ARIZONA DAILY STAR: Thurs., May 1, 2008

Development co-existing with antiquity

Preservation of hohokam site part of Honey Bee village

By Lourdes Medrano

The remnants of an ancient civilization will be showcased as an archaeological jewel in a modern development of luxury condos, houses, shops and restaurants in Oro Valley. The developer of Vistoso Town Center, a planned 87-acre community in Rancho Vistoso, wants to make the most of the site where a Hohokam village once thrived.

"I'm very interested in archaeology and the past of the Southwest, so I was very excited to acquire a piece of land that had such a significant archaeological value," local developer Steve Solomon said.

Area archaeologists say Honey Bee Village beneath the land dates to about A.D. 500, when the Hohokam first settled along the Honey Bee Wash in the Cañada del Oro Valley.

"This site is quite significant because it will provide us with a fuller picture of Hohokam life than we've had before," said Henry Williams of Desert Archaeology Inc., the Tucson company doing the archaeological work on Honey Bee Village.

In 2004, Pima County voters approved a $1 million bond issue to buy the site but officials later deemed it unaffordable. Instead, the county, Solomon and Oro Valley entered into a contract in 2006. Solomon agreed to donate the village's 13-acre core to Pima County for preservation. The county then used the $1 million to pay for archeological work on the surrounding land where Solomon's Vistoso Town Center will take shape.

Some developers and local governments now seem more willing to work toward striking a balance between development and preservation, as well as getting the tribe involved, Burrell said.

Pima County's Loy Neff said Solomon's eagerness to preserve the land is uncommon.

"The scale of participation by the land developer is pretty exceptional," said Neff, program manager in the county's Cultural Resources and Historic Preservation Office.

For Solomon, the preserve represents an opportunity to incorporate his passion for the region's heritage into what he says will be a unique development in the area.

FULL STORY: http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/236728