THINGS TO DO IN SUPERIOR

hotel’s price points and what he will give back to the town.

Martin said she hopes the hotel will be built and become an asset to Superior, but said she will believe it when she sees it.

“Wecamein and did our store over in three months,” Martin said. “When someone comes in and says something will happen, it’s hard not to get impatient.”

Dandavate said the process for restoring a building as old and unmaintained as the Magma can be complicated. Sfeir and Dandavate have not even finalized sketches of what the renovated hotel will look like, Dandavate said.

“We are waiting this long because we wanted to clean up the building and make some more structural observations before finishing our drawings, so we know exactly what to replace and what to keep,” Dandavate said.

Because the Magma is on the National Register of Historic Places, they had to get permission from the National Parks Service to do construction on it, which Dandavate said took longer than expected. He said the project was approved in fall 2012.

Dandavate said that with the building cleaned up, they need to have the Pinal County building-safety review done, and Sfeir needs to finalize negotiations with the contractor.

“It won’t be too long before we know the final (opening) date,” Dandavate said.

Tourism boost?

It takes about one hour to drive to Superior from central Phoenix via U.S. 60 east. Superior town officials and business owners hope the reopening of the Magma Hotel will get more people from metro Phoenix to stay the night when they visit. Here are some things visitors can do in and around Superior: » Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park The oldest and largest botanical garden in Arizona. The arboretum is co-managed by the University of Arizona and Arizona State Parks. The 320 acres covered in a variety of plants is frequented by Arizona photographers. Admission is $9 for adults and $4.50 for ages 5-12. » Hiking and climbing Superior is close to many hiking trails in and around the Superstition Mountains. Some of the more popular hikes include Apache Leap and Picketpost Mountain, which is part of the Arizona Trail. Volcanic and granite formations near Superior are popular with Arizona rock climbers. » Antiques and handmade crafts There are not many open stores on Main Street, but it does have a few antiques and crafts boutiques, including the Copper Gecko.