Leveling the way for a desert paradise while adhering to the strictest of environmental standards is something that this Tucson-based contractor knows a lot about.

KE&G Development, LLC is handling all infrastructure development on an $80-million-plus, upscale residential development located at the base of the Tortolita Mountain Park, just 15 miles north of downtown Tucson. Because of the developer’s commitment to artfully blending world-class amenities into the scenic landscape, Saguaro Ranch promises to be one of Arizona’s most progressive and imaginative residential and resort communities.

The greatest challenge related to infrastructure development on the project is ensuring the sacred desert setting is treated sensitively, according to Dan Keeley, Vice President of KE&G. “The owner of the project, Saguaro Ranch Development Corporation (SRDC), is committed to developing the property with a new standard of minimal environmental impact,” he says.

Preserving the surroundings is a guiding principle of the development. Of the 1,035 acres SRDC is developing, 80 percent will remain undisturbed, natural open space. Authentic and natural building materials will be used in construction, including rammed earth, masonry or adobe, native rock, plaster and stucco. In addition, structures will be styled in colors that blend with the desert’s natural palette and incorporate the region’s existing Sonoran and old Arizona ranch house architectural styles. Native American and historic building techniques and motifs will also be incorporated into walls and architectural features.

Getting the Job Done
KE&G has proof that grace and precision can come in big packages. One of the ways the crew is tackling the project’s environmentally stringent requirements is by using an unusually large and powerful machine — a 600 hp, 220,000 lb surface-mining machine. After salvaging native plants and harvesting boulders, KE&G uses a Vermeer T1255 Terrain Leveler to establish roadway subgrade.

Keeley says the company purchased the T1255 because it offers a unique advantage: since the Terrain Leveler cuts the rock in place instead of fracturing it on a seam, it’s less invasive than other methods and offers minimal disruption to the terrain outside of the working space, “which may or may not lie within disturbance limits,” Keeley says. “In addition, because the cutting head inherently reduces the material to a size resembling an aggregate base, the T1255 eliminates the need for additional processing before the rock can be used as fill.”

KE&G will also use the T1255 for trenching. After the grading portion of the first phase is complete June 1, KE&G plans to replace the machine’s road milling attachment with a trenching boom.

The T1255 was created when Vermeer took a proven rock trencher and added the patent-pending Terrain-Leveler attachment with top-down cutting action for better efficiency and deeper tooth penetration. The machine can dig up to 24 inches deep by 144 inches wide. This exclusive cutting technique, powered by a large direct-drive, hydrostatically controlled cutting drum that generates greater speed control, results in larger material with fewer fines. 

The units are designed to eliminate the need for primary crushers, large loaders, large mining haul trucks — and associated permits, in addition to rippers and vertical drills. One T1255 Terrain-Leveler can single-handedly perform site preparation and excavation, mine material, stabilize contaminated soil and remove roads.

Because the Terrain-Leveler drum is an attachment, the base T1255 (other models are available also) can be switched to a trencher with a cutting boom relatively easy. Contractors like KE&G take advantage of it to maximize versatility, particularly in sewer and water applications.

KE&G is handling infrastructure development on the Saguaro Ranch project, including roadway clearing, excavation, grading and paving. The company is also harvesting boulders and constructing boulder-faced slopes, in addition to installing wet and dry utilities (gas, telephone and power conduit), along with drainage piping and structures.

Without the T1255 or a similar piece of equipment for the grading and trenching portion of the project, KE&G would have been forced to use a combination of drilling and blasting, ripping with large dozers and setting up a separate crushing operation to reduce the size of excavated material.

“The primary savings we have experienced using the T1255 lies in the preservation of the desert environment with minimal encroachment,” Keeley says. “I’m not sure you can put a price on that, since I don’t believe we could have performed the work within the strict project parameters without it.”

Developing a Desert Paradise
Saguaro Ranch, named after the cactus, will include single-family luxury residences, designed for parcels of four to five acres. The entrance will be a 675-foot tunnel leading to a gatehouse. The entire development will be situated with dramatic views of the surrounding Tortolita, Santa Catalina, Santa Rita and Tucson mountains.

In addition to luxury homesteads, Saguaro Ranch will feature a wealth of amenities and services worthy of Beverly Hills, including a guest ranch with casitas, a full-service spa, an indoor theater, and outdoor amphitheater and adjacent recording studio, fine dining, boardroom, organic farm, observatory and art barn, as well as a full-service horse barn, swimming pools, and tennis, cycling and bocce ball.

The project will be built in phases over the next 10 years. The first phase of construction, which began in the fall of 2003, consists of 42 home sites and will be complete by April 2005, Keeley says. SRDC has two additional phases of infrastructure development currently in the design phase. A total of 180 single-family home sites are planned, along with 28 guest casitas, which will be situated at the community’s guest ranch.

Keeley says SRDC president Stephen Phinny has created a unique and outstanding working atmosphere. “SRDC hosts weekly cookouts at noon on Fridays for all of the craftsmen at the project site,” he says. “Stephen personally prepares the food and his staff serves the workers. In addition, he addresses the group and awards individuals for their contributions. He has truly created an environment in which each craftsman identifies with the project and feels he is an integral part of the SRDC team.”

Typical awards at the weekly lunch include: wildlife photos from the site, SRDC caps, and Saguaro Ranch hardhat decals that Phinny ceremoniously applies to craftsmen’s hats.

About KE&G
KE&G has been a licensed general contractor in Arizona since 1972. The company currently employs 275, including a professional staff of 30. KE&G was founded in Sierra Vista, which still serves as the home office for support staff, but most of the company’s work today is in the Sierra Vista and Tucson areas.

Over the past five years, KE&G has focused on heavy engineering and highway projects consisting of asphalt paving, box culverts, concrete paving, highways, infrastructure development, retaining walls, sound barrier walls, storm drainage, water and wastewater. The company averages about $30 million of work annually.

For more information on the Saguaro Ranch project, visit www.saguaroranch.net.