Explorer, October 24, 2007
Ritz-Carlton (officially) coming to Marana
By Nick Smith
After many months of rumors, and despite documents filed with the proper departments, officials going on record and numerous other signs, Ritz-Carlton finally has made it official that a new resort hotel will be built in Marana.
The 250-room golf resort and spa will be built in the Dove Mountain area of Marana and will cost an estimated $160 million, according to a press release made available last Thursday. The hotel is being jointly developed by the Ritz-Carlton Corporation, Cottonwood Properties and the Greenbrier Southwest Corporation, a Scottsdale-based company.
The official comes as no surprise.
In August, the hotel was first listed on Marana’s monthly construction report.
Among the additions to the Dove Mountain area hotel is The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain, the second Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course in the area. Although Dove Mountain developer David Mehl would not confirm the name of the course at a February press conference, blueprints of the course confirmed the connection with the hotel, the EXPLORER reported in March.
The hotel complex, one of the largest of its kind in the world, also will have a 17,000 square-foot spa, more than 300 luxury private residences and two ballrooms of 9,000 and 4,800 square feet, respectively.
The 850-acre site is expected to open in late 2009.
