After suffering a serious medical emergency, Scottsdale’s Tom Halverstadt made a Landmark decision. Forgoing house-ownership and all that it required, Halverstadt bought into Kierland Commons’ conveniently located and luxuriously appointed condo building.
Businessman and father of two, Halverstadt just moved into a magnificently finished three- bedroom penthouse at The Landmark, the north Scottsdale condominium community in Kierland developed by Scottsdale’s Butte Companies. The sixth-floor, 3,604-sq.-ft. home looks out over the undulating Westin Kierland Golf Course and west toward the Estrella and White Tank mountains. This was a move the 52-year-old wanted to make - and had to. A little more than a year ago, he passed out in his car while leaving a local dealership; fortunately, staff noticed the idling car and summoned help. The doctors at Mayo Arizona Clinic diagnosed a brainstem stroke caused by basilar artery occlusion. Because it affects the part of the brain that controls attention and consciousness, this kind of stroke entails an 80 percent fatality rate.
Halverstadt survived the stroke, prayed for by daughters Kaitlin and Alexandra, other family members, friends and associates, and assiduously administered to by his Mayo Arizona Clinic team of neuroradiologist Joseph Hoxworth, endovascular surgical neuroradiologist Brian Chong and neurologist Bart Demaerschalk.
In recovering, Halverstadt had to make life changes, including finding a home that required less maintenance. “I was done with home ownership and everything associated with that: pool, yard work, etc.,” Halverstadt notes. He placed his Sedona and Scottsdale houses on the market in favor of something less time-consuming.
Determined to make a new life, Halverstadt looked at a variety of other mid-rise luxury communities throughout Scottsdale and Phoenix. None, however, offered the proximity to 730-acre Kierland Commons, with its mix of restaurants and shops, and a location adjacent to the 27-hole golf course. What’s more, The Landmark offers residents a “distinguished lifestyle:” the finest interior finishes, large floor plans, outstanding common amenities and take-your-breath-away vistas.
“This particular unit offered, in my opinion, the best floor plan of any condo I saw on the market,” says Halverstadt, president of a family foundation that capitalizes worthy causes nationwide. He also contracts services at the Mayo Hospital and Clinic and hopes to volunteer soon with the Boys and Girls Club of Scottsdale. “I don’t do a lot of cooking living by myself, so the kitchen area is perfect for me,” he adds, praising its compactness and Wolf and SubZero appliances. “My new home has one of the largest living areas I have seen, and the three-bedroom-suites layout is perfect for my two daughters and I. It even has a media room—which I intend to utilize to its fullest.”
Featuring 11-foot ceilings, Halverstadt’s $2 million penthouse also has dual master bedrooms and a wrap-round balcony that, paradoxically, has become his favorite room. “I spend quite a bit of time outside, and my balcony affords me a place I can take in the beautiful view, relax or entertain if I desire, and the dual-master setup is ideal for my daughter Alexandra and I,” he adds. “Because Kaitlin is away at college, my youngest will be with me for another year. We are both able to shut our respective doors and realize total privacy, when we desire.”
