The Dealmaker: 5/11/2017

[UPDATE] Change in municipal zoning law signed by Governor Ducey. Gov. Doug Ducey has signed HB 2116. The legislation — which Jordan Rose, Founder and President of Rose Law Group calls the “most significant land use law change in a decade” — revises “the requirement of a three-fourths vote… to approve a zoning change from 20 percent of property owners on one side of a property protesting the change, to 20 percent of all property owners within 150 feet of the surrounding the property… making it far more difficult for a legal protest to occur. In addition, the bill permits right of ways to be counted in the 150-foot measurement.” The law takes effect in 91 days. Rose Law Group Reporter. http://bit.ly/2qT6xhR

Everything old is renewed again as architects renovate historic buildings. (Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents Peter Sperling in his effort to preserve Arcadia as a residential community.) “Developers repurpose a historic, unused building into something new and stylish while leaving the building’s core design features intact.” It’s called “adaptive reuse,” and Cronkite News looks into the practice — how developers use it to benefit their projects and surrounding neighborhoods, and how “it’s not easy and can sometimes spur controversy.” http://bit.ly/2q64Xfm

Check out progress of Arizona Center’s $25 million renovations. “Developers completed work on the lobby and tenant amenities floor of the One Arizona Center building at the Arizona Center” — and AZBIGMEDIA has the slideshow (along with a report and an end-product rendering). http://bit.ly/2q6c7jI

Casa Grande Domes doomed. “At a hearing Tuesday, Pinal County officials made a case for condemning… a group of four concrete buildings just south of Casa Grande on Thornton Road. The domes are unsafe, the county contends, and they must be demolished.” Pinal Central has a photo along with a bit of backstory on these soon-to-be-demolished, “upside down swimming pool[s]” which, fyi, sit on property that can be yours for “around $500,000.” http://bit.ly/2poycLv

New developer looks to build homes in Casa Grande. (It would be kinda funny — in a “messin’ with your mind” sort of way — if plans called for the homes to be domed.) “Scott Communities received approval for six new single-family home plans from [P&Z] on Thursday. The company president is Scott Robson, the son of master-planned community developer Edward Robson. Construction is planned at Cottonwood Ranch, which… is located northeast of Cottonwood Lane and Trekell Road.” Pinal Central. http://bit.ly/2pCncFz

Pulte Homes assembles new 144-lot subdivision in Marana. “Pulte … has closed on 72-acres at Camino De Oeste in two separate transactions. The aggregate purchase price was $3.33 million… The new community is located between Camino De Oeste and Hartman Lane.. .” Get details on the transactions and view an aerial shot of the property at Real Estate Daily. http://bit.ly/2q6eS4H

[IN-DEPTH] What’s driving real estate’s home listing shortage. “Inventory has been named the No. 1 problem in the housing market… One major contributing factor to the state of the market is the fact that fewer homeowners seem interested in selling — they’re staying put…” Trulia chief economist Ralph McLaughlin calls such reluctant sellers ‘the gatekeeper to a lot of inventory.” McLaughlin along with several other notable real estate economists provide plenty of insight for this Inman examination of the seller-shortage/housing-supply connection. http://bit.ly/2pCoEHH

Student housing sales outperform the rest of the market. “[I]nvestors bought and sold $1.1 billion in student housing properties in the first quarter of 2017… If investors keep buying and selling student housing at this rate, they will match the record-setting acquisition volume of 2016, despite a long list of larger market challenges that could have slowed the pace of transactions.” National Real Estate Investor. http://bit.ly/2qwAU1v