$450M development, 1,300 homes slated for West Valley. “The Glendale City Council has approved a [‘395-acre,’ master-planned community] called Stonehaven… at 91st Avenue and Camelback… near University of Phoenix Stadium.” How much revenue is Glendale expected to pull in from this Pulte-John F. Long project? Read on at PBJ. http://bit.ly/2tsyemp
Maracay closes on 204 homesites in emerging South Mountain submarket. “The $10.5 million purchase represents the first phase of a Maracay Homes master-planned development that will feature approximately 650 homes on the site of the former Vistal Golf Club.” in Rose Law Group Reporter. http://bit.ly/2t8VBiv
Peoria Council approves new homes for Ventana Lakes. (Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents K. Hovnanian Homes in this case.) “[The approval will] bring 69 new homes to two parcels — one 7.12 acres and one 10.2 acres — at 107th Avenue and Beardsley.” YourWestValley reports that the “new development, Four Seasons at Ventana Lakes” will be situated on “parcels [that] have been vacant for more than 30 years,” as “past attempts to develop” them “have failed.” Details on how the deal finally got done, plus amenity info and a bird’s-eye view of the parcels, here: http://bit.ly/2tsNpMA
THIS IS A TROON STORY – Villages at Troon North notches Scottsdale approval. “[The] City Council has approved a non-major General Plan amendment making way for the Villages at Troon North, a 14-unit, two-story residential community development… on 5.9 acres at 10101 E. Dynamite Blvd.” Scottsdale Independent. http://bit.ly/2s9Ftw0
Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort undergoing $8.5M renovation. “The renovation includes an update to its 224 guest suites [$6M] and meeting space [$2.5M], including carpet, walls, new tile and modern furnishings.” Check out the slideshow at PBJ. (BTW, if Hilton wants more publicity about this refurbish, someone should get word about it to President Trump. He’d probably tweet it out like crazy! After all, it is a facelift.) http://bit.ly/2suP3sH
SUSD heads toward contract negotiations in 44th Street property sale. “For a piece of property abutting Arcadia High School, the [Scottsdale Unified School District] is taking a second stab at putting the property on the market and has had a purchaser — Hospice of the Valley — inquire about the sell… Located at 3811 N. 44th St. in Phoenix, the district-owned piece of property has been recently valued at $4.6 million…” Paradise Valley Independent. http://bit.ly/2suDlhq
ONE PERSON’S JUNK ANOTHER PERSON’S NEIGHBOR? – Gilbert neighborhood upset junk yard is planned next door. “Residents of the Silverhawke neighborhood in Gilbert are voicing concerns over the future of the former Schuff Steel site at Cooper and Guadalupe Roads as the property owner plans to turn a portion of the site into a junk yard. [T]he Gilbert Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit and site plan for the Arizona Auto Parts salvage yard to be located on over 13 acres of land… Concerned residents filed an appeal against those initial approvals with the Gilbert Town Council.” East Valley Tribune. http://bit.ly/2t9pAXm
Home builders: The homes of the near future are sustainable, automated. “With construction up and population swelling, home buyers — especially luxury home buyers — are looking for different things out of their new abodes. According to a Phoenix Business Journal survey of regional home builders, green building and automation — the so-called Internet of Things — are the biggest trends on the horizon.” http://bit.ly/2ttigbM
Cool pools drawing more metro Phoenix homebuyers now, thanks to triple-digit temps. “More Phoenix-area buyers are diving into deals for houses with pools now, say real-estate agents… But how much value does a pool add?” Find out and take a dip into a refreshing slideshow of 29 such pools at AZCentral. Come on in, the water’s great! http://bit.ly/2tysJU3
Q2 2017 U.S. median home price at least affordable level since Q3 2008. “ATTOM Data Solutions [has] released its… Home Affordability Index, which shows that the U.S. median home price of $253,000 in the second quarter of 2017 [which is] a nearly nine-year low in affordability.” RealtyTrac has Index findings, including the national HEAT-MAP results for cities and towns in Arizona. –> http://bit.ly/2sZTa3n
Navajo housing troubles identified by Republic, McCain prompt exec’s ouster. “The ouster of Aneva ‘A.J.’ Yazzie, chief executive for the Navajo Housing Authority, culminated a series of conflicting news releases issued this week by President Russell Begaye and the housing agency’s board… The board’s decision appears to be a dramatic turnaround from a news release commissioners issued just one day earlier alleging that Yazzie and the agency had been victimized by ‘negative, one-sided information’ by The Republic and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz…” AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2suTYcW
Dealmaker BONUS: Orbital ATK expands aerospace engineering operations in Gilbert, plans to hire 155. “Orbital AT [has] officially opened its satellite engineering building… in Gilbert, part of the 60,000-square-foot expansion of its satellite manufacturing campus.” The KEY QUOTE in this PBJ report comes courtesy of Orbital’s site director, Rick Kettner: “Space has become sexy again… We expect to see sustained growth in Gilbert through 2020.’” Click through for a 10-image slideshow along with more on Orbital and its current projects. http://bit.ly/2spvFSH
Dealmaker DOUBLE BONUS! – Beers and bonfires: The 10 U.S. cities where backyard shindigs reign supreme. Flagstaff cracks the top 10! The criteria? “Median lot size of single-family homes… Sales of outdoor summer goods… Average number of sunny days… Percentage of homes that have lots of fun outdoor features.” Kick off your 4th early by checking it out at realtor.com®. http://bit.ly/2saip07
ASU power project meets resistance from legislative committee. “After concerns about the need for and timing of a proposed additional natural gas turbine for electrical generation on the ASU campus, a legislative panel voted 5-3 on June 20 to table the $21M bonding request until September.” Senior Reporter/Writer Phil Riske recaps the Joint Committee on Capital Review, in Rose Law Group Reporter. http://bit.ly/2ttkhom
MORE POWER TO YOU – No TEP-id response to proposed Arizona rate changes. “A packed house at the Arizona Corporation Commission indicated intense public interest in proposed rate changes that critics say punish solar customers but which Tucson Electric Powe says are necessary…” And here’s just a little of what Rose Law Group senior partner and director of Renewable Energy Department, Court Rich, had to say: “TEP’s proposal overreaches in just about every respect… Not only are they asking for an aggressively low export rate that does not fully recognize the benefits of exported solar power, they are trying to reach into people’s homes, behind the meter, to charge customers more just because they lower their electric bills by generating some of their own clean solar energy.” More at pv magazine. http://bit.ly/2spMoFe
Dreamers at Arizona universities will still pay in-state tuition – for now. “The Board of Regents voted Thursday to continue its policy of interpreting Arizona law to say that those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals are entitled to the same legal — and financial — considerations as anyone else who meets state residency requirements. Thursday’s vote comes a week after the Arizona Court of Appeals concluded that a similar policy by the Maricopa community colleges violates Proposition 300.” By Capitol Media Services’ Howard Fischer in Arizona Capitol Times. http://bit.ly/2suNESV
Robots stealing human jobs isn’t the problem. This is. “Many experts disagree on what these new technologies will mean for the workforce, the economy and our quality of life. But where they do agree is that technology will change (or completely take over) tasks that humans do now. The most pressing question, many economists and labor historians say, is whether people will have the skills to perform the jobs that are left.” USA TODAY. http://bit.ly/2u7mljm
[OPINION] Why do they even play the game? In his piece for The Washington Post, political columnist and board-certified psychiatrist Charles Krauthammer offers a theory he calls “the Krauthammer Conjecture: In sports, the pleasure of winning is less than the pain of losing.” To test his theory, Krathhammer takes us through sports history and some of its legendary losers. On his mind all throughout? The question of “why anybody plays at all.” http://bit.ly/2tuDaXP
(PENDING) Newsmaker BONUS – Food for thought: Thoughts about restaurant news coverage. Senior Reporter/Writer Phil Riske: “When I began a news career, it was unheard of to write stories about new businesses or anything that smelled of commercialism…. Needless to say, times have changed. Business news is a major portion of today’s news coverage, and restaurant news is big in the Valley.” More on this, along with other grub grumblings from Phil, in Rose Law Group “Growlery.” http://bit.ly/2u7rFDs
