OCTOBER 2026 Tidbits from the Museum Series

Rio Rico’s Modern History Chapter at the Rio Rico History Museum

By Helen Serras-Herman, RRHS Past President

Leonard Rosen and Gulf American Land Corp came to Tucson in November of 1966 and kicked off a promotion for Rio Rico through their broker in Tucson Samuel R. Kaufman that they would spend up to $150 million to develop Rio Rico. In August of 1967 Gulf American wins the first zoning change from Santa Cruz County Planning for 8,900 acres for the core city of Rio Rico, and in that letter the new name “Rio Rico” instead of Calabasas made its first appearance.

The Very Important Traveler (VIT) building broke ground October 1967 and served as the sales office. Today the historic building still stands exactly the same on Rio Rico Drive and belongs to Santa Cruz County government. In May 1969, Gulf American started selling lots in Rio Rico, organizing day trips for prospective buyers, and begun building homes. 1,499 lots were planned and 31 homes were constructed in the summer of 1969. Lots were selling for an average of $5,000, half of that being selling expenses and future improvements. Many of those lots were unbuildable, and still stand empty today.

Gulf American created a 24-page color brochure prominently featuring spokesman Will Rogers, Jr. Prospective buyers were flown into Tucson International on their airplanes, 7 days a week. Nine buses were used to transfer passenger to Rio Rico and other stops during the discounted $49 three-day vacation party trips.

In 1969, the Rosens suffered a blitz of bad publicity for selling swamp land at highly inflated prices to unsuspecting buyers in Florida and sold Gulf American Corp to General Acceptance Corporation (GAC). Gulf American Corp became GAC Properties, a subsidiary of GAC.

The July 1974, the Rio Rico Register newspaper talked about the newly opened shopping center, and stated “Rio Rico is a miniature cosmopolitan city drawing people from all over the United States and many parts of the world, all with different backgrounds, but with one thing in common – a desire to get away from crowded areas.” That still holds very true today.