Sereno Canyon to Offer Secluded Custom Living in North Scottsdale

Intimate, upscale private community to be nestled in foothills of McDowell Mountains

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (October 5, 2006) – A new community will soon emerge from the foothills of the McDowell Mountains, offering dramatic views of the native desert, surrounding mountains, Tonto National Forest and Four Peaks. Sereno Canyon, a private gated community, will feature 122 custom homesites, averaging 2.5 acres in size, with starting prices ranging from low to mid $700,000s to $2 million. Located at Happy Valley Road and the 122nd Street alignment, Sereno Canyon represents one of the final opportunities to buy large custom homesites in north Scottsdale.

Sereno Canyon will serve as a comfortable, intimate retreat for prospective owners, yet will be just moments away from the convenience of the city. Additionally, the surrounding mountains and federally protected areas will ensure that the community will be little affected by city encroachment.

To protect the spectacular views, Sereno Canyon will feature hiking trails and open spaces accessible from the community, where members can take advantage of the beauty of the remote setting. After a day of activity, members can relax and enjoy the old world charm of the Retreat, a unique amenity that provides residents with resort-style luxuries.

Designed to give members the sense that it has been in existence for decades, the Retreat is carefully nestled into large rock outcroppings, serving as a natural extension of the desert that surrounds it. Using natural materials such a stonewalls, hardwood flooring and wainscoat, some amenities of the Retreat include workout facilities, an outdoor fire pit and barbeque area, view terraces and a negative edge regulation-sized lap pool and spa.

"Sereno Canyon offers prospective buyers a selection of custom homesites that are refreshingly different," said Jim Buckley, director of marketing and sales for Harvard Realty Services, which markets the community. "True to its name, the community is quite "serene", boasting views that stretch for miles, unlikely to be blocked by future development – all of which make Sereno Canyon one of the most sought after luxury living experiences."

For more information on Sereno Canyon, call (480) 348-1118.

About Harvard Realty Services
Harvard Realty Services is a division of Harvard Investments, Inc., a real estate investment and development company with real estate holdings throughout the western United States. Harvard combines experience, integrity, and financial stability to create high quality, environmentally sensitive, profitable communities. Harvard’s Canadian parent, the Hill Companies, is a privately held diversified company involved in real estate development, oil and gas production and distribution, broadcasting, surety bonding, and life insurance. The Hill Companies celebrated its 100th year of continuous family ownership and operation in 2003. For more information on Harvard Realty Services, visit www.harvard.ca.

About Crown Community Development
Sereno Canyon is owned by Crown Community Development, a division of Henry Crown Companies, one of the nation's largest privately held business organizations. Crown’s diverse interests range from real estate investments such as Rockefeller Center in New York City; operating companies like Great Dane Trailer; and high profile recreation/resorts such as Aspen Ski Company and the Ojai Resort in Ojai California. Additionally, the Crown family holds significant stock positions and board memberships in General Dynamics, Chase/JP Morgan, Sara Lee, and Hilton Hotels, as well as investment holdings in the New York Yankees and Chicago Bulls.

Crown Community Development was founded in 1973 to invest in, and later to manage, a 3,500-acre property in Aurora, Illinois on the western edge of suburban Chicago. Today, the acreage is one of the nation’s premier areas to live and work and is a living laboratory for Crown’s growing expertise in community development. Over the past three decades, Crown's mission has remained constant - to envision and create memorable high quality communities that meld naturally into their surroundings and generate long-term value for landowners, municipalities, builders, residents and neighbors. Crown Community Development has projects from Florida's Gulf Coast to Chicago's North Shore and many states in between. For more information, visit www.cciland.com.

Presented by Harvard Realty Services

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