Ponderosa Trails has 639 lots, and that number isn't going to change. The Ponderosa Trails HOA describes the association as 639 lots with several acres of open space and access to walking trails maintained by the HOA and the City. A few miles east, the same boulevard that serves the neighborhood is being extended across open land toward Fourth Street. The City of Flagstaff's latest development report lists proposed subdivisions along that route whose plats with stated counts add up to more than 500 lots and dwelling units. A buyer comparing Ponderosa Trails with the rest of southeast Flagstaff over the next few years will be comparing a finished neighborhood with a pipeline that this road project was built to unlock.
What the City is building, and when
J.W. Powell Boulevard currently stops just east of Lone Tree Road. According to the City of Flagstaff's project page, the extension carries it from there to Fourth Street. The new section gets one lane each way, a center median, new underground utilities, and multimodal amenities, and the City says it will look and feel much like the existing boulevard. Where it crosses the Rio de Flag floodway, the road goes over an 85-foot double-span bridge set about 12 feet above grade so animals can pass underneath.
The City's share costs about $45 million, paid for through the Proposition 419 Transportation Tax Renewal that Flagstaff voters approved in 2018. The City is building only the middle section. Other parties are building the remaining pieces under agreements with the City.
The contractor, Banicki Construction, says in its project updates what the road is meant to do:
"This new roadway alignment will connect South Flagstaff to East Flagstaff and provide an alternate route to Interstate 40."
Here is the published schedule, in order:
- June 6, 2026. Banicki reported that early clearing and erosion control were done before fire season.
- August 18, 2026. Banicki announced it would start construction after Labor Day. The first work listed was rock blasting and crushing, mass earthwork, 395 linear feet of 42-inch sewer interceptor, 2,698 feet of sewer main, 4,931 feet of waterline, and 4,265 feet of storm drain.
- Week of August 31 and Tuesday, September 8, 2026. These were the City's scheduled dates for equipment mobilization and the start of construction.
- End of 2028. This is the target for finishing the City's portion. The City expects the other sections to be done by then too.
Most of that early list is pipe. Sewer interceptors and water mains get installed before any subdivision can be platted, sold and built, which is why the land along this route has stayed empty until now.
The subdivisions waiting on the road
The City's project page names the properties along the corridor directly. Juniper Point, STL405 and Canyon del Rio are in various stages of planning and construction of subdivision improvements. The Little America and Elk Ridge properties have no current development plans.
The City's Development Status Report for October 8, 2026 gives the numbers behind those names:
- Juniper Point South, a preliminary plat for 280 single-family lots on 248.31 acres, in review.
- Juniper Point North, a preliminary plat of seven tracts on 103.39 acres at 1700 E. John Wesley Powell Blvd., in review. A separate rezone request would change that 103.3-acre section from Rural Residential to Highway Commercial, Medium Density Residential and High Density Residential, all with a Resource Protection Overlay.
- STL 405 Pine Canyon Expansion, a final plat of 54 residential lots with 126 dwelling units on 126.05 acres at 2830 E. John Wesley Powell Blvd., in substantive review.
- The Terrace at Canyon Del Rio, a final plat of 128 residential lots and 20 tracts across 45.84 acres at 3200 E. Butler Ave., in review.
- STL 340, a set of requests to rezone 164 acres to R1 and 67 acres to commercial and medium-density zones "for a master planned community," with a related specific plan covering 405 acres. All are in substantive review.
Three of these plats give a housing count: 280 single-family lots at Juniper Point South, 126 dwelling units at STL 405 and 128 residential lots at the Terrace. That's 534 counted lots and units combined. Ponderosa Trails has 639 lots in total. Before you count Juniper Point North's tracts or anything from the STL 340 master plan, the proposed housing along the extension already comes close to the size of the whole neighborhood.
These are proposals. A plat in review is not an approved lot, and an approved lot is not a finished house. The report shows where each one stands as of early October 2026, and none of them is guaranteed to come out of review in its current form.
What new construction costs on this side of town right now
Canyon del Rio, near Butler Avenue and Fourth Street, already has homes for sale, so its prices are the best current comparison. In October 2026, Capstone Homes' listings advertised townhomes at The Point starting at $653,900, plus a 2,370-square-foot quick-move-in home listed at $888,091. At The Ridge, the builder's 50-home single-family phase was down to one remaining home, with its plan starting at $920,596. Builder pricing changes often, so these figures are a snapshot from mid-October 2026, not a trend.
The near sellout of The Ridge matters more than the prices. When a 50-home phase is down to its last house, the builder has every reason to move on to the next phase. The Terrace at Canyon Del Rio's 128-lot final plat, now in review, looks like that next phase.
How the pipeline changes a Ponderosa Trails decision
For a buyer, the road and the plats change the comparison in three ways.
The competition comes in phases. New-construction supply along J.W. Powell will reach the market as each plat clears review, each set of utilities goes in, and each builder releases a phase. A buyer weighing a Ponderosa Trails resale against a new build in 2027 may face a different set of choices than one doing the same in 2029. Ponderosa Trails' count stays at 639 the whole time. Its turnover comes only from owners deciding to sell.
What Ponderosa Trails offers is that it's finished. The neighborhood's open space and trail access are already in place. There's no future phase next door, and owners already know how the HOA operates. The new subdivisions east of Lone Tree Road will spend years under construction, with blasting, earthwork and utility installs that Banicki's own work list describes. A buyer who wants a settled neighborhood today is paying for something the pipeline can't offer until it's built out.
The route east changes. Once the extension and the sections built by others are open, J.W. Powell becomes the link Banicki describes from South Flagstaff to East Flagstaff, with an alternate way to I-40. For Ponderosa Trails, near the existing west end of the boulevard, that means a continuous road heading toward Fourth Street instead of one that dead-ends past Lone Tree Road. The City expects all sections to be finished by the end of 2028.
The corridor will also add public facilities. The City's project page says that, as part of the Public Safety Propositions 404 and 405 on the fall 2026 ballot, the City plans to design and build a fire station on City-owned land near the current end of J.W. Powell east of Lone Tree Road, along with a potable water filling station. Whether that goes forward depends on the election.
Questions buyers ask about the corridor
Is construction on the extension happening now? The City scheduled construction to start Tuesday, September 8, 2026, with the City's portion targeted for completion by the end of 2028. The project site is where the City posts construction updates.
Will all those proposed homes actually get built? The October 8, 2026 status report shows them in review, at stages ranging from rezoning requests to final plats. Lot counts and layouts can change before approval, and building depends on each developer's timing.
Does the Ponderosa Trails HOA charge dues? The HOA says assessments are due every year on January 1. The amount isn't listed on its public homepage, so get it, along with the governing documents, during the purchase.
This article is general information, not legal or financial advice. Confirm HOA obligations and any purchase terms with the right professional for your situation.
If you're trying to decide between a finished Ponderosa Trails home and a new build in one of the phases opening along J.W. Powell, I'm glad to go through both with you, including where each subdivision stands in review and what each option really gets you today. Reach out to Karra Polder and let's connect.
