Animated tour of planned housing developement, Silva Farms in Buckeye
Meritage Homes is planning a housing development Silva Farms
A Valley real estate veteran is taking the reins at Teravalis, a 37,000-acre master-planned community in Buckeye.
Charley Freericks, who most recently led the development of the Novus Innovation Corridor at Arizona State University as senior vice president of Catellus Corp., was named president of the Phoenix region for Howard Hughes Holdings Inc., the developer of Teravalis.
“It’s a property I have followed my entire career,” Freericks said of Teravalis, which was previously known as Douglas Ranch. “I’ve always been intrigued by it, and it’s an opportunity to start from scratch. It was too good an opportunity to pass up.”
Freericks worked for Catellus for about eight years, he said, and had previously worked at Scottsdale-based DMB Associates. Freericks said his first career master planning experience was also in Buckeye, with DMB at Verrado.
“Charley’s decades of leadership and deep commitment to Arizona will be a tremendous asset to our company as he oversees the development of Teravalis — the innovative master-planned community that is meeting the ongoing market demand for homes in one of the country’s most rapidly expanding metro regions, and supporting long-term sustainable growth throughout the Phoenix West Valley,” Howard Hughes’ CEO David O’Reilly said in a statement.
The first “residential village” at Teravalis, called Floreo, is under construction, and the first homes are expected to be completed in 2025 and 2026.
Buildout of the Floreo portion could take about 10 years, Freericks said, depending on market conditions. Lennar, Brightland Homes, KB Home and Courtland Communities will build the first homes in Floreo, and Freericks said additional builders will also be added to the community. Floreo has zoning entitlements in place for almost 8,000 houses, Freericks said.
Teravalis has caused some concern for Arizona water experts, because the development only has secured assured water for portions of the project. Floreo does have the necessary certificate from the Arizona Department of Water Resources to assure water supply, but much of the remaining land in the Teravalis master plan does not have the needed certificates of assured water.
Freericks said he is confident that Howard Hughes Holdings, Buckeye and the state will be able to work together to plan for the area’s water future, but did not mention any specific plans for securing water to the development.
“There is nothing that’s happening at the balance of Teravalis that I haven’t had to deal with almost every place I’ve been,” Freericks said of the issues with water and development.
He said partnering with the proper entities, like municipalities and utility providers and forming good plans will help move the project forward.
“It takes good, thoughtful master planning at the front end of these large-scale developments,” he said. “There is a combination of regulatory work, infrastructure and utilities, and it’s about getting good partnerships.”
Teravalis is expected to include 100,000 homes with 300,000 residents and 55 million square feet of commercial development at buildout. At full buildout, Teravalis is expected to have a population larger than that of Chandler in 2022.
Reach the reporter at cvanek@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @CorinaVanek.
