The Dealmaker: 6/21/2017

Neighbors prevail over Sunnyvale rehab proposal in Paradise Valley; Jordan Rose, founder and President of Rose Law Group, representing the surrounding Sunnyvale neighbors, comments. Late Tuesday, the hearing officer who was set to hear the reasonable accommodation hearing for the Blue Sands drug rehabilitation facility proposed to be located on an entirely residential street (Sunnyvale) in Paradise Valley issued an order dismissing the case entirely because a homeowner, Thomas Hopkins, was found not to have a valid lease in place with the California rehab operator. Here’s a portion from Jordan Rose’s statement: “Single-family large home communities are under siege by these out of state interests seeking to sneak a busy business into our totally residential communities. We are pleased with this result and thanks to the passion of the neighbors, Sunnyvale will remain residential in character.” Read the rest of Jordan Rose’s statement along with the dismissal order in full at Rose Law Group Reporter. http://bit.ly/2tOvQ6n

San Portales residential development slated for fall opening. “With its new… multifamily development… at 7215 S. Silverstone Drive in Scottsdale, Mark-Taylor has created a living experience” that no other multifamily even comes close to. Literally. “As part of the Silverstone at Pinnacle Peak master plan — the site of the former Rawhide Western Town on Scottsdale Road — San Portales is the only multifamily community within a nearly two-mile radius….” Get design/amenity details and view a curbside rendering which includes several individuals meandering among the mesquite, at Scottsdale Independent. http://bit.ly/2rDnuNU

The Local, a mixed-use project coming to Tempe. “Forum Real Estate Group will develop The Local [originally named The Foundry], a mixed-use project featuring 286 apartments and a Whole Foods Market [and soon to be an Amazon Foods Market?] at the NWC of University Drive and Ash Avenue…” AZBEX has the rendering along with the “detailed description” that was “filed with the city.” http://bit.ly/2sWpXqW

LOOK WHAT’S COOKIN’ IN PEORIA! – City to buy 2 Old Town parcels with intent revitalize area. “[The City of Peoria] will buy [Peoria Cleaners & Laundry] and Toni’s Beauty Shoppe sites located along the west side of 83rd Avenue south of Washington… with the intention to create shovel-ready sites to attract developers, and ultimately improve the area.” Councilwoman Vicki Hunt: “I’d like to see businesses come to the area that cater to families — medium-priced products, family friendly atmosphere, such as a pizza parlor or a barbecue cafe.” http://bit.ly/2sWgH5O

Maracay Homes closes on $20 Million in real estate in Gilbert, Ariz. “At the Lakes at Annecy, Maracay closed on a $12.42 million land purchase of 216 homesites… Meanwhile, the Lakeview Trails at Morrison Ranch purchase comprises 92 single-family homesites for a total of $7.05 million… Once these two neighborhoods open… Maracay will have unveiled four new neighborhoods in Gilbert in just over a year.” Check out what’s drawn the homebuilder to Gilbert, plus get further details on the purchases along with Maracay’s plans — at Rose Law Group Reporter. http://bit.ly/2rSaHvs

How developers saved time and millions on $418M hospital project. For its Phoenix and Gilbert developments, Banner Health has done so through “an integrated project delivery (IPD) process.” What is an IPD? “[It is] defined as a collaborative approach that combines systems, business structures, practices and experts from a multitude of different fields during all phases of design, fabrication and construction that harnesses the talents and insights of all participants to optimize project results, increase value to the owner, reduce waste and maximize efficiency.” (All of which raises the question: Can an IPD be used to achieve similar “waste” and “efficiency” results when it comes to super-wordy definitions?) More at AzBigMedia. http://bit.ly/2tu6GdK

Phoenix prepared for Sky Harbor concourse project. “The City of Phoenix held a brief business information meeting [last week] for more than 40 prime contractors and SBE firms to discuss the [‘$250M, 220KSF’] Sky Harbor Terminal 4… project.” And what is the city looking for from contractors? Something “‘innovative and creative’… designs and ideas to add ‘sizzle’ back into the airport experience.’” Interested? There’s a second business info meeting scheduled and AZBEX has the registration link. Better hurry, though, because that meeting is THIS AFTERNOON! http://bit.ly/2rRKD3j

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

Firm contracted by Republican groups left millions of voter files unsecured online; more than birth dates and addresses compromised says Lauren Reynolds, Rose Law Group litigation attorney, who focuses on privacy and data breach issues. “An extensive database of information about 198 million Americans collected by a contractor hired by Republican groups was obtained by a security researcher, who found it on an Amazon server, with not even a single password protecting it.” NPR. Lauren Reynolds: “With this breach, not only were individuals’ birth dates, addresses, and phone numbers compromised, but data indicating individuals’ ethnicities, religious affiliations, and political and ethical positions was also compromised… Breaches involving such data may cause individuals to think twice about sharing this sort of information.” http://bit.ly/2sQPUYk

Soon you could cast your ballot anywhere in Maricopa County. “[V]oters… are about to experience big changes in how they cast their ballots.” AZCentral reports that the ”new system makes it easier for voters to participate, lessens wait times and cuts costs… But some voters have voiced confusion and concern, questioning the security and necessity of the changes.” Among the major changes: “Every voter will receive a mail-in ballot,” “traditional polling places will go away,” and “voters who… prefer to vote in person… will be able to visit any one of dozens of ‘ballot centers’” (AKA, “Russian Fun Centers”). AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2rVLkEg

Florence Copper mine wells may violate zoning. (Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents Southwest Value Partners in their fight to prevent this mine from opening in the middle of a master-planned family community.) Pinal Central: “[A Florence Town Council] resolution authorizes town officials and the town’s lawyers, without any further order by the mayor or council, ‘to do all such acts and things, including the investigation of and the full prosecution/litigation relating to or arising from [Florence Copper’s] construction of [two new monitoring wells beyond its state land boundary]… ‘” http://bit.ly/2tOOdbd

Investment in investments: Officials pitch state to foreign investors. “A record 3,000 participants and 1,200 foreign business officials took part in the SelectUSA Summit, which brings together foreign investors and U.S. economic development officials… Besides Phoenix, officials from Glendale, Chandler and the Arizona Commerce Authority were on hand at the Arizona booth, comparing the state’s low taxes and low cost of living, among other advantages, to other major markets in the U.S.” Check out event highlights in Cronkite News. http://bit.ly/2tOwLn8

Using Artificial Intelligence to program humans to behave better. “If we agree that some biases perpetuate existing, unacceptable behaviors (racism, sexism, ageism), then we also have to agree that there are desired behaviors we should design for,” writes Dennis R. Mortensen, CEO and founder of the “virtual assistant” company x.ai. In his piece for LinkedIn, Mortensen suggests that through such designing, the AI industry “can proactively program our AI systems to reward behaviors like kindness, empathy, thoroughness, and fairness” — and that it can be applied to self-driving cars, diversity in hiring, and even forgiveness. http://bit.ly/2tu7D5O