Housing development moves forward

In an area parched for new housing, Rayes Ridge appears like a cup of cold water. 

Adrea France and Josh Asanovich are third-generation locals, siblings, and Realtors. Four years ago, they also became partners in a large housing development project named Rayes Ridge. This venture plans to build new homes on a tract of land above the Globe Community Center. 

“This will be something we can all look forward to,” says France.

She believes this is a prime time to invest in Globe-Miami. “After graduating from high school, I was eager to leave town and go to college.  I married my husband who was in the military, finished college, and lived in various places prior to starting our family and settling back down in Arizona.  I am grateful for the experiences I have had but now appreciate all of the benefits Globe-Miami has to offer and see everything through different eyes now.  I love this town and everything it has to offer.”

She sees opportunities all around her; from the real estate market to local business and community growth. 

The need for housing in the area has been a point of discussion among city leaders and stakeholders for decades and a recent housing study confirmed what everyone knew. There is not enough workforce housing. It has been cited as a hiring impediment for major employers and is seen as one of the most important ingredients in a successful regional economic development plan. 

Rayes Ridge homes will help meet this need.

While a development of this size takes a lot of planning and time to get all necessary approvals to keep the project moving forward, France says they are hopeful. 

 “We’re not one of the big, main builders in the region. We’ve never developed a property this raw into the subdivision we envision it to be, so we’re learning along the way.”

France started in real estate in 2000, working in mortgages and titles/escrow services before she became an agent in 2007.  Smart Concept Realty Group is a family affair including Josh & Jami Asanovich, Shane Peck, Daniel Bartlett and Adrea’s husband, Justin France, who is in mortgage lending. 

As Realtors, they did their homework before purchasing Rayes Ridge. 

“The city of Globe has been extremely helpful from the beginning,” says France. “ We met with them prior to purchasing the land to brainstorm ideas due to more housing being in everyone’s best interest.  The current city council has been doing an amazing job in promoting new business and growth and we are grateful for their support and guidance.”  

They purchased the property from The Rayes Family (Nick & Betty Rayes and Children) who were the prior owners of this 30-acre piece of land.  Nick had a dream of developing the ridge into a single-family home site and started working on it in 1956.  He completed the land excavation and neighborhood plans soon after.  France and Asanovich have been working to ensure the 85-90 single-family dwelling home subdivision becomes a reality and have named the community “Rayes Ridge” in the family’s honor.  Talmage Hansen, the owner of TallyHo Engineering, has been instrumental in designing the plat map and working with the city to ensure all requirements are met.   

 “The land that was previously developed has eroded over the years but we were able to use the existing topography to develop our new plan which takes advantage of the elevation changes and natural drainage. When compared with Nick’s plan from 50’s, it was remarkably similar,” says France.  

The location of Rayes Ridge takes advantage of the mountains and hills which are a draw to future homeowners but also provides unique challenges in regards to water runoff and lot retention needs that aren’t required when developing on flat land. 

France and Asanovich have invested several years of work into Rayes Ridge and are happy with the progress that has been made. The City of Globe has annexed the land, engineering and infrastructure studies have been done, and the preliminary plans have been completed. 

“We finally have a preliminary plat map with a list of items we need to take care of before we go back to P&Z [Planning and Zoning] and then to the City Council for final approval. We need to keep chipping away at the list,” explained France.

One of the items on the list is a traffic study. Currently, the development has its primary entrance off Ice House Canyon and a secondary access point behind Trinity Baptist Church off Hagan Road. “We know this is something residents are looking at and we’re taking this seriously,” says France. 

As they move their development through the process of planning and permitting, they are active in real estate purchases, sales and development in the Globe-Miami area.   

“We’ve been really busy in Globe-Miami area for the last six to seven years,” says France. 

She loves representing homes in Globe-Miami, where she points to the diverse and unique qualities of homes here. 

She sees more properties becoming available as the market heats up and people are recognizing the cost of holding on to family homes that are long vacant. Even if you don’t have a mortgage, there are expenses to maintaining a vacant property and for some, that often leads to selling in order to take advantage of the market and cash out vs. continuing to invest in the home.  With the average cost per square foot increasing in the last two years, now is a good time to sell, she says. 

She sees a lot of new people who’ve moved to Globe-Miami from other communities in Arizona, as well as all across the country. New residents bring fresh energy and enthusiasm, she says. 

“There’s been a lot of exciting things happening in Globe-Miami and we are happy to be a part of it, “ she says.