Chernine estimates it will take three to five years to start vertical construction. The company intends to begin infrastructure work, finalize annexation and certify zoning over the next 12 months, at which point it can begin selling development sites.

Chernine says he and his partners are already talking to potential users. "We're working on several shopping center deals and a hospital deal right now as well as a manufacturing center," he says. "We have to create our own world here."

Chernine says he is not worried the residential slowdown will impact his development because of the extended time line. "Some of the best developers in the country are building homes at the old Chrysler Proving Grounds, which is 5,500 acres right next to us," he says. "Even if the homes don't go up as fast as people expected, we're confident those projects are going to get built eventually. We're trying to forecast three to five years out so what's happening right now doesn't bother us too much."

Land Baron has several other projects in development in the Phoenix area. It is also buying 289 acres in the Painted Hills area west of Tucson on behalf of the Dallas police and firefighters pension fund. That deal has churned up some controversy. According to a local newspaper, the land was appraised at $4.5 million when voters approved a 2004 bond issue to preserve undeveloped Pima County land. Land Baron has agreed to pay $27 million for it.