Encompassing over a thousand acres of beautiful Scottsdale real estate, Scottsdale Ranch enjoys nearly 40 different subdivisions and 4,000 upscale homes and homesites ranging from single-family homes to spacious townhomes to intimate patio homes to luxurious tennis villas. But what makes this slice of proverbial paradise even better is a 42-acre lake that was jointly developed by the City of Scottsdale, Maricopa County, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Scottsdale Ranch. As part of the Indian Bend Green Belt System, water for what is known as Lake Serena serves as control for run-off water from the nearby McDowell Mountains.  

Featuring 64 acres, the cornerstone of this highly-sought-after community is Scottsdale Ranch Park, a general public-use area that the developer donated to the City of Scottsdale. Amenities include a lighted basketball court (full-size), four lighted racquetball courts, a lighted squash court and two lighted basketball sport courts (half-size). In addition, there are six picnic ramadas available for reservation, two lighted baseball fields, six lighted sand volleyball courts and a tennis center with twelve lighted tennis courts. This beautiful park is also home to the Desert Garden and its three passive interpretive zones: a hummingbird nest, a saguaro sanctuary and a butterfly garden.  

A highly touted public facility inside Scottsdale Ranch is the Via Linda Senior Center which offers numerous activities such as art classes, computer classes and fitness classes. A typical sampling of scheduled courses and discussion topics includes tai chi, aerobics, yoga, French and Spanish. Regular health screenings are also offered and book groups, movie nights and local excursions fill the Center’s busy schedule. 

Another feature of Scottsdale Ranch is its access to the Scottsdale Unified School District’s top-rated public schools. Children who live within Scottsdale Ranch’s boundaries are associated with SUSD’s Laguna Elementary School, Mountainside Middle School and Desert Mountain High School. Moreover, Scottsdale’s Boys & Girls Club (the Virginia G. Piper branch) is located next door to Laguna Elementary School and provides more than 100 after-school and summer programs built around the Club’s five core areas of leadership development and character, the arts, life and health skills, career development and education, and fitness, sports and recreation.

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Living in Scottsdale real estate is opening up new doors of opportunity for many students. According to the Scottsdale Unified School District, middle and high school students now have the opportunity to explore and learn Mandarin Chinese in both face-to-face and distance-learning environments.  

Instructors will teach students face-to-face at Ingleside Middle School, Mohave Middle School, Cocopah Middle School, Mountainside Middle School, Arcadia High School and Chaparral High School. Meanwhile, students at Coronado High School, Desert Mountain High School and Saguaro High School will be taught in virtual classrooms utilizing distance learning. During the distance-learning classes, the high school students will have the opportunity to engage with other students in the district.  

During the course, students will begin to explore the Mandarin language, including vocabulary, sentence structure, writing and culture. There are no prerequisites to enroll in the course, and any student who expresses interest in learning Mandarin may enroll.  

Each of the five Scottsdale Unified School District high schools is now equipped with a distance-learning classroom, utilizing state-of-the-art video-conferencing technology that will allow teachers in the world language program to engage students at all high schools in Mandarin Chinese language courses. The district’s plan for future use of distance-learning technologies includes expanding to other subject areas, virtual fieldtrips and professional development opportunities for teachers.  

Offering Mandarin Chinese for SUSD students complements the Scottsdale Sister Cities Association’s collaboration with Haikou, China as its newest Sister City.  

According to the Scottsdale Unified School District, the district is one of Arizona’s most Excelling school districts, with 19 schools earning the state’s highest rating of Excelling. The district further states that all Scottsdale schools are rated as Excelling, Highly Performing, Performing Plus or Performing by the Arizona Department of Education. For more information about Scottsdale Unified schools, visit www.susd.org. rl0z1

Considered by many to be one of the largest planned community developments in the country, McCormick Ranch is a model for mixed-use development. Encompassing approximately seven square miles of prime real estate in the heart of Scottsdale, Arizona, McCormick Ranch was once the site of one of Scottsdale’s last big Arabian horse ranches.  



Flattered by a hint of California design ambience, the Scottsdale homes in McCormick Ranch boast lush grass, tall towering trees and mature shrubbery. Styles range from beautiful single-family homes to luxury estates to gorgeous waterfront properties nestled next to one of the seven manmade lakes scattered throughout the community. In addition, McCormick Ranch is home to golf course villas, townhomes, condominiums and patio homes…in other words, something for everyone and every lifestyle.  

Winding alongside luxuriant greenbelts, some 25 miles of bicycle paths are a much-loved part of McCormick Ranch, and if fishing is what tickles your fancy, no problem – Camelback Lake is stocked for fishing, and sailing is permitted on both Camelback Lake and Lake Margherite. A number of homes snuggled around these lakes enjoy boat docks, and it’s important to note that the lakes and greenbelt are not just for show – they’re also designed as part of the community’s water drainage system.  

Golfers love McCormick Ranch because it has two 18-hole golf courses that mirror the landscape of many of the community’s homes – lush tree-lined fairways and emerald-green grass. Both courses were designed by Desmond Muirhead and as its name implies, the Palm Course is graced with soaring palm trees. Meanwhile, the Pine Course is host to numerous mature pine trees that remind many residents of the Midwest.  

A little history: In the mid-1940s, Merle Cheney sold a lot of the real estate that became McCormick Ranch to Fowler and Anne McCormick, who wanted to use the 4,200-acre ranch as a winter home. Fowler’s grandfathers were Cyrus McCormick, inventor of the grain reaper, and John D. Rockefeller; Fowler himself went on to become president and chairman of the board of International Harvester. The McCormick’s combined the parcel with other large amounts of acreage they had purchased to create a working ranch that raised Black Angus cattle. Anne was the primary overseer of the ranch’s operation and she was also responsible for bringing Arabian horses to Scottsdale. In fact, today, one of McCormick Ranch’s major throughways is named Arabian Trail. rl0z1

Photo by: Trescastillos from Wikipedia

Scottsdale, Arizona’s big-screen, digital-sound movie-lovers are served by a number of Harkins Theatres multiplexes along with American Multi-Cinema, Inc. (AMC) theaters in nearby Phoenix. Harkins and AMC both have stadium seating and show first-run Hollywood studio films and independent films.

Harkins Theatres also show world premiers as well as art and foreign films.   Harkins Scottsdale 101 hosts both the Phoenix Film Festival and the Scottsdale Film Festival, while Harkins’ Camelview is located in the heart of Scottsdale real estate and specializes in art and independent films. Movies selected for Scottsdale’s annual Jewish Film Festival are also shown there.  

Harkins Theatres have been family owned and operated since the company was founded in Tempe, Arizona in 1933 by Dwight “Red” Harkins. Red was 16 when he left his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio with the intention of becoming a Hollywood star. But after stopping in Flagstaff, Arizona, he made his way to Tempe to pursue his new dream of opening his own movie house. The movie house grew into a chain that now serves five states throughout the West.  

Meanwhile, AMC is a national chain that was started by three brothers who entertained locals with tent movie shows as they traveled through the Midwest in the early 1900s. They decided to settle in Kansas City, Missouri, where they purchased the Regent Theatre in 1920 and started Durwood Theatres, which grew into a chain of a dozen movie houses and drive-ins. AMC Desert Ridge, which is located near Scottsdale in North Phoenix, boasts an IMAX screen and RealD 3D (no 3D-eyeglasses needed).  

For a blast from the past try the West Wind Scottsdale 6 Drive-In. And for a truly unique movie-going experience, reserve your table at Farrelli’s Cinema Supper Club and enjoy dinner at the movies at the only full-screen movie and dining experience in all of Arizona. rl0z1