The Dealmaker: 6/7/2017

Huge new development, with penthouse space, slated on Tempe Town Lake. “Dirt is being moved on the north bank of the Tempe lake for Phase I of The Watermark… If built-out, the project could total as much as 1.9 million square feet [of offices, restaurants, retail, and apartments].” PBJ has more on The Watermark, a project which David Norouzi, president of Fenix Development, “hope[s] will become Tempe’s new gathering place.” http://bit.ly/2qWQTlR

Infill development, apartments, townhouses slated for Mesa’s Main Street. “Mesa and development firm 3W Management LLC have inked a memorandum of understanding to bring [a seven-story mixed-use commercial building, 190 apartments and 14 townhouses] to a 2.75-acre property at Main Street and Pomeroy.” PBJ. http://bit.ly/2r2RS8j

HPI BUZZ – Home prices pick up steam as spring selling season heats up, CoreLogic says. “The national home price index [in April] was 6.9% higher than a year ago, and 1.6% higher than in March…. Only three states saw yearly declines” — and Arizona wasn’t one of them. Head to MarketWatch for the state-by-state look at price changes, plus CoreLogic’s 12-month “price growth” forecast. http://bit.ly/2sgGW70

U.S. home prices show strong gains in April. Wait, isn’t this the same info that we just mentioned? In terms of data, yes it is. But this Forbes report has something that the MarketWatch piece lacked: Comments from CoreLogic’s Chief Economist Dr. Frank Nothaft and its CEO Frank Martell. Nothaft touches on how “some metros” are experiencing a “bidding frenzy” and how it is impacting “rent gains,” while Martell broaches interest rate fluctuations and gives us a regional home-price roundup. http://bit.ly/2r2BiWj

Groups concerned, hopeful about construction jobs. “While [11,000 new construction jobs in May] puts the overall number at… its highest point since late 2008… leading industry groups remain concerned about the state of the labor market…” The Associated General Contractors of America is one of those groups. Its CEO, Stephen E. Sandherr, supplies a KEY QUOTE: “It is time for elected officials to get the word out to students that construction offers high-paying jobs with upward mobility.” More at AZBEX. http://bit.ly/2sDPdPx

Builders voice support for mortgage deduction. “In addition to promoting the [mortgage interest deduction], NAHB spoke out against regulations on all levels of government that affect home building.” Before you tap through to Mortgage News Daily for NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald’s take on government regulations and the MID, we’d like to remind everyone that June is National Homeownership Month. So have a good one! http://bit.ly/2rMg7EM

Survey: Real estate businesses lacking in information security; they should proactively protect this information, says Lauren Reynolds, Rose Law Group litigation attorney who focuses on privacy and data breach issues. RISMedia has “findings from the Shred-it Information Security Tracker Survey” which shows, among other things, that “[f]ew real estate businesses have policies in place for handling confidential information.” Lauren Reynolds: “Often times, the discussion about information security focuses on technology driven industries. However, technology is ubiquitously used to store and transmit information in almost every industry. The security of that information is of the utmost importance, and businesses should proactively protect this information. In some cases, they are legally required to do so.” http://bit.ly/2sg2798

Cameron’s $5M + deals of the day – http://bit.ly/2rMf5IU

YOU ARE [STILL] HERE? – Is all the talk of the death of the mall overdone? “[D]espite the inroads made by Amazon,” the answer, according to Fitch Ratings, is a resounding yes. So what percentage of “retail sales” does Fitch predict “will still take place” at “bricks-and-mortar stores” in 2020? Find out in MarketWatch. http://bit.ly/2rBNOe4

Baseball commissioner says Chase Field needs upgrades, or Diamondbacks will ‘look for an alternative.’ “[Yesterday, MLB Commissioner Rob Manford] took three questions from reporters about the ongoing conflict between the team and government officials.” The AZCentral headline above pretty much gives away the answer to one of those questions. For the other two and the commish’s answers to them, click it: http://bit.ly/2rM7Fpa 

Tribal leaders say freeway planners bulldozed them. “The Gila River Indian Community told a federal appeals court last week that the government highway agencies ignored the health and traditions of Native Americans, especially the poor who live on the reservation, when they planned the South Mountain Freeway.” While 99.9 percent of this Ahwatukee Foothills News piece covers only Gila Community’s side of the case, the report does throw SM Freeway supporters this bone: “Meanwhile, work is accelerating along almost the entire 22-mile stretch of the freeway…” http://bit.ly/2r2ziNO

Pima County, Tucson officially oppose proposed border wall. First, Pima County Supervisors “adopted a resolution opposing” the wall, then the Tucson City Council adopted one. (So many adoptions, it’s almost like they’re trying to top Angelina Jolie!) “But the portion of the measure [passed by the City Council] targeting companies involved in the construction process drew scrutiny from regional business groups.” AZCentral. (BTW, given that President Trump was a high school baseball standout, it’s a little surprising he hasn’t suggested that his wall have a warning track.) http://bit.ly/2rByYUQ

Congress could free up banks to do business with marijuana companies. “Most banking institutions have steered clear of doing business with marijuana companies as the regulatory risk is high since marijuana is still illegal at the federal level.” But that could soon change. MarketWatch reports that there is a “bipartisan amendment [in] Congress that would allow federally-regulated banking institutions to do [just that].” This got us thinking of possible names for such financial institutions: Citibake, Blaze of America, Weed Fargo, JPMorgan Chase Cheech & Chong, Capitol One More Toke, HSBCTHC, Charles Schwag and, FINALLY, Stash Cash. http://bit.ly/2rBIerR

SPEAKING OF GOING GREEN… Apple’s next move on green energy. “Apple announced Tuesday that a major component supplier, Jabil Circuit Inc., has committed to powering all of it’s Apple-related operations with 100 percent renewable energy by the end of next year.” AXIOS has more on the announcement including a couple of easily digestible news bites on “Why it matters” and “What they’re saying about it.” http://bit.ly/2r6kn07

Pinal board to discuss possible legal action against Johnson Utilities.PinalCentral reports that the “Pinal County Board of Supervisors will retreat to an executive session [TODAY!] to discuss any potential legal action against Johnson Utilities for violations of Pinal County Air Quality Control District regulations; however, county officials are unable to disclose what is discussed in executive sessions….” Sooo, stay tuned? Or not? http://bit.ly/2sTQFg7