Mystery LLC wins $180M Desert Ridge land auction after 90-minute bidding war Article originally posted on Phoenix Business Journal on April 30, 2026 After an hour-and-a-half-long bidding war, a winner finally emerged during an Arizona State Land Department auction on April 30. Desert Ridge 293 LLC placed the winning bid of $180 million. That LLC was incorporated on April 8 in Delaware — a state notorious for helping safeguard the identities of entities registered there. The representative holding the winning paddle was Lori Anderson with Exp Realty. The 293.5-acre site, which is located at Deer Valley Drive and 40th Street, is zoned by the city of Phoenix for multifamily residential, with varying densities allowed throughout the site. The original bid was $108,300,000. While four parties turned out to bid, only two ended up raising their paddles — Desert Ridge 293 LLC and D.R. Horton. Homebuilder D.R. Horton has been somewhat of a regular player in ASLD auctions in recent years, and it lost out on another Desert Ridge site it triggered the auction for in September. One of the two other bidders was AZ18 LLC, with Stuart Posnock as a representative. Posnock is affiliated with Garden Communities, which is based out of San Diego and affiliated with the owners of the Minnesota Vikings NFL team. The other was AZ 73 LLC, whose representative was Michael Jesberger, a principal at TerraWest. The Desert Ridge area in northeast Phoenix is a hot spot for development activity right now, with several major projects taking shape. The auction property is just across the street from Desert Ridge Marketplace, which is getting a new Trader Joe’s store. The area off the Loop 101 is also emerging as a “Headquarters Alley,” that’s now home to corporate campuses for Discount Tire, Republic Services, Sprout’s Farmer’s Market and future Arizona Cardinals HQ and training facility. Find Complete Article Here: https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2026/04/30/mystery-buyer-wins-180m-desert-ridge-bidding-war.html