Flanked by one of Arizona's largest mountain preserves, and situated in the stunning Saguaro-dotted Sonoran desert on the northwestern edge of the thriving Valley of the Sun, it's no "surprise" that the City of Surprise was Arizona's fastest growing city three years running.
Rooted in small town friendliness, the quaint square-mile farming community incorporated in 1960, has blossomed into a booming, carefully planned city, and Spring Training home of Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers.
Surprise was little more than a gas station and a few small houses in 1937 when founder, Homer C. Ludden, subdivided the rural square mile parcel into low-cost home sites for the area's agricultural workers, naming it after his Nebraska hometown.
With a current population of 109,427, projections are that Surprise's population will reach 300,000 by 2020.
There were more than 3,200 single-family home starts in 2000, with 58,000 more anticipated during the next decade. Boasting 32 of Arizona's top 50 homebuilders, Surprise offers world-class resort retirement living, as well as award-winning master planned family communities. Walk through 100 model homes and choose from hundreds of floor plans in the many subdivisions now under construction.
Commercial development is booming, as well. Wal-Mart Supercenter and Home Depot opened in 2000 as anchor tenants of Surprise Towne Center, a power retail development featuring more than 40 locally and nationally known banks, restaurants, stores including PetsMart, Office Max, and Famous Footwear. Just across the road, Target and Lowe's have opened, and throughout the 72-square-mile city, churches, gas stations, grocery and drug stores, are cropping up.
A large post office, aquatic center and county court house have opened , and a sewage treatment plant, third fire station, new police buildings, and two elementary schools are under construction.
Building is almost complete on a large library/recreation center, the first installment of a square-mile-plus downtown development featuring city services, offices, shops, upscale restaurants and entertainment venues. The multi-purpose Major League Baseball training facility was completed in 2003.
The city's second health clinic opened in 1997 and nearby Del E. Webb Memorial Hospital recently expanded to include women's health services and pediatric neonatal wing.
The City of Surprise is also home to the West Valley Art Museum. The museum's five exhibit halls display artworks from around the world. Just beyond Surprise's borders there's Luke Air Force Base, the premier training ground for the nation's F-16 fighter pilots and Lake Pleasant, one of Arizona's largest man-made lakes. Despite the pressures of rapid growth, a hardworking mayor, council and professional city staff, are clearly focused on the future - creating a city where residents love to live, work and play - while preserving the diverse, multi-cultural, intergenerational neighborhoods that make Surprise special. In March 2001, city voters overwhelmingly approved an updated general plan which encompasses a 220-square-mile planning area and addresses critical issues such as open space, economic development, mass transit needs and revitalization of the Original Townsite.
The City of Surprise - it's the "surprise" of Arizona.
Founded: 1937
Incorporated: 1960
Population: 109,427
Mayor: Lyn Truitt
Vice Mayor: Joe Johnson, District 5
City Council:
District 1 - Councilman John Longabaugh, District 2 - Councilman Richard Alton, District 3 - Councilman John Williams, District 4 - Roy Villanueva, District 5 - Councilman Joe Johnson, District 6 - Councilman Skip Hall
City Manager : Charles R. "Randy" Oliver, CPA, PE
Assistant City Manager: Doug Sandstrom
Deputy City Manager: Sintra Hoffman
