Ground was broken in 1970 to begin construction on the site, and has continued at a varying pace through the present. The most recently completed building was finished in 1989. The population has tended to vary between 50 and 150 people, many of them students and volunteers. The goal was for Arcosanti to house a population of 5,000 people. Thirteen major structures were built on the site, some several stories tall. One master plan, designed in 2001, envisioned a massive complex, called "Arcosanti 5000", that would dwarf the current buildings.