouts, which are common in Europe and are becoming increasingly popular for Arizona cities, distribute traffic counterclockwise after forcing drivers to yield at the intersection.

Roundabouts serve as an alternative to electronic traffic signals and stop signs. The modern roundabout, which is discussed in some detail at www.azdot.gov/CCPartnerships/Roundabouts, is a raised circular intersection. Motorists entering the modern roundabout yield the right-of-way to motorists already inside the roundabout. (See architectural rendering.)

According to the ADOT Web site, a “roundabout approach to traffic management can reduce injury accidents by 75 percent and fatal accidents by as much as 90 percent.”

Safford Police Chief John Griffin is a very vocal supporter of roundabouts.

The entire development will be funded by Wilmot and his financial partners. No tax money or bond money will be used in the construction of this project. This includes the roundabout, Wilmot said.

Wilmot, who has dual citizenship in Canada and the United States and has homes in Vancouver and Scottsdale, owns six multi-tenant office complexes in the Phoenix area. He also owns several real estate development companies and a real estate brokerage company in Phoenix.

The Safford Planning and Zoning Commission will entertain Wilmot’s request for a zone change on Thursday, July 26. His request will be to change the present zoning of C-2 and agriculture to C-3 to allow for government buildings to be built on the property.

There will also be an open house to discuss the round-about in early September.

Previous John Wilmot development projects:

  • 1980 — Borgata of Scottsdale

  • Built condominium projects at

    — Troon North Golf Course in Scottsdale

    — Greyhock Golf Course

    — McCormcik Road

  • Indian Bend Corporate Center

  • Built-to-suit Sony Corporation complex

    • Copyright © 2008 Eastern Arizona Courier

    Comments

    8 comment(s)

      shawn wrote on Oct 5, 2008 2:49 PM:

      " trust me if you want your kid to be scared for life send him or if you dont love him denton is a lying sicopatick crazy guy who the military screwed up "

      marley wrote on Sep 9, 2008 9:11 AM:

      " WHAT ARE U GUYS TALKING ABOUT WERE TALKIN ABOUT MORENCI MINE COMPANY AND U GUYS ARE TALKING ABOUT SOME CAMP YOU SENT UR KIDS TO OR WENT TO? "

      concerned parent wrote on Aug 29, 2008 9:28 PM:

      " If you really want to get mad about Denton's dishonesty, take a look at his website touting his honesty:
      http://www.jeremynegotiates.com/contact.php and how he cuts down other real estate agents in the "shame" page. Maybe complaints to AZ Dept Real Estate would help. "

      Louis Womack wrote on Jun 26, 2008 12:21 PM:

      " Same here. Our son was to attend on June 21, 2008. Camp cancelled and we are out $2900.00. If you have any info or suggestions pleae contact us. Mr. Denton is employed at Signature Realy Group in Tempe. I did make contact with him there. No luck or even a promise of when we would see a refund. This was a planned rip-off. IMHO "

      shawn wrote on Jun 10, 2008 8:48 PM:

      " I actually went to this camp and I can tell you one thing most of the counselors were Indians plus we had one that was crazy and got kicked out of the army we also had a guy who shot a kid with a paintball gun without a mask in the head and they all did drugs at night you could smell it and it wasn't the legal kind and everything they promise was a lie hey a kid almost drowned with the storm and another almost bitten by a rattle snake. if you want to know more shawn-007@hotmail.com "

      Steve Harrop wrote on Jun 10, 2008 12:26 PM:

      " My son was signed up to attend the Aug. 2007 session and one week before camp it was washed out. In Sept. 07 we were told by J. Denton we would get a refund of $3800 within 90 days. No contact since then. As we live in Washington state we don't have any means of getting our money returned. How many other families are in this situation? Is there anything else we can do?

      Steve Harrop
      Winthrop, WA "

      Robyn Pomonis wrote on May 7, 2008 10:31 AM:

      " I too am still waiting for a refund of $3800.00. After months of not hearing from them via phone or email, Jeremy Denton called me in November and promised me a refund "by the end of the year". I haven't heard a word from them since, nor have they responded to certified letters nor contact by the BBB. "

      Elissa S. Stewart wrote on Nov 28, 2007 2:38 PM:

      " My son was supposed to attend the cancelled Operation Noble Eagle on July 29, 2007. I am still waiting for a refund of the $3800 I paid in tuition on November 28, 2007. Jeremy Denton will not commit to a refund date, although he originally assured me I would have one within 90 days. I can provide copies of the emails I have sent and received trying to obtain a refund, and proof of the $3800 I paid ($500 on my credit card for a deposit, and $3300 in the form of a check). "

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