"The cost of an improvement district is not a charge to the taxpayers."
That line comes from the City of Bullhead City's own staff report to Council, written to introduce the CityCentre Improvement District. The sentence just before it says who does pay: "the property of the home or business owners benefitting from the infrastructure are assessed the costs over a period of time." If you're looking at the new homes going up along Marina Boulevard, or at any future lot in the district south of City Hall, that second sentence applies to you.
The streets, water lines, sewer, signals and the extra lane on Highway 95 are being financed against the land itself. The bill attaches to each parcel, stays with it when it sells, and gets collected by the City on its own schedule. The full cost of a CityCentre home is the listed price plus a share of up to $16.5 million. As of early October 2026, nobody can yet tell you how big that share is.
The district covers the whole block, and the bill stays with the deed
Council adopted Resolution 2026R-4 on March 3, 2026. It declared the intent to form the CityCentre Improvement District on land south of Marina Boulevard, north of Riverview Drive, east of Lakeside Drive and west of State Route 95. On May 19, 2026, Resolution 2026R-16 ordered the work. It also ratified a development-and-waiver agreement with the two private owners, CSQ H95, LLLP and EHC Bullhead City LP. The vote record and the March 3 minutes are public.
Here is what the documents set:
| Term | What the record says |
|---|---|
| Cost ceiling | Not to exceed $16,500,000 |
| Repayment | Up to 25 annual installments |
| Interest ceiling | 8.00% per year, payable January 1 and July 1 |
| Interest during construction | Bonds include capitalized interest for the construction period plus six months |
| Who is exempt | Only lots owned by public entities such as the state, county or a school district, unless that entity contracts with the City to pay |
| Lien position | First lien on each parcel, behind only regular property taxes |
| Outside end date of the agreement | January 2, 2051, or when the bonds are paid off, whichever comes first |
The capitalized interest line is easy to skip, but it matters. The resolution requires the bonds to include the interest that builds up while crews are still grading and paving. The agreement says each unpaid assessment carries a proportional share of that capitalized interest, so the owners who repay the assessments also cover it.
The money pays for a long list of public improvements. It includes grading, paving, curbs, drainage, sidewalks, streetlights, landscaping, sewer and water lines, and traffic signals. It also covers a third southbound lane on Highway 95, seven highway access points, stormwater facilities and internal roads. In March, Council Member Smith asked whether any of the planned roads would not be assessed against the land. City Manager Cotter said everything would be included in the district.
The agreement also states plainly what happens on a resale. Buyers and other successors take the property subject to the agreement and to any unpaid assessment. In March, Cotter told Council the land would likely be divided among several owners and that the assessments "would either be paid off or transferred to the new property owners." The minutes paraphrase him there; that is not a direct quote.
Parkside began as a rental project, and buyers now inherit that change
The first homes the public can buy here are at Residences at Parkside, Tract 5170, Unit 1, just south of City Hall. At the September 1, 2026 meeting, Planning Manager Loera explained the history. An earlier plat had made the 13.9 acres one large parcel suited to a built-to-rent community. The developer then proposed splitting it into 102 single-family lots for homes sold to the public. Lots run about 4,000 to 6,500 square feet. The first floor plans range from roughly 1,030 to 1,470 square feet, with pricing expected to start in the $200,000s. Because the homes are now sold individually, the streets were dedicated to the City instead of staying private. Council approved the final plat 6–0.
Several details shape what a Parkside buyer is actually buying into:
- The developer posted a $94,611 cash assurance for the remaining Unit 1 public improvements, such as streetlights and stop bars, which are due by November 30, 2026.
- The Residences at Parkside Homeowners Association, Inc. was incorporated on August 25, 2026. The HOA will maintain the landscape buffer along Marina Boulevard.
- Water for the subdivision had already been allocated. Cotter told Council the city's Colorado River entitlement is about 30,000 acre-feet and, in his words as summarized in the minutes, has not been reduced.
- City minutes say the builder has submitted five or six standard plans, but the builder isn't named in the public record.
Is Parkside inside the improvement district? The legal descriptions point that way. Exhibit A of Resolution 2026R-4 includes a 246.214-acre "Lot 3 – Balance of Property" drawn around the entire block. The Parkside plat describes itself as a subdivision of Lot 004 of City Centre District, Tract 5178. The resolution exempts only publicly owned lots. CSQ H95, LLLP is a private owner.
Being inside the boundary is a separate question from owing a large amount. The resolution charges each parcel "in proportion to the benefits derived," and Section 2(B) bars assessing parcels for the part of the cost that serves the general public. The agreement assigns the split to an assessment engineer working parcel by parcel. That diagram hasn't been published. A Parkside lot might carry a meaningful share or very little. The public record doesn't answer that yet.
Bullhead City has used this tool before, and it bills on its own calendar
Improvement districts aren't new to Bullhead City. In March, Cotter walked Council through the history: Bullhead Parkway as the first large one, Laughlin Ranch Boulevard, and the sewer districts that built the city's sewer system. Those earlier districts show how this works once the ribbon is cut.
Laughlin Ranch, 2017. The formation memo estimated a project of about $5 million. The City put in $1.5 million and four property owners covered the rest. The resolution allowed up to 25 annual installments with a 6.75% interest ceiling. CityCentre's ceiling is set higher, at 8%.
How owners get billed. The City's 2025 notice told owners in Sewer Improvement District No. 3 and the Laughlin Ranch Improvement District that an interest installment was due by the first business day of June 2025. A 5% penalty applied after that date. Ownership changes go to the City's finance customer service line at (928) 763-0166. The Mohave County Treasurer mails the regular tax bill by October 1, with installments due October 1 and March 1. The assessment notice comes from the City, not the county. A buyer who only checks the county tax bill can miss it.
What delinquency costs. On its auctions page, the City says that under state improvement district law it "has no authority to extend payment deadlines or waive penalties and costs." Parcels with delinquent installments can be sold at auction. One real example is a parcel at 1726 Talc Road in Sewer Improvement District No. 3. It went to a March 2011 auction carrying $8,847.40 in remaining principal, $589.83 in delinquent principal and $268.79 in delinquent interest and fees, for $9,839.95 due. The parcel was struck off to the City. In 2014, Council approved the former owner's redemption for $11,804.94. The same file includes a limited title search that expressly excluded special improvement liens.
That's an old case on a different district, and the City's March 2026 auction notice said all the listed assessments had been paid. It still shows how the system works. The City collects on its own calendar, penalties are fixed by statute, and a cheap title search won't necessarily turn the lien up.
The diagram has to be drawn before the bonds are sold
The March staff report said that forming the district "does not issue bonds or levy assessments at this time." The May resolution ordered the work and invited construction proposals, and the agreement treats the bond sale as a later step. The public records reviewed for this post show no bond sale yet.
The way the land is divided affects who carries the cost. On September 1, Council also approved the master plat for the remaining 223 acres, Tract 5188. It splits the land into eight lots and six parcels, with mostly commercial uses east of a new Main Street aligned with Alonas Way and residential uses to the west. Four parcels go to the City for drainage and retention. The Highway 95 frontage gets the most direct benefit from the new lane and the access points, so the benefit-based split may lean toward the commercial parcels. The diagram will decide that, and no one should price a home as if it already had.
The agreement also builds in a step that buyers may see firsthand. Before the final assessment hearing, the developer has to get a consent to the agreement from each grantee, transferee or prospective purchaser of district property. In March, Jake Kwarta, representing the owners, told Council that future purchasers would know the land sits in an improvement district and that the developers were working to make sure they understood it. If you buy before the diagram is final, you may be asked to sign that consent. Signing it means agreeing to an assessment that hasn't been calculated yet.
What to get in writing before you make an offer
- Ask for the assessment diagram or the engineer's estimate for the specific lot. If it doesn't exist yet, get the builder or seller to confirm that in writing.
- Read the seller's disclosure. The Arizona REALTORS® Seller's Property Disclosure Statement asks sellers whether they know of assessments for paving, sewer, water, electric or other improvements. Under the standard resale contract, it's due within three days of acceptance. New-construction sales may use different paperwork, so ask what replaces it.
- Call City Finance at (928) 763-0166 to ask about any balance, the installment due dates and the payoff options for the parcel.
- Confirm that your title work covers special assessment liens, and ask escrow how a City installment will be paid. It won't be on the county bill.
- Read any consent form before you sign it, and have your own attorney or tax professional review it. This post is general information, not legal or tax advice.
If CityCentre is on your list, we can pull the parcel record, call City Finance with you, and put the assessment numbers next to the price before you make an offer. Lisa Turner and our team know Bullhead City's improvement districts as well as its new streets, and we're glad to walk you through it. Contact Our Lake Havasu Real Estate Experts.
