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As we understand the history of the Green
Valley Fairways area former resident, Helene Rogers, began
selling Fairways homes in December of 1963. The
Fairways had been part of the Canoa land grant and Pima
cotton was grown here. At the south end of the pecan
groves was a vineyard.
It took
four months to build a house back then and it was an orderly
progression street by street. The houses sold for
$10,950 to $17,000. The land was owned by Maxon.
Fairways I and III were built by Valley Construction
Company, a subsidiary of Maxon. The first year at
least four houses a week were sold.
Tom Kuhlman was a neighbor in
Fairways II and he was a very important but silent
partner of the Maxon Brothers and invested heavily in the
construction project. He lived at 474 N. Abrego and traveled
the world with his wife. He and the Maxon Brothers discovered
this area in 1964 while touring the Southwest in search of a
cattle ranch but decided that this area looked promising as
a retirement area.
Haven Golf Course had their first nine
holes completed by 1964. The second nine holes were
completed in late 1965.
The East Center was built in 1965 by
the Maxon company. The FHA took it over in 1967 after
the Maxon bankruptcy and formed the Community Recreation
Association of Green Valley. This was the forerunner
of GVR. In 1973, the Haven Management Company of
Chicago purchased from the FHA the Villas, the Haven Mall,
the Haven Golf Course and the East Social Center.
Initially, Haven ran the East Center as a private club for
members only. In 1975 the original Community Recreation
Association negotiated a 20 year lease with Haven at a
dollar a year. GVR became the successor in 1997 and secured
an option to purchase the East Social Center plus five acres
of land for $500,000. |
