Santa Cruz County Arizona Specialists

Rio Rico ("rich river") is a planned community located in Santa Cruz County, 57 miles south of Tucson and 12 miles north of Mexico. The community's 39,000 acres roll gently down from the Santa Rita Mountains through the San Cayetano Foothills westward to the Santa Cruz River. The area around and including Rio Rico was once part of the Baca Float, a tract of approximately 100,000 acres granted by the U.S. Congress to the heirs of Luis Maria Baca as the result of an early, unclear grant from the Spanish government. The community had its beginnings in 1969 and has continued to grow at a steady pace with the influx of tenants to the Rio Rico South Industrial Park. PRINCIPAL ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES Rio Rico's South Industrial Park is comprised of 256 acres, with 100 acres now serving produce and distribution warehouses and manufacturing firms (C.E. Gillman Co., Badger Meter Manufacturing and Molex Inc.). The Rio Rico commercial area comprises 544 acres, which includes Esplendor Resort (with tennis and 18-hole championship golf course) and a commercial center containing a supermarket, restaurant and a variety of specialty shops. Because of its proximity to Mexico, Rio Rico has become a stop-over for tourists, increasing the importance of tourism to the area. SCENIC ATTRACTIONS Rio Rico is an area where Spanish and Indian families lived generations before the American Revolution and where Arizona history began. Tumacacori National Monument, four miles north, was visited by Father Kino in 1691, and had its most active years from 1791 to 1821. Eleven miles north of Rio Rico is Tubac Presidio, which was established in 1752 by the Spanish. Near Tubac are Aliso Springs, a Mexican ranch site and also the site of prehistoric occupation; the Salero Mine, one of the oldest mines in Arizona and worked by Mexicans before being purchased by Americans in the 1850s; Santa Rita Hacienda, both a mining and ranching center during the Spanish and Mexican periods, acquired by the Americans after the Gadsden Purchase. Sonoita, to the east, was established by the Sobaipuri Indians in 1698. It was visited by Kino and become a visita of the Guevavi Mission. Sopori, near Amado, was originally a Pima rancheria. It became a Spanish mining and stock-raising center and was acquired by Americans in the 1850s. An excursion to the historic Tumacacori National Monument, Tubac Presidio, the ruins of old Fort Crittendon and the Duquesne or Washington Camp ghost towns can be made within a two-hour round trip from Rio Rico. Recreational areas such as Pena Blanca and Patagonia Lakes, Madera Canyon, and Mt. Wrightson and the Coronado National Forest are nearby. The Calabasas Mission Ruins, located in Rio Rico, were dedicated to the state parks in 1997.

Communication. In addition to communication resources from the rest of the state, Rio Rico has a monthly newspaper, the Arizonian, and one television channel from Nogales. Cable television is available through Saguaro Cable, Inc. which provides 24 channels, HBO, Cinemax, and Disney channels are also available.
Educational. There are five schools in the Santa Cruz Valley Unified District #35.
Medical. Complete medical services are available in Nogales, including one hospital with 80 beds and a 24-hour emergency service available, 19 physicians, three dentists, two chiropractors, one podiatrist, and three opticians.
Financial. Full financial services are available in Nogales, Arizona, 12 miles south. Further, Santa Cruz County businesses are eligible for assistance in financing fixed assets through the Finance and Administration Division, Arizona Department of Commerce. Information on private activity bonds within the county may be obtained from the same source or from the Santa Cruz County Economic Development Foundation, P.O. Box 1688, Nogales, AZ, 85628.
Governmental. The community of Rio Rico is governed by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and serviced by the sheriff's department. The fire department has 25 volunteers, a rescue unit and firehouse.
Airport. The residents of Rio Rico have access to the Nogales International Airport (12 miles south).
Industrial Properties. There is one industrial park with 256 acres available for light industry, warehousing and produce distribution. All utilities are available, and there is easy access to the Southern Pacific Railroad and I-19. A neighborhood business park with 47.5 acres is available for light industry, warehousing and neighborhood-type business.