The Dealmaker: 8/11/2017

CITY TO SHERATON (MORE) OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS? – Sale of Phoenix-owned Sheraton hotel includes $97M tax break for buyer. “Phoenix still owes $306 million on the hotel… and… has already sunk about $47 million of taxpayers’ money into it. But the deal raised even more eyebrows last week when the city released a report showing the deal’s potential economic impact and… the proposed [$97M] property-tax break.” One government watchdog-group analyst puts it this way: “The incentive deal they are offering the buyer adds insult to this injurious affair.” AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2uvlFZ0

Mattamy Homes urges Surprise leaders to reconsider downtown proposal. (Disclosure: Rose Law Group recently began representing Mattamy Homes on their potential development at Surprise City Center.) “Rose Law Group… sent a letter to the City Council July 26 asking it to rehear the proposal, which the council narrowly denied in June… Jordan Rose, founder and president of Rose Law Group, said… she was happy the council was consulting with [City Attorney Robert] Wingo, describing it as a ‘good first step.’ AZCentral  http://bit.ly/2uO4FbM

Taking care of seniors: New, existing facilities have prospective residents. An “aging population is driving demand for senior living” in the Northwest Valley, with “several new communities… recently opened and more under construction.” YourWestValley looks into the senior-living market along with what a handful of retirement communities in the area are doing to “keep up with… changing desires.”  http://bit.ly/2uvJiAT

RETAIL ‘BOOM’ BOX – Big box leasing activity fuels Phoenix retail market. “CBRE Research has released its Q2 2017 Phoenix Retail Market View and Q2 Phoenix Retail Big Box Report, and healthy levels of positive net absorption, steady big box leasing activity and a notable decline in the market-wide vacancy rate all point to a strong retail market in the second quarter of 2017… Overall highlights from the reports” at AzBigMedia. http://bit.ly/2vqlX2l

Prescott approves entertainment district. “The district… runs roughly from Alarcon to Summit, and from Granite Creek Park to Aubrey. Among the main changes under the district is a possible waiver of the current requirement for a 300-foot buffer between bars and schools and/or churches.” (And this makes one wonder if it will force schools situated near bars to adopt a whole new grading system, one in which the highest grade attainable is ‘AA.’) The Daily Courier.  http://bit.ly/2fyS0aE

Paradise Valley approves cellular infrastructure limitations. “Following the approval of HB 2365… wireless carriers… are now allowed to install, operate and maintain small-cell equipment within city and town rights-of-way.”  But after a Paradise Valley Town Council unanimous vote, any such structure in PV must be “disguised as a 24-foot faux cactus.” (What a great Halloween-costume idea! — if you want to trigger looks of confusion: “Saguaro, huh?” “Nope. Verizon tower.”) Paradise Valley Independent. http://bit.ly/2fz11AM

20 Cities in 20 Days: More Scottsdale stores transforming into new trend in shopping. Segments in this installment of the azfamily news feature include: A trip to Scottsdale Quarter (the hub of “e-tail”), a chat with Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane, and a look at the pricey-art scene with a few remarks from French Thompson, President of Scottsdale Gallery Association. To WATCH all the segments, start here: http://bit.ly/2uxP7tu

Take a peek at design for Caterpillar’s building near downtown Tucson.“Architects unveiled the design for three-story, 150,000-square-foot building, which will be have a masonry base and copper or copper-inspired panels on top… The building, to be named the Caterpillar Tucson Mining Division… just west of Interstate 10… will feature a plaza for shared public and private use at the corner of Cushing Street and Avenida del Convento.” Arizona Daily Star. http://bit.ly/2uNlfsn

The Housing Shortage Part I: Boomers Holding Onto Inventory. “The U.S. real estate market is currently experiencing the worst inventory deficiency in 20 years, which new data from [the] realtor. com® Housing Shortage Study suggests can be attributed to two primary reasons — boomers’ reluctance to sell and homes fitting current family needs.” Findings here: http://bit.ly/2vqiAsc

Millennials prove their dependency on FHA loans is shrinking. “During June, 63% of all closed loans made to Millennial buyers were conventional loans at an average amount of $205,066, compared to 32% that were FHA loans with an average amount of $173,381.” What does this data from the Ellie Mae Millennial report “demonstrate”? Find out in HousingWire. http://bit.ly/2wPH2B1

Zillow CEO responds to new competition from Facebook and Amazon.“Amazon and Facebook have recently encroached in Zillow’s territory… Slipping in an answer to one more question that was submitted online before wrapping up the earnings call, [Zillow CEO Spencer] Rascoff answered the question, ‘What do you see from Amazon and Facebook in real estate?’” HousingWire has the entire response. http://bit.ly/2vWvOhK

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

How porn can get you fired, sued, exposed and blackmailed; insight provided by Jordan Rose, Rose Law Group founder and president, and Lauren Reynolds, Rose Law Group cybersecurity attorney. “Jordan Rose and Lauren Reynolds are seeing a number of new lawsuits being filed in Arizona involving copyright infringement related to purported downloads of movies, pornography and other material online.” Jordan Rose: “Regular people, business leaders, moms are being sued for allegedly illegally downloading movies and pornography from file-sharing programs.” More in Phoenix Business Journal. http://bit.ly/2vMCTRp

Hackers’ little helpers: employees with bad ‘cyber-hygiene.’ “When people think about cybersecurity [CS], they often focus on the vulnerabilities of hardware and software systems… [But when] cities, counties and states don’t adequately train their workforces [the ‘weakest link’ in CS], experts warn that the entire entity is at heightened risk of cyberattack. Luckily, a growing number of governments are beginning to catch on and are working to improve their ‘cyber-hygiene.’” Governing. http://bit.ly/2fy7OKE

Findings vary on the impact of major sports events in the Valley. “Arizona’s first NCAA college basketball championship generated more than $324 million in economic impact for the state, according to a new study [conducted by ASU marketing prof Michael Mokwa]. But the direct benefit in terms of money spent by visitors… is less, with the actual tax revenues generated just a fraction of even that… Despite that, Gov. Doug Ducey said he considers sports events like this to be a positive for the state.” Gov. Ducey and Professor Mokwa discuss these findings in Howard Fischer’s report at Arizona Capitol Times. http://bit.ly/2vXMk07

Regents ask AG to hold off on filing suit over ‘dreamers’ policy. “In a letter to [AG] Brnovich’s chief deputy, regents President Eileen Klein urged him not to pursue legal action against the board over the policy to allow those in the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to pay in-state tuition if they meet other residency requirements.” But could waiting for an Arizona Supreme Court ruling on the matter put regents at risk of being “personally liable for what the state failed to collect from the dreamers”? By Howard Fischer in Arizona Capitol Times. http://bit.ly/2hSgzQP

Using seized funds for prisoner study a legal gray area, says civil rights attorney. “Profits from seized [criminal funds] are paying for the latest update to a study of Arizona’s prison population that prosecutors use to argue Arizona’s sentencing laws are working appropriately… The use of RICO funds to pay for [such] a study… is questionable.” But like Sade asks in song, “Is It a Crime”? Arizona Capitol Times. http://bit.ly/2wPX2Ts

Sinema mulling Flake run. “Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) is eyeing a Senate bid, according to a new [KPNX’s] report [broken late last night by Brahm Resnik on Twitter].” The Hill reports that it’s “a move that would give Democrats a top recruit in the race to unseat Republican Sen. Jeff Flake.” http://bit.ly/2uxuYDW

Newsmaker BONUS: Bill Hader Is abso-Moochly perfect as Anthony Scaramucci on ‘SNL: Weekend Update’ [VIDEO]. “Appearing on the summer edition of the show’s ‘Weekend Update’ segment, ‘SNL’ alum Bill Hader took on the role of Anthony Scaramucci, who is summoned ‘like a goomba Beetlejuice.’” So tap through to “score some more Scara-mooch” — and also check out, “’SNL’ Trump Brothers Are As Comically Inept As Ever On ‘Weekend Update.’” http://bit.ly/2wQ2yFX