Since Shea Homes completed its purchase of the former Vista Verde property in October last year there has been a flurry of activity at the site particularly at the subdivision entry off Rio Verde Drive.

The Rio Verde Community Association invited Levi Shill to speak at the annual meeting of the association last week and while Shill discussed the background for Shea Homes and its active lifestyle division Trilogy, he could offer few details on the new development at this time.

Shill, who has worked for Shea Homes for 12 years, is currently the general manager for Encanterra in the far southeast Valley, and has been assigned the duty of getting the Tegavah project off the ground.

Currently the public real estate report for the proposed project has not yet been released, creating some legal restraints on what can be discussed about the plan.

The 850-acre property will be planned for approximately 1,200 home sites. The subdivision also includes an 18-hole Ken Kavanaugh designed golf course, which has been in operation for several years.

Some of the home sites along the western half of the parcel are still owned by Terra West and are being sold for custom home construction.

Asked about the highly visible work along Rio Verde Drive, Shill simply commented they are “grading.” He did acknowledge the work involves some realignment of utilities prior to construction of the new entry. He said he did not have information on what the entry would look like at this time, but said it would be typical of the other Shea active lifestyle communities.

Other items people attending the meeting were curious about included will it be age restricted? Shill’s response was, that is undetermined.

Will they use the name Tegavah? “Up for debate,” Shill said.

There is no pricing of homes yet.

Shea’s other Trilogy communities include club facilities of between 10,000 and 35,000 square feet with numerous amenities for residents. Shill had no details regarding a clubhouse, but noted the amenities typically include a spa, pool and restaurant. Besides the golf, hiking and bicycling are expected to be among the activities that will attract active lifestyle home buyers.

Asked about potential impacts from construction traffic along Forest Road through Rio Verde or Rio Verde Drive out of Scottsdale, Shill said he believes those roads are built to standards that would withstand construction traffic. He added that they would be willing to discuss any safety concerns people might have regarding pedestrians, bicyclists and golf cart traffic.

Mike Klemenski, general manager for Rio Verde Utilities talked about water and sewer services for the new community.

Klemenski said the original Vista Verde property was designated as part of their service area and remains so. He said preliminary evaluations currently underway have been positive and they expect to be able to provide the water needs for the community, as well as other property that remains within the Rio Verde Utilities service area.

Shill apologized to the audience for not being able to provide more details of the project, however, he promised to return to Rio Verde in the near future with more information.