BMW to build $30M high-end dealership in Glendale. “The Glendale City Council voted… to sell a 13-acre parcel [‘at the bend of Loop 101 and Union Hills’] to West Valley RE LLC for $2.4 million — the same amount the city had paid for that parcel about a month ago from PDS Realty when city officials were planning to develop a Park-and-Ride lot.” (If you think about it, isn’t a dealership sort of the same thing? But in this case it would be called a “Park-and-Ride-Off-in-a-Brand-Spankin’-New-i8” lot.) More about this “top-tier facility” and the jobs it’s expected to bring, at Phoenix Business Journal. http://bit.ly/2mJHwXK
Plans underway for massive $200M natural history museum in Phoenix area. “Inside a small, nondescript suite… in Scottsdale sits some of the rarest… objects in the world…” (No, not MSNBC viewers.) “The items [‘dinosaur fossils, ancient minerals, pre-Columbian weaponry’] belong to Michael Fleeman… who is attempting to open [the ‘300,000-square-foot’] museum… [The ‘collector’] has already worked with… Elliot D. Pollack & Co. to create an economic impact analysis, and has been speaking with… city governments to find a site.” Get the full story and view a 9-image slideshow, at Phoenix Business Journal. http://bit.ly/2nnokMw
Chandler Boulevard Extension may give Ahwatukee its own ‘Highway to Hell.’ Ahwatukee FootHills News Executive Editor Paul Maryniak takes a dim view of the Chandler Extension and the decision by “city streets officials… to make it three lanes instead of two,” arguing that it will result in more accidents and longer “daily traffic jams.” (Which makes it a bit curious that Maryniak would appeal to this AC/DC tune to help make his case, because among the lyrics that Bon Scott belts out are: “No stop signs / Speed limit / Nobody’s gonna slow me down…”) Read the editorial here: http://bit.ly/2nn71ee
Former Glendale mayor to Arizona Coyotes: Blame your management, not the city. “[Former mayor Elaine] Scruggs’ missive to House Speaker J.D. Mesnard and Senate President Steve Yarbrough comes on the heels of a letter sent… by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman… declaring that the franchise will not remain in Glendale.” Arizona Capitol Times reports that ”Scruggs… was emotional when reading Bettman’s ‘haughty comments…’” How did Scruggs fire back? “The Coyotes position at the bottom of the standings is a leadership problem, not a location problem.” More in Arizona Capitol Times. http://bit.ly/2mtZMUv
Prescott among ‘happiest and healthiest’ U.S. communities, according to ‘Time Magazine.’ “[T]he list is based on the Gallup-Healthways’ newly released Community Well-Being Index. Researchers reportedly analyzed 350,000 interviews conducted in 2015 and 2016 to rank communities by physical, emotional, financial, community, and social health.” So where exactly did Prescott — and a couple of other Arizona cities — land on the list? The report and rankings in The Daily Courier. http://bit.ly/2lLrP30
Housing fears confirmed: Trump budget considers $6 billion cut to HUD funding. (Or: ‘How Donald Trump just caused Congresswoman Maxine Waters’ head to explode.’) “This cut would go towards Trump’s goal to cut domestic spending by $54 billion, and could decrease HUD’s budget 14% to $40.5 billion in fiscal 2018…” Click to HousingWire for industry reaction plus a ‘sky is falling’ statement from Rep.Waters. http://bit.ly/2mQ7ZD7
One million homes back above waterline in 2016. “48 million homes, about 93.8 percent of those with a mortgage, now have positive equity. Negative equity peaked at 26 percent of mortgaged residential properties in Q4 2009…” Check out what CoreLogic execs have to say about the “equity build-up,” and see where Arizona ranks in a “Near and Negative Equity Share by State” chart, in Mortgage News Daily. http://bit.ly/2nekeHg
Cameron’s $5M + deals of the day – http://bit.ly/2mrQgiI
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