Ahwatukee ("Ahwatukee Foothills Village") is an "L"-shaped bedroom community bordered on the north by South Mountain Park and Baseline Road, on the east by Interstate 10 and the cities of Chandler, Guadalupe, and Tempe, and on the south and west by the Gila River Indian Community.
Although annexed by the City of Phoenix, Arizona from 1978 to 1987, before substantial residential growth, many of its residents consider it a separate city. It is one of the city's 15 urban villages. The 35.8 square-mile (92.7 km²) village currently has a population of approximately 85,000 people.
The Legend goes that in 1921, Dr. and Mrs. W.V.B. Ames built a house on approximately 2,000 acres (8.1 km²) on the southeast side of the South Mountains. They gave the area its original name, Casa de Sueños, which in Spanish means, "House of Our Dreams." Dr. Ames died within just three months of moving into the house, and after Mrs. Ames' death in 1933 the house and most of the land was willed to St. Luke's Hospital, then bought in 1935 by Miss Helen Brinton, who appeared to have retranslated the name of the house to the Crow Indian word which now serves as the name of the village. The house was demolished in 1979, and parts of it were used to build the Our Lady of Guadalupe church.
As it turns out, the Crow translation for "House of Dreams" (ashe ammeewiawe) sounds nothing like Ahwatukee. More likely, the town was named after the Crow words awe chuuke, meaning "land on the other side of the hill," or "land in the next valley."
In 1971 part of the land was purchased, subdivided, and developed into a residential community by the Presley Development Company, owned by Elvis Presley's uncle.
Ahwatukee has grown as the city acquired other parcels leading west, including land owned by International Harvester, which operated a proving ground for earth-moving equipment there from 1947 to 1983. The State of Arizona, has bought, sold, or swapped land several times, including transferring state trust land to developers in controversial auctions, in which residents and conservationists had lobbied for the space to be converted to parkland.
Ahwatukee's strong education system adds to its reputation as an excellent place to live. The area's K-8 Students are served by the Kyrene School District. The Kyrene Schools in Ahwatukee include Kyrene De La Colina (K-5), Kyrene de las Lomas(K-5) elementary schools, and Centennial (6-8), Akimel A-al (6-8), and Altadena (6-8). High School students go to one of two in the area: Desert Vista and Mountain Pointe. Both schools are operated by the Tempe Union High School District. There are also a number of private/charter schools, including Horizon Charter School, and Skyline Technical High School.
Ahwatukee enjoys easy access to the South Mountain Park trail system, where mountain biking, horseback riding, and hiking are allowed. The area also has four public golf courses, many neighborhood parks and community centers, a public swimming pool, and a fairly active shopping and nightlife area near the "village core" at 48th Street and Ray Road. The recently built Pecos Park is also a favorite spot for many teenagers. When it is completed, it will boast a mini city center, with a police substation.
Surrounded to the northwest by South Mountain Park, blocked to the east by I-10 and to the south by the Gila River Indian Community, Ahwatukee Foothills is geographically isolated from the city of which it is part of, Phoenix. Due to its relatively few access points (mainly through a few bridges across Interstate 10), it has been called The World's Largest Cul-de-sac. This may change, however, if the planned South Mountain Freeway is built along the south edge; this freeway would provide a bypass around downtown Phoenix and connect Ahwatukee to the west valley cities of Laveen, Avondale and Glendale.
Ahwatukee is home to many Arizona Cardinals players and coaches due to its proximity to the team's Tempe training facility.
Ahwatukee is also home to toy manufacturer and comic book artist Todd McFarlane, widely known as the creator of Spawn.
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