ARIZONA DAILY STAR: Tues., Sept. 25, 2007
Developers offer to pay $40M to fund new interchange at I-10 and Tangerine
By Brian J. Pedersen
Six landowners with property near Tangerine Road and Interstate 10 will pay around $40 million to design and build a new freeway interchange, moving Tangerine a half-mile northwest of its current location to help open up the area for development.
"This is going to be a really major commercial area for Southern Arizona," said David Mehl, whose Cottonwood Properties owns 110 acres on the southwest side of the existing Tangerine/I-10 interchange. It would be the first developer-funded highway project to occur in Pima County since the Arizona Department of Transportation began allowing such projects in the mid-1990s.
Marana officials, as well as the owners of more than 1,500 acres in the area, see the I-10/Tangerine area as a significant regional corridor that could become a top shopping destination. Projects proposed for the area include at least one large shopping center, an auto mall and other commercial developments.
"It's the most significant commercial corner until you get to Phoenix," Town Manager Mike Reuwsaat said.
Once the area gets built out it will likely create an economic boom for all parties involved, but there is no room on ADOT's long-range project list for improvements to the interchange.
So rather than wait for the state to find time — and money — to upgrade its Tangerine interchange, local property owners have spent the past year coming up with their own plan. That plan was approved last week by the Marana Town Council.