Saddleback development breaks ground
Saddleback development breaks ground
Developers officially broke ground on the Saddleback residential community, celebrating the 5,300-acre development set to bring 6,500 homesites to an area tucked away within the Sonoran Mountains.
Just five minutes away from Lake Pleasant, the master planned community will incorporate more than 2,500 acres of open space and over 60 miles of trails to the property. It will offer 60-plus acres of public parks and a variety of private parks and facilities.
“We have worked tirelessly with our partners in the city of Peoria to set the foundation for an exciting, innovative and modern community at Saddleback,” said Carlee Ryan, vice president of asset management at Castle Hills Partnership. We aim to get back to the basics, creating a well-rounded experience where wellness, sustainability and connection are celebrated. Saddleback will be the gateway to adventure.”
Ryan said Castle Hills Partners is the developer of Saddleback, and a core aspect of this project is environmental stewardship. As such, the company has committed to preserving and replanting thousands of saguaro cacti and symbiote trees. In the community’s first two neighborhoods — named Saltbrush and Blue Basin — the Austin-based development company has saved 3,433 cacti and 1,640 trees.
“Saddleback will foster a deeper connection with nature, rethinking amenities and incorporating modern design and technology into everyday life,” Ryan said. “We will construct direct access to SR-74, further shortening travel times to the amazing Lake Pleasant we all know and love, which is only six miles from our community. Saddleback will be carefully planned and built among the rolling hillscape, preserving as much Sonoran habitat as possible.”
Found at the northern extension of Vistancia Boulevard, the first homes in Saddleback will be available for purchase in mid-2026, with prices ranging from around $700,000 to $3 million, offering a variety of single-family home options and lot sizes from home builders. Eventually, Saddleback will connect to SR-74, shortening travel times.
The groundbreaking drew dozens of community leaders and supporters to the future site, including Brad Shafer, councilmember for the Mesquite District. Saddleback falls within his boundaries, and he and his wife are planning to purchase a home in the community once homes are on sale.
“The first time I met Castle Hill partners was in March of 2023,” Shafer said. “They sat down with me, and they presented a book that had an overview of the entire community. I immediately went home and told my wife, ‘We are buying a home here,’ because this is North Peoria.”
The Saddleback master-planned community has the support of the Peoria Chamber of Commerce, with its president and CEO Rhonda Carlson stating how Saddleback is “another testament” of the West Valley’s growth. The average median household income in North Peoria is $160,000, Calson said, making it the third highest in Maricopa County behind Paradise Valley and North Scottsdale. Furthermore, it sits just behind Buckeye as the second fastest growing city in the West Valley.
“A lot’s happening in our community these days,” she said. “We’re so excited to have another great addition to Peoria for us. At the Peoria Chamber, we are dedicated to supporting this growth while living, breathing and advocating for the shop local mindset.”
Shafer added that the design and prioritization of environmental protection is what makes Saddleback special and that Castle Hills Partners could have came in, flattened everything and constructed roads and buildings. Instead, he noted, they recognized the value of the landscape and how its beauty was its greatest asset. Ryan’s description of Saddleback as a “gateway to adventure” truly represents the lifestyle of residents in North Peoria, he said.
“Adventure is all around us,” he said. “A lot of the mesquite District residents, which I represent, they have Side-by-Sides. They have RVs. They go to Lake Pleasant. They do mountain biking. North Peoria is adventure, and this will be the gateway to adventure.”
