By Mike Bodeen · 13 November 2017
World’s 2nd Wealthiest Man Invests $80 Million West of Phoenix
Bill Gates could have bought 20,000 acres of land anywhere in the world. He chose Phoenix, Arizona. His investment arm, Mt. Lemmon Holdings, recently bought a controlling interest in an area 45 minutes west of Phoenix off I-10 near the proposed new Interstate freeway, I-11 for a massive development known as “Belmont.”
Many are not yet aware of I-ll. I-11 is the proposed interstate freeway that would begin in Nogales, Mexico cross Arizona, Oregon and Washington before ending up in Canada. For Phoenicians, the immediate benefit of this would be an interstate freeway between Phoenix and Las Vegas. These two metro areas are the only ones in the country not currently connected by an interstate freeway system. (See map)
Belmont, per the article in the most recent Business Journal, would contain 3800 acres of commercial projects, 4000+ acres of industrial and 80,000 homes. Belmont would be about the size and population of Tempe, AZ.
We think this is the beginning of further large-scale projects coming to Arizona. Others agree. In a Phoenix Business Journal article this past Friday, Grady Gammage, the prominent Phoenix attorney who represented Belmont in the sale, said, “Belmont is an incredible opportunity for the state of Arizona. We know of virtually no other property in the United States so strategically positioned, already entitled, and yet presenting a nearly blank slate of opportunity. Belmont’s real estate developers see this area as a place to grow Arizona’s solar energy and technology sectors.
Obviously Bill Gates has become an Arizona believer. We believe many more will follow. And West Phoenix makes sense for a project of this magnitude.
http://www.12news.com/news/local/valley/bill-gates-buys-big-chunk-of-land-in-arizona-to-build-smart-city/490978125