A Candid Interview: Keith Schuck
President of Raylynn Homes and developer of Monte Vista Ranch
To say that developing Monte Vista Ranch is a labor of love for Keith Schuck is – like everything else people like about Wickenburg – an understatement. Keith, his twin brother, his sister, and his younger brother were all raised on the ranch and they were all married on the back lawn of the main house. The property has been in the hands of the Schuck family continuously since 1976.
Interviewer: Monte Vista Ranch has a remarkably rich history. How did it happen to become home for the Schuck family?
Keith: Monte Vista Ranch was originally settled in 1889 by Belisario Castro who built a store, a stage coach station, and a bar on 16,000 acres of land. In 1903, it was obtained by Ignacio Garcia, who operated it as a cattle ranch until 1926 when it was sold to Lewis “Bob” White.
From 1926 to 1965, Monte Vista Ranch was one of Wickenburg’s most popular working guest ranches, attracting presidents, movie stars and people from the Midwest, the East Coast and as far away as Europe. It is one of the reasons Wickenburg came to be known as “The dude ranch capital of the world.”
In 1976, a 126-acre parcel containing the main house of the guest ranch was purchased by my father, Kent Schuck. My father was the founder of Schuck & Sons, one of the largest and most respected carpentry subcontractors in the country. He later acquired an additional 275 adjacent acres. After my father died, I purchased the family home and the land from my mother in 1999.
Interviewer: What was it like growing up in Wickenburg?
Keith: It was a blast. Way better than Phoenix. We rode our motorcycles to school and back. To the park and back. We could just go anywhere we wanted. There’s a box canyon a few miles up the Hassayampa River where there is running water about six inches deep year-round, so we spent a lot of time up there. We camped out there often. It was an idyllic childhood for me and my brothers and sister, and that’s exactly what I wanted for my own children.
Interviewer: Wickenburg has always been thought of as laid back and friendly. Do you think it’s still that way today?
Keith: Yeah, there are more people now; but it’s pretty much the same. Back then, you knew everybody in town. You just might as well have kept your hand up outside the window when you drove down the street because everybody was waving at everybody. It’s still kind of like that today. The downtown, everything, is pretty much the same.
Interviewer: What made you decide to develop the property?
Keith: Once our family decided to sell Schuck & Sons, I was pretty much out of work. I took about three months off and decided that being out of work wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. My mom had people making offers to buy the family home and the land around it. Developers wanted the land but not the home. Then there were people who wanted the home but not the land. After my father died, my mother was in the main home by herself. She wanted to sell; but she wasn’t going to sell the home or the land separately.
I took her fishing one night at Lake Pleasant. It was about 1 o’clock in the morning. She was telling me about some of the offers she had received. So I just turned to her and said, “Why don’t you sell it to me?” That was it. That’s where it all started. She was quiet for about an hour and then said, “Sounds like a good deal.” So I said, “I’ll buy your house and you can buy mine. We’ll just trade. Then I’ll develop the rest of the Monte Vista Ranch property.”
I had wanted to move but there was no place in Wickenburg to move to where you could make a safe investment. Like a quality home in a quality subdivision. Really, between me and you, it was to create a place where I could make a safe investment along with others. If you look around Wickenburg, you can build a home anywhere you want; but you’re not going to control the quality of what is going to be built nearby. So that was the whole idea behind developing Monte Vista Ranch.
Interviewer: How did the development plan come about?
Keith: I knew I didn’t want high density. And I knew I wanted a place where I could feel comfortable building a home for my family. So we decided we would offer big lots and very high quality villas and cottages in a masterplanned, gated community. We wanted to create a place where people could feel secure and safe, but still had a wide open, out in the country feel. We wanted to keep the quality and the lifestyle that was here before intact. That’s what we’ve always tried to do.
Interviewer: Why did you decide on western ranch architecture for Monte Vista Ranch?
Keith: Just to keep what was here intact. We didn’t want to reinvent something new. Obviously it worked in the past for the guests at the dude ranch. So we just went with an authentic western ranch style. Anything else just would not have fit.
Interviewer: Most communities have a mix of architectural styles. Why did you go with the same theme throughout?
Keith: That comes from my partner Tom Hogue and I. We decided early on that we would only hire the best people to partner with. We chose R. J. Bacon as the land planner and architectural designer, Eric and Dorothy Bron as interior designers and Marcus Bollinger, landscape designer. As a team it all came together. We kept the same people all the way through the planning process so there wasn’t a change in the overall look halfway through.
Interviewer: How were you able to maintain the quality throughout the project?
Keith: The difference is that the owners, Tom and I, were out on the job 12 to 14 hours a day from day one. And we supervised every detail that went on with the project. You look at any other project, do you think the owners are out there making decisions on where every bush and boulder should go? With this pro-ject, the placement of every boulder, every bush, and every tree was decided on by Tom or myself. It was the same way for the construction of the roads, the trails, the gatehouse and the Villas. That’s why everything looks right.
Interviewer: In addition to the 50 estate lots and the Ranch Villas, you’ll soon be starting construction on the Ranch Cottages. What were you trying to achieve with that particular product?
Keith: They’ll be slightly smaller homes than the Villas because what we’re hoping to achieve is a different, more affordable pricepoint. But I don’t want to lessen the “Wow” of Monte Vista Ranch, so we have to be careful. We don’t want to go too far one way and downgrade what we’re trying to do here just to sell homes. We need to sell homes to stay in business; but even though the Cottages will have a lower pricepoint, they won’t be a cheaper product. They’ll have character.
Interviewer: Tell me about the community center that you call “The Lodge.”
Keith: The Lodge is in the same location as the original lodge back when Monte Vista was a guest ranch. I think it’s neat that the new community center is in the same location. It’s centrally located and it has good views. It’ll have an exercise room, kitchen, big great room and screened-in room for parties, a yoga lawn, swimming pool, spa, maybe a putting green or horseshoe pit, grassy playground for kids and grandkids, a huge ramada, and an outdoor bar-be-cue.
Interviewer: What was the main idea behind the Ranch Villas?
Keith: The thought at the beginning was something you could use for a winter home – turn the key and leave – and not have to worry about maintenance on a large lot. It’s a pre-built product and pre-designed, so you don’t have to go through all that hassle of building a custom home.
Interviewer: I understand there’s a commercial center planned for the western end of the property.
Keith: The plan is to build a small western town with a grocery store, a coffee shop, a western wear store, and a nice restaurant. Even a western-looking gas station. Almost like a new downtown for Wickenburg. That’s what we’re looking for.
Interviewer: What’s the benefit of having an adjacent equestrian center?
Keith: Not everybody wants horses in their backyards, including me. People can have a nice home up here or a nice Villa or Cottage and still keep their horse or horses in the equestrian center where there is somebody to take care of it.
But more than that, we plan to have rodeos on the weekends in a big covered arena. It will have a grandstand that comes out of the restaurant and down the side of the mountain so people can go back and forth between the arena and the restaurant. At least, that’s the way I’m envisioning it.
The nice thing about having horses here is that we have a wash that goes down the south edge of the commercial property that connects with the Hassayampa River. The dry riverbed of the Hassayampa is one of the favorite riding trails in the Southwest because its sandy bottom makes it safe for people of all riding skill levels. You’ll be able to ride from the equestrian center to the Hassayampa without having to trailer your horse. You can ride south into town or all the way to Buckeye. Going north, you could ride all the way up to Prescott.
Interviewer: Where do you think Monte Vista Ranch and Wickenburg are going?
Keith: Wickenburg will always be Wickenburg. There will be other developments going in around the periphery of town; but, because of the terrain, there is only so much that can be built in town. Any new developments will have to go way outside of town. That’s where I think Monte Vista Ranch has a niche. We’re right downtown with the feel of being way outside of town.
Interviewer: What is your vision for the future?
Keith: The vision has always been the same. To have a place where people and their families can feel comfortable. I wanted a place where others could invest money in a beautiful home and not have to worry about their investment.
