Oro Valley Info

Overview

Founded in 1974, Oro Valley is a burgeoning town located on the Northwest side of Tucson nestled between the Catalina Mountains to the east and the Tortolita Mountains on the north. As one of the area’s newer communities, the town continues to experience tremendous growth today having almost doubled in size during the last decade. One of the highlights of Oro Valley has been its meticulous planning of all recent development. This is clearly seen in the infrastructure throughout town, the diversity of businesses, and a keen awareness to aesthetics. The town has achieved an attractive local business environment now with ever expanding commercial centers, numerous recreational outlets, and a stunning array of home choices. Continually ranked in numerous publications as one of the most desirable cities in the United States, Oro Valley boasts quite a pedigree for such a new town. Team Woodall has also called Oro Valley home since 2000 and has enjoyed the many opportunities afforded by the location.

Oro Valley Businesses

Oro Valley promotes its local economy and ensures the sustainability of the community by attracting new businesses and supporting those who are already established. Especially in recent years the Town has done a great job of enticing employers to move to or expand their presence in Oro Valley.  In particular, the new Economic Expansion Zone approved in October of 2012 by the Town Council has allowed the process of development within Innovation Park to be streamlined and more attractive to companies. This area of Innovation Park in Rancho Vistoso has already boomed in the last decade and is positioned to continue its strong development. This key corridor is home to:

• Ventana Medical Systems, a member of the Roche group, is the largest Oro Valley employer with an ever expanding campus located in the Rancho Vistoso Innovation Park. This local company is quite a success story and leads the way in automated staining platforms used by hospitals and clinics around the world to detect cancerous tissues.
• Sanofi-Aventis, a long-time employer within the town, recently completed construction on an impressive new 110,000 square foot building in the Rancho Vistoso Innovation Park area. This high tech building was built under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards set for by the U.S. Green Building Council. Primarily a research center, this Sanofi-Aventis location continues its role in the bio-tech community and is proud of its Oro Valley home.
• Oro Valley Hospital also resides in the Innovation Park area of Rancho Vistoso. This relatively new complex offers area residents exceptional access to quality medical facilities both in the form of emergency services and its adjacent medical office buildings. A part of the larger Northwest Medical Center family, Oro Valley Hospital provides a growing number of job opportunities within the Oro Valley region.
• Securaplane is a leading supplier of avionics products for business, commercial and military aircraft and has called Oro Valley home for many years.  They’ve recently completed a new facility at Innovation Park just north of Tangerine road.
• Embassy Suites is another business with development in the works for a 244 room hotel in Rancho Vistoso near Securaplane’s new location.

Many other businesses call Oro Valley home and range from local companies to major corporations such as Honeywell (technically in a small tract of unincorporated Pima County but surrounded by the Town). It’s no wonder so many businesses choose Oro Valley as a business location and recognition of this fact came in March 2008 as Fortune Small Business named Oro Valley #44 on its list of “Top 100 Places to Live and Launch” a business.

Lifestyle & Accolades

It’s not only the business environment that is being recognized and awarded in Oro Valley as several publications have hailed the town’s lifestyle among the best in the nation. The August 2008 issue of Family Circle magazine featured Oro Valley as one of the top ten best towns for families in America. More recently Businessweek ranked Oro Valley as one of their “Best Places to Raise Kids” in 2013. Other distinctions have come from Money magazine which rated Oro Valley as one of the best places to live in both 2007 & 2008. These distinctions come because of the great cultural and recreational environment with in the town and it’s highly regarded school system has received numerous accolades as well throughout the years. A new BASIS charter school opened in the fall of 2010 which further establishes the high standards of Oro Valley’s educational environment.

A huge influence on the lifestyle of the town is the scenic vistas from nearly every part of the town. Dominated by the gorgeous Pusch Ridge area of the Catalina Mountains, these views characterize the beauty of this exciting area. To the north side of the town are the Tortolita Mountains and city views of Tucson toward the south await as well. Oro Valley’s commitment to match the natural beauty of the area is apparent by its visual design requirements for residences and its support of the arts, requiring all commercial buildings to devote a percentage of construction costs specifically to exterior art. Nestled between the mountains and with adjacent state land on many of its perimeter locations, Oro Valley has a large and diverse wildlife population which can be seen on a relatively frequent basis.

Recreation opportunities abound throughout the town from its multiple renowned golf courses to its local and state parks within the vicinity. For golfers across the country Oro Valley is becoming a travel destination. From the Top 100 exclusive private facility of The Stone Canyon Club, another established private club of Oro Valley Country Club, to the mixed use and daily fee courses such as The Golf Club at Vistoso, El Conquistador (36 Holes), and Sun City Vistoso. The town’s many parks offer additional recreational activities from tennis, swimming, basketball, baseball, volleyball and open grass areas for other sporting events. Also conveniently located adjacent to Oro Valley is Catalina State Park which hosts many miles of hiking opportunities throughout the Catalina Mountains.

Summary

Oro Valley has continued its growth both within the Town and with the expansion of the Town’s boundaries. The future looks bright for the community as it holds strong to its insistence of a quality, diverse, and attractive development pattern. Buying a home is more than just about the property itself. Therefore, please let Team Woodall know if we can help tour you through the community to get a full understanding of all this town has to offer.