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Construction set to begin at Escalante
Upscale subdivision about 30 days from building

Pinecrest Lodge is slated to be one of the first structures to appear at the Escalante on Williams Mountain site. The lodge will offer a variety of amenities to residents of the gated community.

Pinecrest Lodge is slated to be one of the first structures to appear at the Escalante on Williams Mountain site. The lodge will offer a variety of amenities to residents of the gated community.

Since construction began on Escalante at the Mountain July 13, real estate agencies in northern Arizona have made a big push to bring the upscale community to the forefront of people's minds in northern Arizona. An open house was held recently at the subdivision site, where realtors from all over northern Arizona were invited to view the development. According to Traci Lawrence of Bankers Real Etsate, who represents Escalante at Williams Mountain, the subdivision was also a hot topic at a recent Flagstaff realtors meeting as well.

"We did the grand opening back in July, prior to me coming on, and that really focused on the community around Williams and leading people from Williams over there to the site, getting them familiar with Escalante," Lawrence said. "What we wanted to do was get agents together, from northern Arizona, familiar with Escalante. We wanted them to know what it was about, so we decided to do this invitation (and) bring everybody out, give them the literature."

Prior to the site tour, Lawrence and other representatives from Escalante at Williams Mountain participated in an MLS (multiple listing service) networking meeting in Flagstaff, where they presented the upscale subdivision to realtors in the area. The Keethler family, who owns the subdivision, worked with Lawrence and Bankers Real Estate on the presentation.

"Jason Coffee, who works with the Keethler Company, came out and did the presentation. We did an hour presentation on Escalante (and) showed the DVD that we have. It was great. People asked a lot of questions and we invited a lot of people out," Lawrence said.

Though inclement weather hampered participation in the Sept. 28 open house at Escalante, Lawrence said that didn't stop some people from stopping by to view the new subdivision.

"We had agents from Flagstaff and we had a few from the Valley that came up. They were very interested," Lawrence said. "We were able to drive them through the subdivision to show them what we have. We currently have phase 1 and 2A available, which is 60 lots."

Two lots have already closed in the subdivision, with two more set to close, Lawrence said.

"We're excited. We get lots of calls on it from people in the valley (and) in Flagstaff," said Lawrence.V

She believes the new subdivision will host a combination of part time and year-round residents.

"In the past they've done a lot of advertising in the Wall Street Journal, US Airways, a lot of nationwide advertising and now what we're doing is keying in on the locals," Lawrence said.

Pinecrest Lodge to appear

"They're going to start construction on it sometime in the next 30 days. We've got two other homes. We had one close two weeks ago. They're going to start construction in 30 days. The lodge is slated to be completed next summer," Lawrence said. "Pinecrest Lodge is a community center. It'll be for the members, the homeowners in there, for their families to use. It won't be staffed at this point."

The roughly 5,000 square feet center will offer residents of Escalante library resources, a fitness center and locker rooms, and a sitting area complete with a rustic fireplace. Lawrence said outside amenities for the center would include tennis courts, a swimming pool and a small fishing pond.

"There will be a nice seating area all around it," Lawrence said. "If people decide they want to get staffing in there then that's something that the members can decide. There will be a kitchen in there, as well as a little bar area."

Warner's Nursery will also begin a large-scale landscaping project near the entrance to the subdivision, according to Lawrence.

"They're putting in a bunch of trees and doing a lot of landscaping out there. We've got lots of different trees in here, poplars, aspens," she said, adding that the gates for the subdivision would be arriving soon.

"The key is just getting people to see that things are starting to happen out there. When we had the agents come out, we had people just stopping in. They could see the activity. We had a couple from California that came in, the Valley, (too). There's just nothing quite like it around here that's a gated community. It's not a large HOA (Homeowner's Association), it's $700 annually and so it's very appealing to people that they have that community center with all those amenities and they're not paying an arm and a leg to live there."

Lawrence can be reached at (928) 607-6069 for more information on Escalante at Williams Mountain. The group also has a Web site located online at

www.escalanteescape.com. A main office is also scheduled to be open soon along Route 66 across from Cruiser's Café.

"Within a few months the office should be up and going," Lawrence said.


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