In March 2018, a sale closed on a home on a 2.25-acre property off Dry Creek Road in West Sedona.
Two months later the same buyer closed a deal on the home diagonal to it. Two months after that, a third home between the two properties sold — again to the same buyer.
The three homes were purchased by Barbara Lago, who lives on a fourth property contiguous with all three. Last spring she offered her home along with the three purchased properties – a 10-acre square of land containing 4 single-family homes — to Rainbow Acres, a nonprofit that operates a ranch-style residential community for developmentally disabled adults in Camp Verde.
Rainbow Acres accepted the gift, and with it, is developing a program for up to 16 developmentally disabled adults to live in the four homes.
Dubbed “Sedona Lago Gardens,” the community will be separate from Rainbow Acres but managed by the same nonprofit.
The gift began when Lago contacted Rainbow Acres about donating a farm tractor to the ranch. The relationship between Lago and the organization grew in follow-up conversations, culminating in Lago touring Rainbow Acres in Camp Verde, where 90 adults with developmental disabilities live.
“During my tour of the ranch there, I was impressed with the way they’ve created a supportive, empowering environment for individuals with special needs,” Lago said in a statement to Sedona Red Rock News. “Sedona’s a great place to live. I believe this project will make Sedona even better for current residents and future generations.”
Lago previously worked as a researcher in microbial biology.
She was employed by Merck Pharmaceuticals in New Jersey, where she met her late husband Jim Lago. Jim was the first engineer from the pharmaceutical industry to be inducted into the National Academy of Engineering, in 1990.
The couple purchased their home in West Sedona in 2011.
After Jim died on Jan. 1 of 2018, Barbara “poured herself into fulfilling a new vision in her life, inspired by her visit to Rainbow Acres,” Tony Zodrow, marketing manager for Rainbow Acres, wrote in a release.
Asked if it was a coincidence that three contiguous properties went on the market in a such short span of time, Rainbow Acres CEO Gary Wagner smiled and said, “Some people would say it was divine. Others would say good fortune. Mrs. Lago and I have been talking about this opportunity and this possibility beginning in September of 2017, and then the properties started coming available for sale.”
Wagner said the donation will enable the 45-year-old organization to place developmentally disabled adults in a more urban setting in the Verde Valley, closer to opportunities for arts and culture, work and outdoor recreation than their Camp Verde ranch.
In a letter to neighbors near the properties, Wagner wrote that “Currently there is no such program in Sedona .… Not every family with an adult child with special needs is interested in a ‘farm and ranch’ setting in Camp Verde. We are increasingly aware there is a significant number of families residing in Sedona, owners of second homes and vacationers who have an adult child with disabilities, who desire a program in Sedona.”
Because Sedona Lago Gardens will be closer to Sedona’s urban amenities than Rainbow Acres’ ranch in Camp Verde, Zodrow said the new community is planning to serve higher-functioning clients, such as those with autism spectrum disorders who can take full advantage of the location.
But Zodrow said the program would not exclude people with other types of disabilities who could also take advantage of the setting.
The purchased properties are currently being used as long-term rentals. Wagner said the plan is for the homes to go into use gradually as residents are found for Sedona Lago Gardens. According to Wagner, the speed that that happens will depend on the response they receive from disabled adults and their families.
Lago said she will remain in her own house for as long as she lives, after which her home will be used by Sedona Lago Gardens residents as well.
Lago has a green thumb, and the “gardens” in Sedona Lago Gardens comes from Barbara and Jim cultivating the property with beds of roses, irises and other blooming plants. The ample grounds surrounding the Lago’s ranch house have the feel of a formal garden, with paths winding between flower beds and benches where one can sit to take in the views of the surrounding landscape. The home was designed by Cliff May, a pioneer of the California ranch house style.
Overall, the property has a very quiet and tranquil feel. There is little ambient noise beyond the sounds of nature and the mild rumble of a passing car.
“This provides an ideal atmosphere for people with autism,” Wagner said.
Late last year, Rainbow Acres met with Sedona city officials, who confirmed that the properties’ Single- Family Residential zoning allows up to four “unrelated persons with disabilities residing in a group home licensed by the State of Arizona” in each house.
Wagner said that Rainbows Acres plans to leave the residential homes as they are, since the intention of the Lago’s gift was to offer developmentally disabled adults a place that felt like a home.
Wagner and Claudia Ault, a member of Rainbow Acres’ board of trustees, met with neighbors to address questions and concerns last summer. In a follow-up letter to neighbors, Wagner re-iterated that nothing would be done on the properties to create the sense of a compound or campus existing on the parcels. A name on the mailbox would be the extent of signage at the homes, he wrote.
He also said Lago and Rainbow Acres had no plans or desire to purchase additional properties.
Asked why Rainbow Acres accepted the gift of valuable residential homes instead of a cash donation, Wagner said, “Because we don’t want to build a dormitory.”
He said that given the costs of land in Sedona, it would be difficult to build anything new in Sedona and “make it feel like a home.”
The gift of land and houses, he said, will enable Rainbow Acres to create a place for developmentally disabled adults in Sedona that is more comfortable and quiet than the organization could otherwise create in West Sedona.
Last week, Rainbow Acres had to cancel a March 28 “Imagine Gala” at Enchantment Resort to raise funds for Sedona Lago Gardens and honor long-time board members George and Claudia Ault. According to Zodrow, the gala has been rescheduled for Sept. 18.
