In this episode of The Paradyme Shift, Ryan Garland sits down with custom home builder Scott Ward, founder of Mountain Desert Development, to unpack his journey from Park City luxury builds to Lake Havasu’s Riviera community. Scott shares how starting as a construction laborer in Utah led to mastering every phase of high‑end residential construction and ultimately creating multimillion‑dollar waterfront homes in Riviera Lake Havasu. Ryan and Scott dive into the explosive growth of Lake Havasu, the evolution of the Riviera master‑planned community, and why affluent boaters and legacy‑minded families are moving their capital and lifestyle to this “Cabo‑in‑the‑desert” market. They also explore Havasu’s unique culture of safety, community, and boating, along with what rising tax revenue, new marinas, and future medical and hospitality projects could mean for long‑term investors and residents.
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SPEAKER_02 (00:20):
Hey everybody, welcome to Paradigm Shift.
Today I'm honored to have ScottWard.
I'm going to get right to it,but Scott Ward is actually with
Mountain Desert Development.
And uh I've had the honor to getto know him and his wife and his
daughter, and they're just thesweetest people.
And they came in to support thegym, which we are sitting at our
headquarters building and thegym Family Office Society right
now.
And uh I just want to introduceyou to him.
I uh I had a you know a coupleweekends we spent some time
(00:43):
together, and he's just anamazing human being.
And I think for me, we have sucha large audience on our podcast
platform that I really want tohighlight people that I believe
deserve it, but also you know,want you to get to know who he
is and his backstory and kind ofwhat his pedigree is because I
think he's got a niche that mostpeople have not seen in Lake
Havasu, but his caliber ofdevelopment, because he's
(01:05):
actually a builder, but hiscaliber of development is so
amazing that I've walked intosome of his houses recently and
I'm like floored that this evenexists in in Lake Havasu.
And uh he's so humble and hedoesn't get on camera.
So I figured, you know what?
I'm gonna drag him out, get himon the podcast, and highlight
this guy's uh, you know, becauseyou know, I'm also the same type
of guy.
I want to just you know havesomething to share with my kids
(01:27):
down the road.
And I know that's where you are.
So if I can take this video andcut it and share it with your
kids, that's it.
We'll do it right here.
SPEAKER_00 (01:33):
That'd be cool, man.
SPEAKER_02 (01:34):
So, Scott, thanks for joining me today, buddy.
SPEAKER_00 (01:35):
Uh appreciate the opportunity.
SPEAKER_02 (01:37):
Of course.
So we'll we'll kind of diveright in.
Um, what let's talk a little bitabout your background and you
know, I would when you weretelling me, you know, you were
in you know Park City in Utahand kind of how you you would
would you go from Oregon to Utahand then here?
SPEAKER_01 (01:48):
Yeah, so uh grew up in Oregon in the Pacific
Northwest and uh then um movedto my family.
Actually, uh we went skiing inPark City, Utah, my senior year
of high school.
And uh Park City's amazing.
About six months after that skitrip, my parents literally came
to me and said, Hey, we'removing to Park City.
(02:08):
And I'm like, Okay, well, I wasgraduating high school and uh or
I'd graduated high school, anduh so I was like, Well, you you
move where your family moves,right?
I wasn't ready to kind of flythe coop.
So moved to Park City, um, endedup getting uh just a summer job
uh kind of to you know fill thetime before going to what I
(02:31):
thought was going to be college.
And uh anyway, started with a aconstruction company that I had
no idea at the time the value ofthe of the job I took.
It was an ad in the park recordpaper for a painter's helper.
SPEAKER_02 (02:47):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (02:47):
And I had no I'm like, okay, whatever.
So I'll paint, no problem.
SPEAKER_02 (02:51):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (02:51):
Whatever.
I never I don't I never held apaintbrush, I never taped off
anything.
I was I I started off as aconstruction laborer for this
company.
Anyway, the the company was ParkCity Engineering, and uh the
principal owner was Matt Price,and he had uh 12 key guys that
worked underneath him, and uhthey officiated the construction
(03:15):
from start to finish in-house,and they built he was the
architect and the engineer, andthen they did nothing but spec
homes, and uh he um these 12guys literally from excavation
all the way to finishedcarpentry, um, the mechanical
and things like that, theysubcontracted out.
(03:36):
But uh, so my experience wasjust starting in with this
company, and I fell in love withit.
SPEAKER_02 (03:41):
Yeah, well, I mean, they're everything's in-house.
SPEAKER_01 (03:43):
It was in-house.
I just saw an opportunity like,man, I'm gonna learn so much.
I mean, obviously, you start inthe trenches doing everything
nobody wants to do, but I stuckit out, gained a lot of respect
from the the guys that had, youknow, that were above me.
And I just learned every everyopportunity I could to just like
watch and learn and observe.
Even if I was sweeping thefloor, I'm like watching the
(04:04):
tile guy, you know, set tile orelectrician make up an outlet or
whatever, just trying to go,okay, I'm gonna need to know
this stuff eventually.
So quickly escalated throughthat and worked for that company
for five years, uh, got my owngeneral contractor's license,
literally learned how to run andbuild a construction business
from the ground up, meaning Ican lay out a foundation, I can
(04:28):
cut a roof, I can, you know,answer any framing question that
comes up from a framer.
And I think that's a valuablething in a general contractor.
Today, a lot of people go andjust take a class and get their
license and then just call subs.
And you know, your subs couldeasily uh manipulate you if you
(04:48):
don't know what you know, right?
SPEAKER_02 (04:50):
So and have a see that happen at all?
SPEAKER_01 (04:54):
At all, right, yeah.
So it's like, oh, I, you know,no, it's supposed to be that
way.
And it's like, no, I don't thinkit is supposed to be that way.
We're gonna do it this way.
So spent uh 10 years in ParkCity uh building uh high-end
luxury custom homes.
That's all I've ever done.
Um, and then uh got married.
My my uh my wife and I moved toLake Havasu uh in our early 30s.
(05:17):
Didn't think we were gonna behere this long.
Um we've been here 24 years, anduh it's been a great run.
Uh we've built some amazingprojects in Lake Havasu all over
town.
Uh started, uh we just you knowcame down here and and came
across the refuge, which was atthe time That was a big deal.
It was a big deal, it was hugefor our community here and the
(05:39):
Arnold Palmer signature golfcourse.
And obviously with 06-07, thatall fell apart, but uh the
community is still a greatcommunity.
Probably built 45 homes in thatneighborhood.
Yeah.
Um, and uh just really made ourname for ourselves in Lake
Havasu um doing that, and thenwe've now we're uh out in the
(06:02):
new ref Riviera community of uhLake Havasu.
SPEAKER_02 (06:05):
And that's what I really want to talk to you
about.
Yeah.
You know, is just you know, notonly your background, because I
think that kind of paints thecolor of like who you are now,
you know.
Because again, going into thethe houses that you've built,
what was it yesterday?
Was it yesterday we went?
Yeah, it was it yesterday or theday before?
SPEAKER_00 (06:20):
Yesterday we were out there, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (06:21):
Yeah, and just going and seeing all the new
development out there in theRiviera, you know, I I'm kind of
on a different, you know, adifferent scale, meaning I'm
kind of doing, you know, massproduction, more attainable,
affordable type stuff.
Um, and I think the barn cavesis a little bit more on the
luxury space, but I you know, II've always looked at things a
little bit differently justbecause I have a background in
lending and then have just kindof went through the nightmare of
(06:44):
you know 2008.
So when you're managing people'smoney, you try to be as
conservative as possible.
So I think I've looked at thingsfrom a different lens, but I've
also dealt with a lot of privatelending for guys in Beverly
Hills, Malibu, you know, built alot of you know, helping these
guys build specs and really kindof had a front row seat to what
they did.
And some of the stuff is themost beautiful thing.
I mean, I loved that part of mybusiness.
SPEAKER_03 (07:06):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (07:06):
And then walking the projects that we we did
yesterday, I was unbelievablyfloored about the quality of
work that's here in Havasu, butthen you were the guy doing it,
you know.
And I'm like, I apparently I washanging out with you on the boat
and didn't know who like exactlyhow cool you were, you know.
And so uh and so I thought thatwas really neat.
But I, you know, let's talk alittle bit about the Riviera
because I that's like one ofthese things that it's such a
(07:30):
big project in development.
I think it's really changed theway people from all over the
country has looked at LakeHavasu.
You know, everyone knew Havasuis the London Bridge and you
know, all the partying and thattype of stuff or the boat life,
but I don't think people quiteunderstand the wealth that's
coming here, how you know theoriginal you know, founders and
essence of Havasu kind ofcreated that whole entire land
(07:52):
play.
But why don't you just share alittle bit about the refuge, a
little bit the background of ofHavasu and kind of how that all
came came along?
SPEAKER_01 (07:58):
Yeah, so the Riviera was really uh a land acquisition
that a family, the Comek family,uh had had in their in their
arsenal for, I believe it wasback in the 80s, they they took
this parcel down.
It was landlocked by state prostate land, city property, and
then their own developmentpiece.
(08:20):
Uh the Comacs have been in umLake Havasu for almost the
beginning of time of LakeHavasu.
Uh they developed uh a number ofthings uh down along the channel
early in the years.
They developed the uh IslanderRV Resort, which a lot of our
clients have come out of that uhcommunity and built uh the
(08:42):
luxury homes uh once they fellin love with the town.
Yep.
Um they developed all of HavasuFoothill estates.
And so um That's a lot of homes,too.
Yes, there's a lot of homes upthere.
So they had this piece ofproperty and uh they didn't
really know what they were gonnado with it, how they were gonna
access it.
And I'll piece this together thebest I can.
(09:04):
But so long story short, thestate of Arizona felt like they
needed another access to this tothe lake.
Uh Windsor Boat Ramp uh runsabout, believe it or not, about
750,000 vehicles through thatkiosk a season.
SPEAKER_02 (09:22):
Yeah, it's a lot.
It's a lot, it's a lot.
SPEAKER_01 (09:24):
So there's a there's about 750,000 people that go
through there and launch.
And so it just gives you an ideaof the but the boat traffic and
the importance of boating inLake Havasu.
So there wasn't an they feltlike there just needed to be
more boat access to or boatingaccess to the water.
SPEAKER_02 (09:40):
And that's by the way, that's just one launch
ramp.
SPEAKER_01 (09:42):
Just one launch.
SPEAKER_02 (09:43):
That's not including the marina or site six or any of
that's yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (09:46):
Right.
So uh with the development onthe island, those access points
became more and more difficultfor the general public to get
to.
So anyway, Arizona State Parksaid, hey, we're gonna build a a
launch facility out here on thesouth end of town.
And uh they were talking withthe city about that because the
city owns 240 acres uh to thenorth of the boulevard that
(10:10):
comes down to the RivieraMarina.
Yeah.
Um, and the city's like, well,we'll just put the road in, you
know, down there because that'sgonna ultimately access our
property in the future.
And then the developer got windof that and said, Hey, well,
holy cow, now that there's aroad going in here and off the
highway, that's gonna access ourour parcels for the Riviera
(10:33):
community.
So there was this, you know, allthe stars and moons align,
right?
And uh everybody starts talking.
And anyway, long story short,the developer, the Comek family,
uh they have worked with ArizonaState Parks on other projects
and things like that.
And they they more or less said,Hey, why don't you give us a
(10:55):
40-year ground lease on this,and we'll do all the
infrastructure, we'll do all thedevelopment for it, we'll
control it, we'll run it, andthen we'll operate it as a
concession to Arizona StateParks.
That's the marina, and that'sthe marina, and everything
involved in the marina.
Well, that was just a it's notpart of the development of the
(11:15):
Riviera housing, but they theycontrol it.
It's an amenity.
It's a wonderful amenity, right?
SPEAKER_02 (11:21):
It's that's where I launch.
It's it's unbelievably, it'slike it's perfect.
SPEAKER_01 (11:24):
It's a state of the art name, yeah.
State of the art uh marina forsure, and uh being tied to the
residential side, uh that justwas a huge selling aspect.
I agree.
So here the Riviera starts, andthis is now, you know, uh they
went through a lot of a lot ofred tape to get all that
accomplished, like alldevelopers do, but they've had
(11:46):
incredible success.
They've got uh, I believe fiveneighborhoods that are completed
right now, and they've got twomore that they're finishing uh
that will will be released tothe the public for sale here in
the next uh probably six to ninemonths.
And uh, but yeah, a total ofabout 550 home sites out there.
That's a lot.
(12:07):
It's a lot of home sites.
Uh right now there's about 45completed homes, all
multi-million dollar residences.
Um, and the the bar just keepsgetting elevated with every
every home build that goes outthere as it typically does.
SPEAKER_02 (12:23):
Yeah, you built that, I think it was it a 17,000
square foot house that everyonekind of talks about when you're
on the water.
SPEAKER_01 (12:28):
Right on the right on the water frontage, right
above the marina.
It's a 17,000 square foot underroof, 10,000 livable.
Uh, it's got about 5,000 squarefeet of garage space.
Um it's just a beautiful,beautiful home.
Uh our uh architecturally, we uhthe Comics, when they were ready
to get actually the verticalconstruction going, they came to
(12:52):
me and they were like, man, wereally want to do something
special out here.
And we really, we really need aguy like you that can bring a
you know an architect and designand everything to this community
and really you know, we want toelevate the level of
construction in Lake Avasu.
So I went out and interviewed anumber of architects in the
Phoenix Scottsdale market andultimately came across uh CP
(13:12):
Druid with Druid WorksArchitecture.
And uh he and I hit it off likewe're brothers, like literally.
I mean, like kind of like ourrelationship, right?
Like we met each other, and Idon't know, the energy is good.
It's like, dude, we're bros.
So he designed my personal houseout there, and then he did he's
designed about 20 other homesfor me out there, and we've uh
(13:33):
over the last four or fiveyears, we've been building those
homes, and um it uh itdefinitely brought a whole layer
of uh polish polish to LakeHavasu.
Yep.
The general community of LakeHavasu still, I don't think,
even knows anything about theRiviera as far as the the homes.
SPEAKER_02 (13:54):
And that's what I wanted to bring on because I I
you know I'm so entrenched inthe development of of Havisu
overall, and I didn't know howserious the Riviera really was.
Yeah, you know, until and I'vedriven through there a little
bit.
I think you know kind of mybackground of having to go
through there, but I didn't knowit to the level that you just
showed me, and I was completelyfloored, especially the amount
(14:14):
of projects that are underdevelopment now.
Yeah, and then they're expandingall of those new lots in the
back, too.
I mean, that was impressive, butthose lake views, and I mean you
know, I remember sitting up onon the bluff with you last
yesterday, and I'm sitting theregoing, like, I don't know
anybody else or anywhere elseyou can get this type of desert
lifestyle waterfront propertiesanywhere in the country.
SPEAKER_01 (14:37):
It's a magical sight.
SPEAKER_02 (14:39):
It's and I mean now, yeah.
I I was talking to one of thebrokers, which as you know, he
works out here, right?
And he was and you, I think youeven teed off on it.
They think it's gonna be like anauction because they're not sure
how how high those may sell for.
Yeah, that's it.
SPEAKER_01 (14:54):
The last phase of the Riviera that will be
released probably sometime nextyear.
Uh Solitude is the neighborhood,which it couldn't be more
appropriately named.
Yeah.
It's literally, it just when youwalk back there, you go back
there.
I mean, even though the dozersare running and stuff, but man,
it is the most peaceful piece ofground I've ever stood on.
(15:15):
Um I would agree.
It literally just it it sitsjust above the lake.
You literally can see 280degrees, you can see to Parker
all the way up to to Needles, itfeels like, yeah, of water.
And um Which is insane.
It's incredible.
You've got high performanceboats flying right you know at
130 miles an hour.
SPEAKER_02 (15:35):
And then just that, just that's music to your if you
like anything.
SPEAKER_01 (15:39):
If you like fast cars and fast boats, fast women,
they're all right there for you.
SPEAKER_02 (15:43):
You know, it's it's nice too, because and you know
what, it's it's far enough awaywhere it's not that loud either.
So if you're inside the house,you won't hear that at all.
But you'll see it go right byyour glass window.
SPEAKER_01 (15:51):
I think most people that come to Lake Habazoo are
are actually that it's almostpeaceful, like that that the
roar of a performance engine,you know, running and doing
super cool, right?
Like they'll get up out of theirchair, their chair if they're
watching TV and look out, like,oh, what was that?
SPEAKER_02 (16:09):
Yeah, so well, in that part of the lake, I feel
like everybody knows it.
Everyone's been on that side ofthe lake since the beginning of
time.
SPEAKER_01 (16:17):
Yeah, and so you just literally there's an iconic
cove that has been on MTV backin the 80s and 90s when they
used to have spring.
SPEAKER_02 (16:28):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (16:30):
Yeah, Copper Canyon.
It's iconic.
And this this parcel of landthat's in front uh a part of the
Riviera uh community, the lastphase of their development,
literally sits right in front ofthat.
I mean, the copper canyon isjust directly across the room.
SPEAKER_02 (16:44):
You literally just sit there and just watch boats
coming in and out there all day.
It's it's it's always gonna bethere's always gonna be stuff
going on.
It's never gonna be a dullmoment down there.
SPEAKER_01 (16:50):
Yeah.
I mean, it's a it's a landmark.
Anybody that's ever heard aboutLake Havasu, they're like, oh
yeah, Copper Canyon.
Yeah, everybody knows CopperCanyon.
It's it's a iconic spot.
SPEAKER_02 (16:59):
So it's that's a great spot.
Yeah.
And then, you know, when we tookthat shot, I mean, all the way
down to Ghost Mind Saloon,right?
Is that the ghost is that whatit is?
SPEAKER_01 (17:07):
Yeah, new there's a new uh yeah, new Ghost Mind
Saloon, uh waterfront bar, whichis a lot of those are starting
to pop up around Lake Havasu,which is kind of creating that
uh Lake of the Ozarks vibe onour lake as far as a destination
boating to bars and lunch andall that stuff.
SPEAKER_02 (17:24):
And people love that.
Oh, people just want to come tieup, jump up, go eat, grab, have
a couple drinks, and take off.
And then the other side of theother view is all the way down
to Thompson's Bay.
SPEAKER_01 (17:32):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (17:32):
Going into the channel.
SPEAKER_01 (17:33):
Yep.
SPEAKER_02 (17:34):
And then you can see that new project that's supposed
to be built up there with that abillion dollar project, I think,
that's going on up there on theisland, over there where the old
uh golf course is.
SPEAKER_01 (17:42):
Yeah, where the uh nautical inn golf course uh used
to be.
Uh uh developer out ofScottsdale uh purchased that
about two or three years ago.
He's he's in his due diligenceand kind of planning phase with
the city right now, goingthrough all that.
And all the renderings andthings that I've seen of his
master plan are really cool.
I think it's gonna be a hugeasset to Lake Avasu.
(18:04):
There's, I mean, waterfrontproperty, another great big
marina for boat, you know, inthe water boat stores on the
island, another launch facilitythat's right next to the
nautical, right next to thenautical with you know, they're
gonna be some retail, some moredensity housing, restaurant,
reservoirs, yeah, high-endresidential, all that cool
stuff.
SPEAKER_02 (18:23):
So that's what Havasy's been yearning for.
SPEAKER_01 (18:26):
This little town is evolving at a very fast pace
right now.
It's definitely transforminginto I think what a lot of
people have been wanting.
There's you know, people thathave been here for a hundred
years that, you know, likeanywhere, they you know,
anti-development, but you can'tyou can't stop progress.
SPEAKER_02 (18:45):
Well, it's and it's it's just it's not a matter of
if it's when.
It's gonna happen.
Well, the other side of it isyou know, when you bring that
type of tax revenue into a city,that and the city, in my
opinion, is actually prettysmart because they are gonna
focus on healthcare and they'regonna focus on the thing that
the community really needs, youknow.
And and I see that happeningalready.
I'm having conversations, so I'dlove to try to get involved in
building something, you know, inlike the hospital realm at some
(19:06):
point, um, or like a medicalcampus, you know, especially on
the north side, there's plentyof land that way.
So, but yeah, so the to go backto the Riviera, you know, what
are the typical buyers outthere?
And obviously, they're justbuying lots, they're not buying
really any homes.
There's a couple specs in there,but not not much.
SPEAKER_01 (19:22):
Yeah, there's a few builders that have that have put
up some spec homes that havebeen uh on the market for a
minute.
I think you know, the the valueof or perception of value is
increasing daily as uh peoplesee value being created out
there.
Yeah, but uh yeah, most of themost of our buyers are uh people
(19:43):
from California, but reallythey're there's people from all
over Midwest and they're they'vefound Lake Havasu.
They come from all walks oflife, from plastic surgeons to
you know executives tocontractors and everything in
between.
Um and uh they buy their lot andthen you know they're they're
looking to build whatever, yeah.
(20:05):
You know, and and the Rivierahas done a good job of creating
some very good designguidelines.
They want to kind of keep atheme of modern desert
contemporary architecture um inthe community.
And uh with with that beingsaid, that you know lends it to
a very unique design.
(20:26):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (20:27):
So and it's it's cool because I think the Riviera
has just been kind of thatfootprint for people who really
do have, you know, capital, theywant to build their kind of
forever home or their secondhome.
They've been finding, I mean,these lots are great too, just
as far as views, but you kind ofcan't go wrong because the
amount of development that'sslotted to go in there.
SPEAKER_03 (20:45):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (20:45):
So I think a lot of people, especially smart ones,
are gonna look at it and go, Ican build now, I'm gonna hold my
equity.
The demand is still there.
Why don't I build my house andput my dream house right here?
Yeah.
And you know what I love is thefact that you have that, you
know, it was funny because I didnot know you were a builder at
all up in Park City.
But I kept bringing up thequality of builds in Park City
and how I love that design.
SPEAKER_03 (21:05):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (21:06):
Then you're like, well, yeah, I was building up
the Park City.
I'm like, how many people inHavasu built in Park City?
Nobody.
You know, and I feel like notmany people up here or in Havasu
have even been to Park City toexperience those type of uh
builds or you know, real estatein essence, you know.
So it's like to be able to bringthat caliber of uh development
and and architecture and designto Lake Havisu and then make it
(21:30):
set up more from a desert feelis like perfect.
SPEAKER_03 (21:34):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (21:34):
And that's why I was like, I gotta get you on the
podcast, man.
I want I want everyone to knowyou exist because that quality
of work is unbelievable.
I've been we can't wait to takeJoe tomorrow.
I was gonna bug you and see ifyou can take Joe out tomorrow.
SPEAKER_01 (21:46):
100%.
We'll give him a we'll give hima tour for sure.
Yeah, you need to see it.
SPEAKER_02 (21:49):
And and just kind of I wanted to we'll take him in
the back, we'll take the raptorback out there again.
We'll cruise him around and showhim those views, yeah.
And we'll before he gets goinghome, but he's gotta see that.
So um, what are you working onnow?
SPEAKER_01 (22:01):
So right now we have uh three custom builds.
Uh we had we've actuallyfinished 12 homes out there to
this point, all custom buildsfor individual clients, um
ranging from three million toseven million dollars in in
cost, uh which is funny.
I mean, and back Let's just sayfive years ago, the most
(22:22):
expensive home in Lake Havasuthat I have built was probably
about two and a half million.
So we've really changed theRiviera has brought a dynamic
that is really revolutionary toour town.
And the the bigger money guysare are are looking at our city
going, man, you actually can dosome cool stuff.
And that's what I'm excitedabout to just start sharing what
(22:45):
we've been creating for the lastcouple of years.
Uh, being that they're allprivate residences and they're
not spec houses or whatever, youknow, the general public doesn't
get to see it.
So we've we've spent some timeover the last couple of months
documenting the footage, youknow, taking video, and so we
can get it out there and justshow people that are interested
in the community to come out andgo, man, this is actually being
(23:08):
built.
Yeah, this is really happening.
This is really built.
I mean, for so many years ofliving in Havasu, it's like you
can't, you know, you can't dothat here.
You can't, it will never happenhere.
And I think we kind of did a micdrop on the last couple of
houses.
SPEAKER_02 (23:22):
Yeah, it was a road mic too.
SPEAKER_01 (23:24):
It was a road mic.
SPEAKER_02 (23:25):
It was you know, it's kind of cool because I
think I was telling you aboutone of the guys who actually
came into the gym, and he'sactually a rather wealthy guy.
He was telling me that he wantsto sell some property and he had
a stroke and he's kind of goingthrough a lot in life, and he
wants to hand over the keys tohis kids, which is a very common
conversation.
Sure.
And uh, and what I what thetakeaway for me was how much he
fell in love with Havasu.
He's building houses for evenhis kids because they all have
(23:46):
kids, they're married withgrandkids, and he wants everyone
close to him.
And he's like, But I want tomove my money here.
Like he said that.
And I was like, that's prettyimpressive.
You know, most people, when theydo retire and they find a place
they want to call home, youknow, they are gonna move their
wealth, they're gonna moveeverything here.
And what I our conversation kindof sparked, because he comes
from kind of the same backgroundand I do, about you know,
putting money on deposit and howyou know, as more banks here,
(24:10):
regional banks continue to bringin more depositors, sure,
they're able to lend that moneyback out on SBA loans and small
businesses and it, you know,help grow the community.
And that was like what a greatconversation that was because
he's like, I've worked really,really hard, but like my whole
life is about giving back.
And I feel like I have tocontinue to give back,
otherwise, I'm not gonna behappy with what I've earned, you
(24:31):
know.
And I thought that was reallykind of nice to hear that, and I
think that is why people lovelike Havasu.
It's the other, it's people,yeah.
The people that come here,they're amongst friends.
You know, we you know, it's notshocking, but it is a very
right-leaning community.
SPEAKER_03 (24:46):
Yep.
SPEAKER_02 (24:46):
But no one really tries to swing it that way, like
everyone just wants to take careof each other, and that's
boaters in general.
Boaters take care of each other,but that is like a thing.
Yeah, it's it's and people knoweach other by the names of their
boats, not even their realpersonal name, right?
SPEAKER_03 (24:59):
What's your boat name?
SPEAKER_02 (25:00):
Oh, that's your boat, gotcha, you know.
That's but but in reality, theyou know, boaters they love to
help each other and take care ofeach other, and so you just kind
of have this community of peoplethat are always watching each
watching over each other'sbacks, you know.
And and the other thing too isit's safe.
Safe, it's so safe.
I leave my doors open all thetime and unlocked.
SPEAKER_01 (25:18):
I hope I nobody knows where I live, but you know
I was gonna say, yeah, I'm like,I don't I'm not gonna add my
address to this, but I don'tthink I've locked my door in 24
years of living in Lake Havasu.
SPEAKER_02 (25:27):
You don't need to, you know.
SPEAKER_01 (25:28):
My truck, I never locked.
Yeah, it's just I I find myselfleaving Havasu going, oh crap, I
need to lock my truck.
Yeah, yeah, get into Vegas.
I should lock it.
I should lock it.
I should probably locksomething, but yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (25:39):
And I came from SoCal, and I had recently been
out here, I've been out herefull-time two years, and maybe a
little longer, but two yearsreally full-time.
And and I the first year wasreally hard.
You know, I was so used to allthe resources in California,
sure, and then going back andforth from Nashville and
California over the since thepandemic.
But you know, you can workaround that, you know, and then
you realize like, hey, onlyVegas is a couple hours away.
(26:01):
I can go get everything I needthere.
And then on top of that,Havasu's kind of like there's
this like little hidden stuffeverywhere that you didn't know
existed, and it's there.
Yeah, and you're like, holy gee,so you can actually do really
well.
And then now anytime I leave theleave town, and I I want to come
back so bad.
And now I know why people, whenthey you know, if they're from
here, they leave here, theyalways come back.
(26:21):
There's something very specialabout this place.
SPEAKER_01 (26:23):
There is, and uh, you know, kind of touching on
that, you know, Havasu is issmall, unique, it's quaint, but
there's literally a businessopportunity at every turn.
Like there's there's arestaurant that needs to be
opened, or there's a you know,clothing store, there's a
boutique, or you know, whateverit is.
I mean, the the city is justdesperately waiting for for for
(26:47):
us as you know, people in thecommunity to do stuff, which is
super exciting.
What you're doing with Paradigmsand the gym and what we're doing
out in the Riviera, we're youknow, we're filling those needs
and servicing those.
SPEAKER_02 (27:01):
It's that kind of concept.
If you build, they'll come.
I agree.
We've been talking about that.
It's just the city is ready forthe growth.
Yeah, there's enough densityhere, there's enough money here.
Yep, it's almost like if youbuild anything new, it's
probably gonna do well.
So I think you're in that grossstage of Habasu that not a lot
of people will talk about, butif big smart institutional guys,
they'll they'll see it and go,Yeah, you guys are on that
(27:21):
growth trajectory, it's justhardwind census bureau doesn't
have good data.
SPEAKER_00 (27:25):
Exactly, you know.
SPEAKER_02 (27:26):
So that's why a lot of the money hasn't really
landed here as far asinstitutional capital.
But you have institutional guysthat have retired out of the
game and are moving here.
And that's the that's what Ihave it.
No one talks about.
Yeah, it's the guys that playedin the institutional world and
that retired and moved here.
So, in my opinion, those are thesmart guys.
Yeah, those are the guys thatsaw where the world's going.
(27:47):
They were the ones that helpedfund the where the world was
going.
And now they're retiring out andgoing, you know what?
I love Havasu, but they're alsolooking at making sure they
retain their wealth.
They all of these houses aregonna go to their kids or some
level.
So they're gonna go, all right.
Well, if I'm retaining, youknow, so those are the guys that
you want to get to know.
Meaning, talk to me about allthe you know, bullets that have
(28:08):
been fired in your whole lifeand why did you end up choosing
Havasu?
And they're gonna tell you allthe things that they've had to
go through to to build theempire that they built, and and
they're and how family's numberone and they love the Lord, and
the list kind of goes on, yep,and they're like, but I have
chosen here because I feel safehere.
I like where the where this isgoing.
Yep.
I have all the amenities, I'm aboater, I love but my cost of
(28:30):
living, taxes, like the listgoes on.
There's a lot of positive.
Don't underestimate this howmany smart people are coming
here, and that just eventuallywill just pollinate onto all the
businesses.
It's just the way it goes.
SPEAKER_01 (28:41):
Well, there's a lot of people that have been coming
out out here for 20, 30 yearsthat have been in the trenches
building businesses, buildingtheir wealth, but they've been
coming here playing, you know,occasionally with their
families.
And now that they're retiring,they're selling their companies,
they, you know, doing doingtheir second phase of life,
right?
And they're like, Man, we'vealways had great memories in
(29:04):
Lake Havasu.
Why let's go check, let's goback, let's go check and let's
let's invest in Havasu a littlebit deeper than just a weekend
crash pad.
Now let's build something, alegacy home for you know, my
wife and I and my kids andgrandkids.
And that's what we're buildingfor, is we're building for these
gentlemen or families that, youknow, their kids and their
(29:25):
grandkids.
I mean, they're specific homes.
I mean, large storage in the garin the houses for all the toys
and all the fun, and then, youknow, all the bedrooms and stuff
like that are all appointed orthey're ensuites, you know, so
everybody can come as a family,gather under one roof, be
comfortable, yeah, and then goout and play for the day and
(29:45):
just come back to the sanctuary.
SPEAKER_02 (29:48):
And that a community, you just take the
golf cart to the marina.
SPEAKER_01 (29:50):
Yeah, you jump into your golf cart, you're in, you
know, the boat's in the in themarina.
It's you know, it's sittingthere, you're ready to go.
You know, they're the marina andthe developer are working
together to uh create moreconcierge type uh services with
on-site storage and you know,boat service and detailing.
And you know, if you call down,say, hey, I want my boat in the
(30:11):
water, you know, on Saturdaymorning, ice chest full.
Yeah, you know, you go down,it's filled, you put it back at
the end of the day alongside thedock and the surface.
Keep it clean.
Yeah, the surface guys pull itout of the water and put it back
in storage for you.
SPEAKER_02 (30:22):
And they got fuel, food, all that's already there.
SPEAKER_01 (30:24):
Everything's right there.
They're getting ready to open orbuild a uh waterfront uh
restaurant right at the marinathere, which will be another
kind of boating destination onthe lake, right?
For people from the north or thesouth come up to the Riviera and
kind of kick back and enjoy.
SPEAKER_02 (30:41):
Yeah.
And that's gonna be a cool seatsite too.
You'll have a 108-degree viewthere, too.
SPEAKER_01 (30:46):
Oh, that'll be probably one of the top wedding
spots in all of Arizona.
That's actually a good way toput it.
Yeah, I can totally see thattoo.
You stand out on the point ofwhere this restaurant is, and
literally you're looking up anddown the lake like you're
standing in the middle of thelake.
It's it's incredible.
SPEAKER_02 (31:01):
What is your favorite home that you built out
here so far?
SPEAKER_01 (31:05):
Uh my wife would say it was our house.
But uh, my favorite home thatI've built to this point is uh a
home for um a client out ofCalifornia.
Um just architecturally, thishouse uh was challenging.
And then the owner had just somereally owner and their designer
(31:28):
had some incredibly complexdetails that they wanted to
implement in the house, whichfor me as a creative guy and and
always liking to take on achallenge, they just brought
some really cool stuff to thetable.
Um, you know, huge cantilevereduh island, you know, pull-up bar
area, um, all out of walnut.
(31:49):
Their fireplace was just, youknow, very three-dimensional
with millwork and granite andall this stuff.
It was just very, very cool.
SPEAKER_02 (31:57):
It's hard to explain it.
It is, you have to see it.
SPEAKER_01 (31:59):
You'd have to see it to believe it, you know.
And it's you know, we wereactually just at the house
tonight uh doing a full photoshoot on this house.
So we'll be releasing.
SPEAKER_02 (32:07):
Oh, so that's that one.
SPEAKER_01 (32:08):
Yeah, we'll be releasing that house on our
social media sites and stufflike that just to just to get
you know awareness to to whatwe're doing.
SPEAKER_02 (32:16):
So I love it.
Well, Scott, is there anythingelse you'd like to add?
SPEAKER_01 (32:19):
Just appreciate the opportunity, and obviously, uh,
I think we're gonna have abright future together.
Oh, yeah, man.
I love it.
SPEAKER_02 (32:25):
I know we're already talking about stuff that people
are gonna go.
I know they're gonna dosomething.
If you're if they're on thepodcast, they're gonna figure
out a way to do some businesstogether.
You know, for for those of youthat want to uh you know kind of
reach out to you and get to knowyou, what's the best way to
reach you?
Was you know, yeah, website?
SPEAKER_01 (32:38):
Uh we have a website, uh Mountain Desert, uh
Mountain Desert www.mountaindesert.
And uh you can always email meat uh Scott at
mountaindesert.net and ummountain desert was you I'm sure
you probably put the uh two andtwo together.
We came from the mountains andnow we're in the desert.
So that's how I was actuallyjust about to ask you that makes
(33:00):
sense, got it.
It was actually Scott WardCustom Homes up in Utah, and
then when we moved down toArizona, it was I'm like, I
don't want to use my name.
I just yeah so we do like wecame from the mountains and now
we're in the desert.
So it's mountain desertdevelopment.
I love it.
SPEAKER_02 (33:13):
Well, so yeah, so what we'll do too is we'll add
you know your contactinformation all to the the the
podcast and all the marketingmaterial too.
So thanks for joining me, buddy.
I'm really glad you came.
Really appreciate it.
What time what time is it rightnow?
I think it's what, nine o'clockand we're still shooting PM.
I love it.
That's great.
SPEAKER_01 (33:27):
Work never stops, man.
SPEAKER_02 (33:28):
Never does.
So thank you guys for watchingand listening.
I really appreciate it, and onto the next.
Hey everybody, welcome to Paradigm Shift.
Today I'm honored to have ScottWard.
I'm going to get right to it,but Scott Ward is actually with
Mountain Desert Development.
And uh I've had the honor to getto know him and his wife and his
daughter, and they're just thesweetest people.
And they came in to support thegym, which we are sitting at our
headquarters building and thegym Family Office Society right
now.
And uh I just want to introduceyou to him.
I uh I had a you know a coupleweekends we spent some time
(00:43):
together, and he's just anamazing human being.
And I think for me, we have sucha large audience on our podcast
platform that I really want tohighlight people that I believe
deserve it, but also you know,want you to get to know who he
is and his backstory and kind ofwhat his pedigree is because I
think he's got a niche that mostpeople have not seen in Lake
Havasu, but his caliber ofdevelopment, because he's
(01:05):
actually a builder, but hiscaliber of development is so
amazing that I've walked intosome of his houses recently and
I'm like floored that this evenexists in in Lake Havasu.
And uh he's so humble and hedoesn't get on camera.
So I figured, you know what?
I'm gonna drag him out, get himon the podcast, and highlight
this guy's uh, you know, becauseyou know, I'm also the same type
of guy.
I want to just you know havesomething to share with my kids
(01:27):
down the road.
And I know that's where you are.
So if I can take this video andcut it and share it with your
kids, that's it.
We'll do it right here.
SPEAKER_00 (01:33):
That'd be cool, man.
SPEAKER_02 (01:34):
So, Scott, thanks for joining me today, buddy.
SPEAKER_00 (01:35):
Uh appreciate the opportunity.
SPEAKER_02 (01:37):
Of course.
So we'll we'll kind of diveright in.
Um, what let's talk a little bitabout your background and you
know, I would when you weretelling me, you know, you were
in you know Park City in Utahand kind of how you you would
would you go from Oregon to Utahand then here?
SPEAKER_01 (01:48):
Yeah, so uh grew up in Oregon in the Pacific
Northwest and uh then um movedto my family.
Actually, uh we went skiing inPark City, Utah, my senior year
of high school.
And uh Park City's amazing.
About six months after that skitrip, my parents literally came
to me and said, Hey, we'removing to Park City.
(02:08):
And I'm like, Okay, well, I wasgraduating high school and uh or
I'd graduated high school, anduh so I was like, Well, you you
move where your family moves,right?
I wasn't ready to kind of flythe coop.
So moved to Park City, um, endedup getting uh just a summer job
uh kind of to you know fill thetime before going to what I
(02:31):
thought was going to be college.
And uh anyway, started with a aconstruction company that I had
no idea at the time the value ofthe of the job I took.
It was an ad in the park recordpaper for a painter's helper.
SPEAKER_02 (02:47):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (02:47):
And I had no I'm like, okay, whatever.
So I'll paint, no problem.
SPEAKER_02 (02:51):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (02:51):
Whatever.
I never I don't I never held apaintbrush, I never taped off
anything.
I was I I started off as aconstruction laborer for this
company.
Anyway, the the company was ParkCity Engineering, and uh the
principal owner was Matt Price,and he had uh 12 key guys that
worked underneath him, and uhthey officiated the construction
(03:15):
from start to finish in-house,and they built he was the
architect and the engineer, andthen they did nothing but spec
homes, and uh he um these 12guys literally from excavation
all the way to finishedcarpentry, um, the mechanical
and things like that, theysubcontracted out.
(03:36):
But uh, so my experience wasjust starting in with this
company, and I fell in love withit.
SPEAKER_02 (03:41):
Yeah, well, I mean, they're everything's in-house.
SPEAKER_01 (03:43):
It was in-house.
I just saw an opportunity like,man, I'm gonna learn so much.
I mean, obviously, you start inthe trenches doing everything
nobody wants to do, but I stuckit out, gained a lot of respect
from the the guys that had, youknow, that were above me.
And I just learned every everyopportunity I could to just like
watch and learn and observe.
Even if I was sweeping thefloor, I'm like watching the
(04:04):
tile guy, you know, set tile orelectrician make up an outlet or
whatever, just trying to go,okay, I'm gonna need to know
this stuff eventually.
So quickly escalated throughthat and worked for that company
for five years, uh, got my owngeneral contractor's license,
literally learned how to run andbuild a construction business
from the ground up, meaning Ican lay out a foundation, I can
(04:28):
cut a roof, I can, you know,answer any framing question that
comes up from a framer.
And I think that's a valuablething in a general contractor.
Today, a lot of people go andjust take a class and get their
license and then just call subs.
And you know, your subs couldeasily uh manipulate you if you
(04:48):
don't know what you know, right?
SPEAKER_02 (04:50):
So and have a see that happen at all?
SPEAKER_01 (04:54):
At all, right, yeah.
So it's like, oh, I, you know,no, it's supposed to be that
way.
And it's like, no, I don't thinkit is supposed to be that way.
We're gonna do it this way.
So spent uh 10 years in ParkCity uh building uh high-end
luxury custom homes.
That's all I've ever done.
Um, and then uh got married.
My my uh my wife and I moved toLake Havasu uh in our early 30s.
(05:17):
Didn't think we were gonna behere this long.
Um we've been here 24 years, anduh it's been a great run.
Uh we've built some amazingprojects in Lake Havasu all over
town.
Uh started, uh we just you knowcame down here and and came
across the refuge, which was atthe time That was a big deal.
It was a big deal, it was hugefor our community here and the
(05:39):
Arnold Palmer signature golfcourse.
And obviously with 06-07, thatall fell apart, but uh the
community is still a greatcommunity.
Probably built 45 homes in thatneighborhood.
Yeah.
Um, and uh just really made ourname for ourselves in Lake
Havasu um doing that, and thenwe've now we're uh out in the
(06:02):
new ref Riviera community of uhLake Havasu.
SPEAKER_02 (06:05):
And that's what I really want to talk to you
about.
Yeah.
You know, is just you know, notonly your background, because I
think that kind of paints thecolor of like who you are now,
you know.
Because again, going into thethe houses that you've built,
what was it yesterday?
Was it yesterday we went?
Yeah, it was it yesterday or theday before?
SPEAKER_00 (06:20):
Yesterday we were out there, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (06:21):
Yeah, and just going and seeing all the new
development out there in theRiviera, you know, I I'm kind of
on a different, you know, adifferent scale, meaning I'm
kind of doing, you know, massproduction, more attainable,
affordable type stuff.
Um, and I think the barn cavesis a little bit more on the
luxury space, but I you know, II've always looked at things a
little bit differently justbecause I have a background in
lending and then have just kindof went through the nightmare of
(06:44):
you know 2008.
So when you're managing people'smoney, you try to be as
conservative as possible.
So I think I've looked at thingsfrom a different lens, but I've
also dealt with a lot of privatelending for guys in Beverly
Hills, Malibu, you know, built alot of you know, helping these
guys build specs and really kindof had a front row seat to what
they did.
And some of the stuff is themost beautiful thing.
I mean, I loved that part of mybusiness.
SPEAKER_03 (07:06):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (07:06):
And then walking the projects that we we did
yesterday, I was unbelievablyfloored about the quality of
work that's here in Havasu, butthen you were the guy doing it,
you know.
And I'm like, I apparently I washanging out with you on the boat
and didn't know who like exactlyhow cool you were, you know.
And so uh and so I thought thatwas really neat.
But I, you know, let's talk alittle bit about the Riviera
because I that's like one ofthese things that it's such a
(07:30):
big project in development.
I think it's really changed theway people from all over the
country has looked at LakeHavasu.
You know, everyone knew Havasuis the London Bridge and you
know, all the partying and thattype of stuff or the boat life,
but I don't think people quiteunderstand the wealth that's
coming here, how you know theoriginal you know, founders and
essence of Havasu kind ofcreated that whole entire land
(07:52):
play.
But why don't you just share alittle bit about the refuge, a
little bit the background of ofHavasu and kind of how that all
came came along?
SPEAKER_01 (07:58):
Yeah, so the Riviera was really uh a land acquisition
that a family, the Comek family,uh had had in their in their
arsenal for, I believe it wasback in the 80s, they they took
this parcel down.
It was landlocked by state prostate land, city property, and
then their own developmentpiece.
(08:20):
Uh the Comacs have been in umLake Havasu for almost the
beginning of time of LakeHavasu.
Uh they developed uh a number ofthings uh down along the channel
early in the years.
They developed the uh IslanderRV Resort, which a lot of our
clients have come out of that uhcommunity and built uh the
(08:42):
luxury homes uh once they fellin love with the town.
Yep.
Um they developed all of HavasuFoothill estates.
And so um That's a lot of homes,too.
Yes, there's a lot of homes upthere.
So they had this piece ofproperty and uh they didn't
really know what they were gonnado with it, how they were gonna
access it.
And I'll piece this together thebest I can.
(09:04):
But so long story short, thestate of Arizona felt like they
needed another access to this tothe lake.
Uh Windsor Boat Ramp uh runsabout, believe it or not, about
750,000 vehicles through thatkiosk a season.
SPEAKER_02 (09:22):
Yeah, it's a lot.
It's a lot, it's a lot.
SPEAKER_01 (09:24):
So there's a there's about 750,000 people that go
through there and launch.
And so it just gives you an ideaof the but the boat traffic and
the importance of boating inLake Havasu.
So there wasn't an they feltlike there just needed to be
more boat access to or boatingaccess to the water.
SPEAKER_02 (09:40):
And that's by the way, that's just one launch
ramp.
SPEAKER_01 (09:42):
Just one launch.
SPEAKER_02 (09:43):
That's not including the marina or site six or any of
that's yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (09:46):
Right.
So uh with the development onthe island, those access points
became more and more difficultfor the general public to get
to.
So anyway, Arizona State Parksaid, hey, we're gonna build a a
launch facility out here on thesouth end of town.
And uh they were talking withthe city about that because the
city owns 240 acres uh to thenorth of the boulevard that
(10:10):
comes down to the RivieraMarina.
Yeah.
Um, and the city's like, well,we'll just put the road in, you
know, down there because that'sgonna ultimately access our
property in the future.
And then the developer got windof that and said, Hey, well,
holy cow, now that there's aroad going in here and off the
highway, that's gonna access ourour parcels for the Riviera
(10:33):
community.
So there was this, you know, allthe stars and moons align,
right?
And uh everybody starts talking.
And anyway, long story short,the developer, the Comek family,
uh they have worked with ArizonaState Parks on other projects
and things like that.
And they they more or less said,Hey, why don't you give us a
(10:55):
40-year ground lease on this,and we'll do all the
infrastructure, we'll do all thedevelopment for it, we'll
control it, we'll run it, andthen we'll operate it as a
concession to Arizona StateParks.
That's the marina, and that'sthe marina, and everything
involved in the marina.
Well, that was just a it's notpart of the development of the
(11:15):
Riviera housing, but they theycontrol it.
It's an amenity.
It's a wonderful amenity, right?
SPEAKER_02 (11:21):
It's that's where I launch.
It's it's unbelievably, it'slike it's perfect.
SPEAKER_01 (11:24):
It's a state of the art name, yeah.
State of the art uh marina forsure, and uh being tied to the
residential side, uh that justwas a huge selling aspect.
I agree.
So here the Riviera starts, andthis is now, you know, uh they
went through a lot of a lot ofred tape to get all that
accomplished, like alldevelopers do, but they've had
(11:46):
incredible success.
They've got uh, I believe fiveneighborhoods that are completed
right now, and they've got twomore that they're finishing uh
that will will be released tothe the public for sale here in
the next uh probably six to ninemonths.
And uh, but yeah, a total ofabout 550 home sites out there.
That's a lot.
(12:07):
It's a lot of home sites.
Uh right now there's about 45completed homes, all
multi-million dollar residences.
Um, and the the bar just keepsgetting elevated with every
every home build that goes outthere as it typically does.
SPEAKER_02 (12:23):
Yeah, you built that, I think it was it a 17,000
square foot house that everyonekind of talks about when you're
on the water.
SPEAKER_01 (12:28):
Right on the right on the water frontage, right
above the marina.
It's a 17,000 square foot underroof, 10,000 livable.
Uh, it's got about 5,000 squarefeet of garage space.
Um it's just a beautiful,beautiful home.
Uh our uh architecturally, we uhthe Comics, when they were ready
to get actually the verticalconstruction going, they came to
(12:52):
me and they were like, man, wereally want to do something
special out here.
And we really, we really need aguy like you that can bring a
you know an architect and designand everything to this community
and really you know, we want toelevate the level of
construction in Lake Avasu.
So I went out and interviewed anumber of architects in the
Phoenix Scottsdale market andultimately came across uh CP
(13:12):
Druid with Druid WorksArchitecture.
And uh he and I hit it off likewe're brothers, like literally.
I mean, like kind of like ourrelationship, right?
Like we met each other, and Idon't know, the energy is good.
It's like, dude, we're bros.
So he designed my personal houseout there, and then he did he's
designed about 20 other homesfor me out there, and we've uh
(13:33):
over the last four or fiveyears, we've been building those
homes, and um it uh itdefinitely brought a whole layer
of uh polish polish to LakeHavasu.
Yep.
The general community of LakeHavasu still, I don't think,
even knows anything about theRiviera as far as the the homes.
SPEAKER_02 (13:54):
And that's what I wanted to bring on because I I
you know I'm so entrenched inthe development of of Havisu
overall, and I didn't know howserious the Riviera really was.
Yeah, you know, until and I'vedriven through there a little
bit.
I think you know kind of mybackground of having to go
through there, but I didn't knowit to the level that you just
showed me, and I was completelyfloored, especially the amount
(14:14):
of projects that are underdevelopment now.
Yeah, and then they're expandingall of those new lots in the
back, too.
I mean, that was impressive, butthose lake views, and I mean you
know, I remember sitting up onon the bluff with you last
yesterday, and I'm sitting theregoing, like, I don't know
anybody else or anywhere elseyou can get this type of desert
lifestyle waterfront propertiesanywhere in the country.
SPEAKER_01 (14:37):
It's a magical sight.
SPEAKER_02 (14:39):
It's and I mean now, yeah.
I I was talking to one of thebrokers, which as you know, he
works out here, right?
And he was and you, I think youeven teed off on it.
They think it's gonna be like anauction because they're not sure
how how high those may sell for.
Yeah, that's it.
SPEAKER_01 (14:54):
The last phase of the Riviera that will be
released probably sometime nextyear.
Uh Solitude is the neighborhood,which it couldn't be more
appropriately named.
Yeah.
It's literally, it just when youwalk back there, you go back
there.
I mean, even though the dozersare running and stuff, but man,
it is the most peaceful piece ofground I've ever stood on.
(15:15):
Um I would agree.
It literally just it it sitsjust above the lake.
You literally can see 280degrees, you can see to Parker
all the way up to to Needles, itfeels like, yeah, of water.
And um Which is insane.
It's incredible.
You've got high performanceboats flying right you know at
130 miles an hour.
SPEAKER_02 (15:35):
And then just that, just that's music to your if you
like anything.
SPEAKER_01 (15:39):
If you like fast cars and fast boats, fast women,
they're all right there for you.
SPEAKER_02 (15:43):
You know, it's it's nice too, because and you know
what, it's it's far enough awaywhere it's not that loud either.
So if you're inside the house,you won't hear that at all.
But you'll see it go right byyour glass window.
SPEAKER_01 (15:51):
I think most people that come to Lake Habazoo are
are actually that it's almostpeaceful, like that that the
roar of a performance engine,you know, running and doing
super cool, right?
Like they'll get up out of theirchair, their chair if they're
watching TV and look out, like,oh, what was that?
SPEAKER_02 (16:09):
Yeah, so well, in that part of the lake, I feel
like everybody knows it.
Everyone's been on that side ofthe lake since the beginning of
time.
SPEAKER_01 (16:17):
Yeah, and so you just literally there's an iconic
cove that has been on MTV backin the 80s and 90s when they
used to have spring.
SPEAKER_02 (16:28):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (16:30):
Yeah, Copper Canyon.
It's iconic.
And this this parcel of landthat's in front uh a part of the
Riviera uh community, the lastphase of their development,
literally sits right in front ofthat.
I mean, the copper canyon isjust directly across the room.
SPEAKER_02 (16:44):
You literally just sit there and just watch boats
coming in and out there all day.
It's it's it's always gonna bethere's always gonna be stuff
going on.
It's never gonna be a dullmoment down there.
SPEAKER_01 (16:50):
Yeah.
I mean, it's a it's a landmark.
Anybody that's ever heard aboutLake Havasu, they're like, oh
yeah, Copper Canyon.
Yeah, everybody knows CopperCanyon.
It's it's a iconic spot.
SPEAKER_02 (16:59):
So it's that's a great spot.
Yeah.
And then, you know, when we tookthat shot, I mean, all the way
down to Ghost Mind Saloon,right?
Is that the ghost is that whatit is?
SPEAKER_01 (17:07):
Yeah, new there's a new uh yeah, new Ghost Mind
Saloon, uh waterfront bar, whichis a lot of those are starting
to pop up around Lake Havasu,which is kind of creating that
uh Lake of the Ozarks vibe onour lake as far as a destination
boating to bars and lunch andall that stuff.
SPEAKER_02 (17:24):
And people love that.
Oh, people just want to come tieup, jump up, go eat, grab, have
a couple drinks, and take off.
And then the other side of theother view is all the way down
to Thompson's Bay.
SPEAKER_01 (17:32):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (17:32):
Going into the channel.
SPEAKER_01 (17:33):
Yep.
SPEAKER_02 (17:34):
And then you can see that new project that's supposed
to be built up there with that abillion dollar project, I think,
that's going on up there on theisland, over there where the old
uh golf course is.
SPEAKER_01 (17:42):
Yeah, where the uh nautical inn golf course uh used
to be.
Uh uh developer out ofScottsdale uh purchased that
about two or three years ago.
He's he's in his due diligenceand kind of planning phase with
the city right now, goingthrough all that.
And all the renderings andthings that I've seen of his
master plan are really cool.
I think it's gonna be a hugeasset to Lake Avasu.
(18:04):
There's, I mean, waterfrontproperty, another great big
marina for boat, you know, inthe water boat stores on the
island, another launch facilitythat's right next to the
nautical, right next to thenautical with you know, they're
gonna be some retail, some moredensity housing, restaurant,
reservoirs, yeah, high-endresidential, all that cool
stuff.
SPEAKER_02 (18:23):
So that's what Havasy's been yearning for.
SPEAKER_01 (18:26):
This little town is evolving at a very fast pace
right now.
It's definitely transforminginto I think what a lot of
people have been wanting.
There's you know, people thathave been here for a hundred
years that, you know, likeanywhere, they you know,
anti-development, but you can'tyou can't stop progress.
SPEAKER_02 (18:45):
Well, it's and it's it's just it's not a matter of
if it's when.
It's gonna happen.
Well, the other side of it isyou know, when you bring that
type of tax revenue into a city,that and the city, in my
opinion, is actually prettysmart because they are gonna
focus on healthcare and they'regonna focus on the thing that
the community really needs, youknow.
And and I see that happeningalready.
I'm having conversations, so I'dlove to try to get involved in
building something, you know, inlike the hospital realm at some
(19:06):
point, um, or like a medicalcampus, you know, especially on
the north side, there's plentyof land that way.
So, but yeah, so the to go backto the Riviera, you know, what
are the typical buyers outthere?
And obviously, they're justbuying lots, they're not buying
really any homes.
There's a couple specs in there,but not not much.
SPEAKER_01 (19:22):
Yeah, there's a few builders that have that have put
up some spec homes that havebeen uh on the market for a
minute.
I think you know, the the valueof or perception of value is
increasing daily as uh peoplesee value being created out
there.
Yeah, but uh yeah, most of themost of our buyers are uh people
(19:43):
from California, but reallythey're there's people from all
over Midwest and they're they'vefound Lake Havasu.
They come from all walks oflife, from plastic surgeons to
you know executives tocontractors and everything in
between.
Um and uh they buy their lot andthen you know they're they're
looking to build whatever, yeah.
(20:05):
You know, and and the Rivierahas done a good job of creating
some very good designguidelines.
They want to kind of keep atheme of modern desert
contemporary architecture um inthe community.
And uh with with that beingsaid, that you know lends it to
a very unique design.
(20:26):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (20:27):
So and it's it's cool because I think the Riviera
has just been kind of thatfootprint for people who really
do have, you know, capital, theywant to build their kind of
forever home or their secondhome.
They've been finding, I mean,these lots are great too, just
as far as views, but you kind ofcan't go wrong because the
amount of development that'sslotted to go in there.
SPEAKER_03 (20:45):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (20:45):
So I think a lot of people, especially smart ones,
are gonna look at it and go, Ican build now, I'm gonna hold my
equity.
The demand is still there.
Why don't I build my house andput my dream house right here?
Yeah.
And you know what I love is thefact that you have that, you
know, it was funny because I didnot know you were a builder at
all up in Park City.
But I kept bringing up thequality of builds in Park City
and how I love that design.
SPEAKER_03 (21:05):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (21:06):
Then you're like, well, yeah, I was building up
the Park City.
I'm like, how many people inHavasu built in Park City?
Nobody.
You know, and I feel like notmany people up here or in Havasu
have even been to Park City toexperience those type of uh
builds or you know, real estatein essence, you know.
So it's like to be able to bringthat caliber of uh development
and and architecture and designto Lake Havisu and then make it
(21:30):
set up more from a desert feelis like perfect.
SPEAKER_03 (21:34):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (21:34):
And that's why I was like, I gotta get you on the
podcast, man.
I want I want everyone to knowyou exist because that quality
of work is unbelievable.
I've been we can't wait to takeJoe tomorrow.
I was gonna bug you and see ifyou can take Joe out tomorrow.
SPEAKER_01 (21:46):
100%.
We'll give him a we'll give hima tour for sure.
Yeah, you need to see it.
SPEAKER_02 (21:49):
And and just kind of I wanted to we'll take him in
the back, we'll take the raptorback out there again.
We'll cruise him around and showhim those views, yeah.
And we'll before he gets goinghome, but he's gotta see that.
So um, what are you working onnow?
SPEAKER_01 (22:01):
So right now we have uh three custom builds.
Uh we had we've actuallyfinished 12 homes out there to
this point, all custom buildsfor individual clients, um
ranging from three million toseven million dollars in in
cost, uh which is funny.
I mean, and back Let's just sayfive years ago, the most
(22:22):
expensive home in Lake Havasuthat I have built was probably
about two and a half million.
So we've really changed theRiviera has brought a dynamic
that is really revolutionary toour town.
And the the bigger money guysare are are looking at our city
going, man, you actually can dosome cool stuff.
And that's what I'm excitedabout to just start sharing what
(22:45):
we've been creating for the lastcouple of years.
Uh, being that they're allprivate residences and they're
not spec houses or whatever, youknow, the general public doesn't
get to see it.
So we've we've spent some timeover the last couple of months
documenting the footage, youknow, taking video, and so we
can get it out there and justshow people that are interested
in the community to come out andgo, man, this is actually being
(23:08):
built.
Yeah, this is really happening.
This is really built.
I mean, for so many years ofliving in Havasu, it's like you
can't, you know, you can't dothat here.
You can't, it will never happenhere.
And I think we kind of did a micdrop on the last couple of
houses.
SPEAKER_02 (23:22):
Yeah, it was a road mic too.
SPEAKER_01 (23:24):
It was a road mic.
SPEAKER_02 (23:25):
It was you know, it's kind of cool because I
think I was telling you aboutone of the guys who actually
came into the gym, and he'sactually a rather wealthy guy.
He was telling me that he wantsto sell some property and he had
a stroke and he's kind of goingthrough a lot in life, and he
wants to hand over the keys tohis kids, which is a very common
conversation.
Sure.
And uh, and what I what thetakeaway for me was how much he
fell in love with Havasu.
He's building houses for evenhis kids because they all have
(23:46):
kids, they're married withgrandkids, and he wants everyone
close to him.
And he's like, But I want tomove my money here.
Like he said that.
And I was like, that's prettyimpressive.
You know, most people, when theydo retire and they find a place
they want to call home, youknow, they are gonna move their
wealth, they're gonna moveeverything here.
And what I our conversation kindof sparked, because he comes
from kind of the same backgroundand I do, about you know,
putting money on deposit and howyou know, as more banks here,
(24:10):
regional banks continue to bringin more depositors, sure,
they're able to lend that moneyback out on SBA loans and small
businesses and it, you know,help grow the community.
And that was like what a greatconversation that was because
he's like, I've worked really,really hard, but like my whole
life is about giving back.
And I feel like I have tocontinue to give back,
otherwise, I'm not gonna behappy with what I've earned, you
(24:31):
know.
And I thought that was reallykind of nice to hear that, and I
think that is why people lovelike Havasu.
It's the other, it's people,yeah.
The people that come here,they're amongst friends.
You know, we you know, it's notshocking, but it is a very
right-leaning community.
SPEAKER_03 (24:46):
Yep.
SPEAKER_02 (24:46):
But no one really tries to swing it that way, like
everyone just wants to take careof each other, and that's
boaters in general.
Boaters take care of each other,but that is like a thing.
Yeah, it's it's and people knoweach other by the names of their
boats, not even their realpersonal name, right?
SPEAKER_03 (24:59):
What's your boat name?
SPEAKER_02 (25:00):
Oh, that's your boat, gotcha, you know.
That's but but in reality, theyou know, boaters they love to
help each other and take care ofeach other, and so you just kind
of have this community of peoplethat are always watching each
watching over each other'sbacks, you know.
And and the other thing too isit's safe.
Safe, it's so safe.
I leave my doors open all thetime and unlocked.
SPEAKER_01 (25:18):
I hope I nobody knows where I live, but you know
I was gonna say, yeah, I'm like,I don't I'm not gonna add my
address to this, but I don'tthink I've locked my door in 24
years of living in Lake Havasu.
SPEAKER_02 (25:27):
You don't need to, you know.
SPEAKER_01 (25:28):
My truck, I never locked.
Yeah, it's just I I find myselfleaving Havasu going, oh crap, I
need to lock my truck.
Yeah, yeah, get into Vegas.
I should lock it.
I should lock it.
I should probably locksomething, but yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (25:39):
And I came from SoCal, and I had recently been
out here, I've been out herefull-time two years, and maybe a
little longer, but two yearsreally full-time.
And and I the first year wasreally hard.
You know, I was so used to allthe resources in California,
sure, and then going back andforth from Nashville and
California over the since thepandemic.
But you know, you can workaround that, you know, and then
you realize like, hey, onlyVegas is a couple hours away.
(26:01):
I can go get everything I needthere.
And then on top of that,Havasu's kind of like there's
this like little hidden stuffeverywhere that you didn't know
existed, and it's there.
Yeah, and you're like, holy gee,so you can actually do really
well.
And then now anytime I leave theleave town, and I I want to come
back so bad.
And now I know why people, whenthey you know, if they're from
here, they leave here, theyalways come back.
(26:21):
There's something very specialabout this place.
SPEAKER_01 (26:23):
There is, and uh, you know, kind of touching on
that, you know, Havasu is issmall, unique, it's quaint, but
there's literally a businessopportunity at every turn.
Like there's there's arestaurant that needs to be
opened, or there's a you know,clothing store, there's a
boutique, or you know, whateverit is.
I mean, the the city is justdesperately waiting for for for
(26:47):
us as you know, people in thecommunity to do stuff, which is
super exciting.
What you're doing with Paradigmsand the gym and what we're doing
out in the Riviera, we're youknow, we're filling those needs
and servicing those.
SPEAKER_02 (27:01):
It's that kind of concept.
If you build, they'll come.
I agree.
We've been talking about that.
It's just the city is ready forthe growth.
Yeah, there's enough densityhere, there's enough money here.
Yep, it's almost like if youbuild anything new, it's
probably gonna do well.
So I think you're in that grossstage of Habasu that not a lot
of people will talk about, butif big smart institutional guys,
they'll they'll see it and go,Yeah, you guys are on that
(27:21):
growth trajectory, it's justhardwind census bureau doesn't
have good data.
SPEAKER_00 (27:25):
Exactly, you know.
SPEAKER_02 (27:26):
So that's why a lot of the money hasn't really
landed here as far asinstitutional capital.
But you have institutional guysthat have retired out of the
game and are moving here.
And that's the that's what Ihave it.
No one talks about.
Yeah, it's the guys that playedin the institutional world and
that retired and moved here.
So, in my opinion, those are thesmart guys.
Yeah, those are the guys thatsaw where the world's going.
(27:47):
They were the ones that helpedfund the where the world was
going.
And now they're retiring out andgoing, you know what?
I love Havasu, but they're alsolooking at making sure they
retain their wealth.
They all of these houses aregonna go to their kids or some
level.
So they're gonna go, all right.
Well, if I'm retaining, youknow, so those are the guys that
you want to get to know.
Meaning, talk to me about allthe you know, bullets that have
(28:08):
been fired in your whole lifeand why did you end up choosing
Havasu?
And they're gonna tell you allthe things that they've had to
go through to to build theempire that they built, and and
they're and how family's numberone and they love the Lord, and
the list kind of goes on, yep,and they're like, but I have
chosen here because I feel safehere.
I like where the where this isgoing.
Yep.
I have all the amenities, I'm aboater, I love but my cost of
(28:30):
living, taxes, like the listgoes on.
There's a lot of positive.
Don't underestimate this howmany smart people are coming
here, and that just eventuallywill just pollinate onto all the
businesses.
It's just the way it goes.
SPEAKER_01 (28:41):
Well, there's a lot of people that have been coming
out out here for 20, 30 yearsthat have been in the trenches
building businesses, buildingtheir wealth, but they've been
coming here playing, you know,occasionally with their
families.
And now that they're retiring,they're selling their companies,
they, you know, doing doingtheir second phase of life,
right?
And they're like, Man, we'vealways had great memories in
(29:04):
Lake Havasu.
Why let's go check, let's goback, let's go check and let's
let's invest in Havasu a littlebit deeper than just a weekend
crash pad.
Now let's build something, alegacy home for you know, my
wife and I and my kids andgrandkids.
And that's what we're buildingfor, is we're building for these
gentlemen or families that, youknow, their kids and their
(29:25):
grandkids.
I mean, they're specific homes.
I mean, large storage in the garin the houses for all the toys
and all the fun, and then, youknow, all the bedrooms and stuff
like that are all appointed orthey're ensuites, you know, so
everybody can come as a family,gather under one roof, be
comfortable, yeah, and then goout and play for the day and
(29:45):
just come back to the sanctuary.
SPEAKER_02 (29:48):
And that a community, you just take the
golf cart to the marina.
SPEAKER_01 (29:50):
Yeah, you jump into your golf cart, you're in, you
know, the boat's in the in themarina.
It's you know, it's sittingthere, you're ready to go.
You know, they're the marina andthe developer are working
together to uh create moreconcierge type uh services with
on-site storage and you know,boat service and detailing.
And you know, if you call down,say, hey, I want my boat in the
(30:11):
water, you know, on Saturdaymorning, ice chest full.
Yeah, you know, you go down,it's filled, you put it back at
the end of the day alongside thedock and the surface.
Keep it clean.
Yeah, the surface guys pull itout of the water and put it back
in storage for you.
SPEAKER_02 (30:22):
And they got fuel, food, all that's already there.
SPEAKER_01 (30:24):
Everything's right there.
They're getting ready to open orbuild a uh waterfront uh
restaurant right at the marinathere, which will be another
kind of boating destination onthe lake, right?
For people from the north or thesouth come up to the Riviera and
kind of kick back and enjoy.
SPEAKER_02 (30:41):
Yeah.
And that's gonna be a cool seatsite too.
You'll have a 108-degree viewthere, too.
SPEAKER_01 (30:46):
Oh, that'll be probably one of the top wedding
spots in all of Arizona.
That's actually a good way toput it.
Yeah, I can totally see thattoo.
You stand out on the point ofwhere this restaurant is, and
literally you're looking up anddown the lake like you're
standing in the middle of thelake.
It's it's incredible.
SPEAKER_02 (31:01):
What is your favorite home that you built out
here so far?
SPEAKER_01 (31:05):
Uh my wife would say it was our house.
But uh, my favorite home thatI've built to this point is uh a
home for um a client out ofCalifornia.
Um just architecturally, thishouse uh was challenging.
And then the owner had just somereally owner and their designer
(31:28):
had some incredibly complexdetails that they wanted to
implement in the house, whichfor me as a creative guy and and
always liking to take on achallenge, they just brought
some really cool stuff to thetable.
Um, you know, huge cantilevereduh island, you know, pull-up bar
area, um, all out of walnut.
(31:49):
Their fireplace was just, youknow, very three-dimensional
with millwork and granite andall this stuff.
It was just very, very cool.
SPEAKER_02 (31:57):
It's hard to explain it.
It is, you have to see it.
SPEAKER_01 (31:59):
You'd have to see it to believe it, you know.
And it's you know, we wereactually just at the house
tonight uh doing a full photoshoot on this house.
So we'll be releasing.
SPEAKER_02 (32:07):
Oh, so that's that one.
SPEAKER_01 (32:08):
Yeah, we'll be releasing that house on our
social media sites and stufflike that just to just to get
you know awareness to to whatwe're doing.
SPEAKER_02 (32:16):
So I love it.
Well, Scott, is there anythingelse you'd like to add?
SPEAKER_01 (32:19):
Just appreciate the opportunity, and obviously, uh,
I think we're gonna have abright future together.
Oh, yeah, man.
I love it.
SPEAKER_02 (32:25):
I know we're already talking about stuff that people
are gonna go.
I know they're gonna dosomething.
If you're if they're on thepodcast, they're gonna figure
out a way to do some businesstogether.
You know, for for those of youthat want to uh you know kind of
reach out to you and get to knowyou, what's the best way to
reach you?
Was you know, yeah, website?
SPEAKER_01 (32:38):
Uh we have a website, uh Mountain Desert, uh
Mountain Desert www.mountaindesert.
And uh you can always email meat uh Scott at
mountaindesert.net and ummountain desert was you I'm sure
you probably put the uh two andtwo together.
We came from the mountains andnow we're in the desert.
So that's how I was actuallyjust about to ask you that makes
(33:00):
sense, got it.
It was actually Scott WardCustom Homes up in Utah, and
then when we moved down toArizona, it was I'm like, I
don't want to use my name.
I just yeah so we do like wecame from the mountains and now
we're in the desert.
So it's mountain desertdevelopment.
I love it.
SPEAKER_02 (33:13):
Well, so yeah, so what we'll do too is we'll add
you know your contactinformation all to the the the
podcast and all the marketingmaterial too.
So thanks for joining me, buddy.
I'm really glad you came.
Really appreciate it.
What time what time is it rightnow?
I think it's what, nine o'clockand we're still shooting PM.
I love it.
That's great.
SPEAKER_01 (33:27):
Work never stops, man.
SPEAKER_02 (33:28):
Never does.
So thank you guys for watchingand listening.
I really appreciate it, and onto the next.
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