Did you know that Prescott Creeks maintains an office in Prescott? It is a space where the Prescott Creeks Board of Directors meets monthly, where our professional and volunteer staff work, where the Prescott Creeks files and resources are found, and where we love to have visitors stop by for information about how to get involved or to ask any number of questions about all things creek and watershed related. The office is located is located at 1837 N. State Route 89 in Prescott. We are in the small red cabin – it’s the first building you come to when you enter the property from Rosser St.
During the last few months, we have fielded many questions about what is happening in the field behind the Prescott Creeks office. The short answer is that it is being developed by the “Riparian Luck” company. The principal of Riparian Luck says:
“The property will be an exclusive Business / Industrial Park offering a unique opportunity where professional logistics meet stunning nature. Located directly adjacent to the Watson Woods Preserve, this site features modern warehouses with an emphasis on openness and scenic views.”
Construction for this project is expected to take 12-18 months and will involve significantly more traffic than we’ve previously seen next to the office. We’ll provide additional updates as relevant.
Many seem to think (incorrectly) that Prescott Creeks owns the property where the office is located. We do not. There are two parcels of privately owned property located on approximately 8.5 acres of land between Highway 89 and Watson Woods Riparian Preserve that were historically owned by the Airlock Log Company (ca. 1955-1975). They built all the structures presently on the property as models for their available cabin kits. We’ve been told the large cabin (destroyed by fire in 2017) was the owner’s residence, and that the building at 1837 was the engineering office for the company. The “Butler” building (warehouse) behind the now Prescott Creeks office is where the company milled and cut logs into cabin components. In the mid-1970s the Air Lock Log Company relocated to Las Vegas, New Mexico and their Prescott property was sold to a private party who managed the property largely for residential rentals. In 2016, the property was sold to another private party who pursued plans for a high-end RV park, before abandoning the effort and selling the vacant northern parcel to the Canyon Bible Church and the developed southern parcel to another private party who rents one building to Prescott Creeks. The other two cabins on the property are rented as residences.
Prescott Creeks moved to the “cabin property” in 2014 as a renter, in no small part, because it just happens to be right next to Watson Woods Riparian Preserve. It’s wonderful to be able to easily walk into the Preserve virtually from our front door or to meet with supporters, funders, and/or partners and almost seamlessly transition from the meeting room to the field. And being on the edge of the Preserve offers many wildlife encounters – like Greater Roadrunners hanging out on the front porch, hummingbirds nesting in the eaves of the building, or a presumably old gopher snake that frequents the parking lot – drive slowly! We’ve been seeing it for nearly 10 years now.
During the last 11 years, Prescott Creeks has occupied two buildings on the property. We were originally in a 2,300 sq ft, two-story log cabin that had a lovely rustic feel. Unfortunately, that building had an over-abundance of deferred maintenance which ultimately led to a structure fire on December 10th, 2017. The fire is believed to have started during the evening of the 9th (a Saturday when the building was vacant) but not reported until early Sunday morning. By that time, the interior of the building was fully engaged with fire. After extinguishing the fire initially, it restarted as it was in the roof structure and the Prescott Fire Department determined that demolishing the building was the only way to fully extinguish the fire. Not only did Prescott Creeks lose its office space because of the fire, it also lost nearly three decades of accumulated history in the form of documents, photographs, and original maps and artwork. Thankfully contracts, titles, and other critical documents were either saved and/or digitized. Our file server was one of the few things to come out of the building prior to its demolition.
Immediately after the fire, Prescott Creeks was able to move into the red, approximately 575 sq. ft., board and batten style cabin just across the parking lot at 1837. The smaller space was not a problem as we had significantly fewer items with which to fill it. We started with a few laptop computers on folding tables thinking that we’d only be there for a short time. It will be 8 years this December!
