Continental Ranch, Marana's first master-planned community, is now perhaps a blueprint for what modern-day Marana hopes to become as the town pushes forward with new mass residential developments that ring a familiar tone to the development started more than two decades ago by the American Continental Corp.

Located west of Interstate 10 and north of Cortaro Road, Continental Ranch is the largest subdivision in Metro Tucson and one of the largest communities in Southern Arizona with more than 4,000 homes represented under its homeowners association.

It's a place where parks, recreation, swimming and shopping opportunities are abundant, where quality schools are found nearby, and it's a place most residents are happy to call home.

"I have enjoyed living here immensely," said Randy Sansona, a Continental Ranch resident for the past three and a half years. "It's a very active community and it's a very involved community."