Donated resort produces profits, projects and programs for UA

Chris Richards Arizona Daily Wildcat The Lodge on the Desert, a resort and restaurant located at 306 N. Alvernon Way, was recently donated to the University of Arizona Foundation. The Foundation promptly sold the property for approximately $1.7 million.

The Lodge on the Desert, 306 N. Alvernon Way, opened in 1936 and has since entertained guests from around the world.

The 40-room lodge, one of a select few resorts in Arizona to appear in the prestigious "Country Inns and Back Roads," was donated to the UA Foundation March 31.

The Foundation then sold the lodge to Red Rock Resorts, a company based in Phoenix.

Schuyler Lininger, who managed the lodge for his dad after World War II, donated the resort because he decided it was "time to move on" after 50 years.

Todd Livingston, assistant manager for The Lodge on the Desert, said Red Rock Resorts plans to keep the lodge under the same name.

The $1.7 million the UA Foundation received from the sale will go toward the establishment of the Lininger Family Endowment Fund for Excellence, which will bolster UA programs that need financial help.

Richard Imwalle, president of the UA Foundation, said the trusts will yield a 5.5 percent pay out over two years. The rate is determined each year by the UA Foundation board.

After the fund matures, the interest will be used to support faculty programs and projects at the university, Imwalle said.

He said the money could also be applied to other areas if a financial need arises. He added that it is standard practice for part of the interest to be re-invested into the body of the trust to help it grow.

Imwalle said the donation of the resort has been under "active consideration" for a couple of years. His initial reaction to the donation was that it was a "great compliment to the university," he said.

Lininger, a UA alumnus, has been given awards from the College of Business and Public Administration and served on the board of advisors for the BPA college. He also served on the UA President's Club and UA Alumni Association Board.

"I think the UA Foundation is an excellent foundation," Lininger said.

"It looked like a good vehicle for me to make a donation to the UA."

He said the lodge began as a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house purchased by his parents in 1931.

The first seven guest rooms were added in November 1936, the year it opened as a small resort hotel, Lininger said.

The lodge currently has 40 rooms. Room rates range from $92 to $185.

He said he has a lot of great childhood memories of his home-turned-resort, but he was unable to think of one that stands out from the rest.

"There are a tremendous amount of great memories. The industry has been very good to me," he said.

Lininger, aside from his active participation with the UA, also served under former Arizona Gov. Bruce Babbitt as chairman of the Arizona Tourism Advisory Council, which oversees the Arizona Office of Tourism. Lininger was also a member of the Tucson City Council in the 1970s.