The Dealmaker: 3/1/2017

Commercial mix-used project proposed at Bell and 51st. (Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents Empire Group.) “[Glendale] Planning Commission… endorsed an application [from Empire Group] to rezone the 20 acres, which… would allow for retail, self-storage and drive-thru restaurants… [in addition to] a 24-hour emergency medical facility. 51 Campana with its 11 commercial pads [and its ‘creative and effective use of land’] now goes to the City Council for approval.” YourWestValley. http://bit.ly/2lXcOaQ

Massive plot of land now available for $28 million in Paradise Valley. How “massive”? A Russ Lyon Sotheby’s listing agent calls it “football fields worth of land” that “could be used for a Bill Gates or a Harrison Ford” — or even a Coyotes arena! (Kidding on that last one.) “The 19.32-acre property is made up of four separate lots, all of which share borders, and are being sold together. It’s located on the east side of Coconino Road, just south of Mockingbird Lane.” Phoenix Business Journal has more info. http://bit.ly/2m9nfKD

FUJIFILM wants adjustment zoning for $34M expansion. “Football fields worth” of expansion? It seems so based on this AZBEX report. “[T]he request [for a ‘designation of Heavy Industrial with an Airfield and Planned Area Development overlay’] covers… 50 acres [between Pecos, Mountain, Signal Butte and SR 24] and includes the original… facility, a 5.8 acre 2016 expansion… and [a] newly proposed 20-acre… expansion.” Click through for a map and more of what’s planned for the two-phased development. http://bit.ly/2mu1TJb

Another Hub student-housing tower to go up near UA campus. “Core Campus… bought nearly 30,000 square feet of land along Speedway near North Park Avenue. The company says it plans to start construction next year and open the new tower for the start of the 2019 school year.”Arizona Daily Star has further details, including how “Hub 3” is expected to impact the nearby eateries “Hawaiian Bar-B-Cue and BOCA Tacos y Tequila.” http://bit.ly/2meomt0

U.S. housing market roars into 2017, Case-Shiller says; real estate consultant Jim Belfiore zeroes in on metro Phoenix. Trulia chief numbers man, Ralph McLaughlin: “The big takeaway from [the 5.8% increase in the Indices] is that all signs that the housing market was going to cool… are now reversed.” Jim Belfiore: “Metro Phoenix capped last year off with 10 percent more new home sales than during the prior year. In the first 2 months, sales have moved up further — 13 percent above the same period one year ago. Belfiore anticipates growth now rather than a pullback, as buyers try to beat rising payments expected to come with higher Fed and mortgage interest rates.” More on the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, in the WSJ. http://bit.ly/2ld9yeF

M&A surge fueled by AD&C finance. Builder takes a “fresh look at motivators, impediments, buyers, and sellers in what’s stacking up to be a robust year for home builder consolidation moves.” http://bit.ly/2lU9U8x

Proposed legislation could limit HOAs’ purview. According to this report inYourWestValley, “Sen. John Kavanaugh… introduced [SB]1240” in an effort to stop “private associations” from “regulat[ing] traffic rules on public roadways.” Sen. Kavanaugh: “I have gotten calls from… people who say HOAs have people hiding in the bushes taking [down] license numbers and giving citations…” (And if you don’t pay the fine, what can they do? Sentence you to a clubhouse? On the bright side, at least there haven’t been any reports of crazy HOA’ers hiding behind bushes to employ spike strips — at least not yet.) http://bit.ly/2lUfWGo

Cameron’s $5M + deals of the day – http://bit.ly/2meyGRT