The Dealmaker: 3/6/2017

$126M Watermark to start construction. “[T]he 15-acre… development on [Tempe Town Lake’s] north side… is about to take off after nearly six years of planning, timing calculation and community interaction…. [Fenix Development’s] Watermark [comprises] 2.2MSF of office space, 63.5KSF of commercial, 993 multifamily units and 251 hotel rooms. The multifamily component, known as Aura Watermark, is under separate development by Trinsic Residential Group.” (A separate AZBEX report states that Trinsic “hopes to begin construction of… Aura Watermark in September.”) For a “FIRST LOOK” at Watermark and further details on both projects, click it: http://bit.ly/2lwL005

Scottsdale Community College breaking ground on new facility. “[The] new 33,000-square-foot building… will house its Business School…  Business is the school’s largest occupational program.” Susan Peterson, interim Dean of Instruction: “We’ve been working on this for several years, with the goal of growing our program and producing more business school graduates and transfer opportunities…” But this new building isn’t ALL about business. See what else the facility will include, at AZ Business Magazine. http://bit.ly/2n6UawV

Development explodes along light rail line. “The sleek trains that ride… from Mesa’s venerable Mormon temple, westward through Tempe’s towering downtown… are delivering a tide of urban redevelopment that promises new residents, jobs and a vertical, futuristic new streetscape.” East Valley Tribune looks at several of the “rail-oriented projects,” including Papago Gateway Center, the senior centers Encore on Farmer and Encore on First, “the Motley, a block-long, seven-story complex by Lennar Multifamily Communities,” and the 21-acre “Sycamore Station.” http://bit.ly/2lOUmzA

Case-Shiller: Pace of home price growth ‘not alarming.’ “Home prices… hiked to their highest level in more than two years in December, posting a 5.8 percent annual gain.” But S&P Dow Jones Index Committee chairman and managing director, David “What, Me Worry?” Blitzer says “questions  about whether this is a normal housing market or if prices could be heading for a fall are natural.” See why he says there’s no need for anyone to freak out, in RISMedia. http://bit.ly/2lU6m3V

Property taxes—from highest to lowest. “WalletHub’s research team culled Census data on real estate property taxes in analyzing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It divided the median annual property tax payment for the state by the state’s median home price.” Head to REALTORMag for the heat-map results —> http://bit.ly/2lOOkz2

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