1,400 ACRES OF OPPORTUNITY – Proposed Glendale land annexation promises economic opportunities. “Planning Commission is holding a special workshop this Thursday on a proposal to rezone the land generally located north of Northern Avenue, south of Peoria Avenue, west of 143rd Avenue and east of Reems… Woolf Properties’ intended use of the [1,400 acres] includes warehousing, goods and products, and possible manufacturing… Economic Development Director Brian Friedman discusses how the area is “ripe with growth potential” in YourWestValley. http://bit.ly/2wgCYxe
More homes hitting the market in Peoria. “Maracay is opening its third neighborhood at The Meadows, reaching a total of 472 homes on 224 acres… This summer North Peoria has seen the opening of at least three other residential communities slated for about 135 homes, and at least four developments pulling permits to build more… The openings are part of an explosion of growth from Beardsley Road to Lake Pleasant that has seen thousands of new homes built in the city since the economic downturn and will see thousands more in the coming years.” YourWestValley. http://bit.ly/2wxkmZx
New homes for sale in North Phoenix: 8 options. “There are at least eight major developments — each with 100 or more homes — underway or planned…” North Phoenix News has the list with “maps, photos, and details on each,” including each community’s “Wow Factor.” http://bit.ly/2vSOehY
Younger tenants driving up apartment demand in region. “Demand for rental apartment housing is on the rise in the East Valley and the rest of the metro region, buoyed by an increased desire for high-end apartments and the ever-present need for more-affordable options for low-income families… On the other end of the spectrum, boomers are coming back to apartments in high numbers in order to avoid some of the costs and responsibilities associated with home ownership.” East Valley Tribune. http://bit.ly/2vSLZv9
[EDITORIAL] Dreamport Villages. (Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents The Block Sports Group.) In its “Our View” editorial feature, PinalCentral is upbeat about the prospects of Dreamport Villages actually happening, stating that it “seems much more realistic than other such ideas that have been floated in the area over the years.” http://bit.ly/2wxqMHT
Gilbert’s Agritopia to start construction on ‘Epicenter’ urban core. “When completed, the $70 million-plus Epicenter will consist of four five-story buildings. The top floors will house nearly 300 high-end apartments… vary[ing] in size and cost to reflect Agritopia’s ‘all ages, all stages’ motto… The bottom floors will be reserved for 55,000 square feet of commercial space.” This AZCentral story on Agritopia includes two new renderings (new at least to our eyes), plus an on-camera interview with its developer, Joe Johnston. http://bit.ly/2vi6jmi
Brass Tap craft beer restaurant to open in Gilbert Heritage District. “[The Rowe family is] opening the Gilbert franchise [‘in Building 313, next door to Whiskey Row’]… The family considered opening… in Gilbert… four years ago [but decided against it] because there was not much development going on there at the time…” Jesse Rowe III: “Over the last three years, we’ve watched Gilbert grow tremendously.” East Valley Tribune. http://bit.ly/2whv7iE
Queen Creek P&Z OKs drive-thrus, site plans for Bahama Buck’s, Sodalicious. “[Bahama Buck’s] plans to build a 2,092-square-foot shaved ice store and a 1,394-square-foot future tenant space on a 1-acre site… within the Cornerstone at Queen Creek Retail Shopping Center… The 1,860-square-foot [Sodalicious] treat shop is being planned on a .66-acre site… in the Heritage Town Square retail shopping center.” Queen Creek Independent. http://bit.ly/2wrhM80
Supporters of Chinese Cultural Center invite President Trump; hope he can save history. “[A local Asian American community group] emailed the invitation… in hopes [President Trump] can convince the property’s new owner to save the piece of Arizona history built 20 years ago. Right now, the group believes the new owner is thinking about dismantling its cultural features, destroying its garden and turning the property into a standard commercial and office space.” WATCH/read the report at azfamily. http://bit.ly/2wxn54T
Coconino County awards contract for land-use study. Arizona Business Daily: “Coconino County has awarded MAKERS Architecture & Urban Design the contract for the county’s Joint Land Use Study (JLUS)… The JLUS will help obtain land-use recommendations that are compatible with Camp Navajo and the Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station’s military missions, as well as help support economic development and community values…” http://bit.ly/2wgCNC4
Historic Fort Tuthill Quad renovations completed. “The quad served as the summer training facility for the Arizona National Guard from 1929 to 1948 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places… The project had a budget of $4.7 million that was funded by the 2002 voter-approved Coconino Parks and Open Space sales tax.” More in Arizona Daily Sun. http://bit.ly/2xljEeW
Eyeing soccer tournament dollars, Pima County plans 12 new fields near Kino complex. “12 new athletic fields on 167 acres… south of Interstate 10 and the Kino Sports Complex. Officials describe it as the first phase of what could be a more substantial project, renderings of which show 20 fields, a stadium, a splash pad and playground, concession stands and space for private facilities like stores, hotels and restaurants.” Arizona Daily Star. http://bit.ly/2fZgdHf
R.I.P malls? “In the age of Amazon, our old consumer paradises are becoming brick-and-mortar ghost towns, blighting communities they once invigorated.” Phoenix Magazine looks at what’s in store for Valley malls — not only for those that are “troubled” but also at malls that are “thriving.” http://bit.ly/2wgCyHa
EYE ON (TOWN)HOUSING -Townhouse construction flat. “Over the last four quarters ending with the second quarter of 2017, townhouse starts totaled 94,000, 5% lower than the four quarters prior this past year. Townhouses… 14% lower than the total during the second quarter of 2016.” More on the NAHB analysis at Eye On Housing. http://bit.ly/2uYFKXU
Executive order aims to simplify infrastructure permitting. “Calling the permitting process, ‘Badly broken,’ [President] Trump noted it took 11 months… to build the Empire State Building, but said, in today’s regulatory climate, projects can take decades…” AZBEX’s Roland Murphy examines Trump’s new executive order that hopes to “cut the permitting and approvals timeline at the federal level down to an average of two years.” http://bit.ly/2vXxrJh
Trump scraps plans for infrastructure panel. “New York developers Richard LeFrak and Steven Roth were expected to lead the [advisory] panel… [that] was formed to aid Trump with his plan to spend an estimated $1 trillion on major building projects, including highways, bridges, pipelines and other public works.” Bisnow. http://bit.ly/2x6k9dt
What happens to solar power in an eclipse? We’ll find out today. “[The eclipse] is expected to knock offline… a big chunk of the 19,000 megawatts of solar power that currently provide one-tenth of [California’s] electricity… [But the state] has agreements with Arizona, Nevada and Oregon to transfer small amounts of electricity between states to balance out fluctuations…” The New York Times. http://bit.ly/2fZl1fL
Water extinguishment credit plan to go to state officials. “The proposal aims to ‘still allow extinguishment credits to be issued, remove the pressure to retire irrigation grandfathered rights sooner rather than later, and reduce the ability of subdivisions to rely completely on unreplenished groundwater’ in order to preserve groundwater to be used in the future. The Pinal Local Water Group’s unanimous approval launches a process to change the rule, bringing it forward to Gov. Doug Ducey’s office, the secretary of state’s office and several other committees.” PinalCentral. http://bit.ly/2wxMV8S
As Trump arrives in Phoenix, Arizona’s legislators are headed for Mexico on a trade mission. “On the day President Donald Trump is scheduled to arrive in Phoenix… two dozen Arizona legislators will be leaving on a goodwill mission to Mexico.” Here’s how this Arizona Capitol Times report views it: “And so the image of a president [‘likely’] talking tough on free trade and Mexico as Arizona’s political and business leaders hunker down to strengthen ties with their Mexican counterparts, forms yet another dichotomy in the desert, part of a familiar narrative about Arizona and America’s divergent impulses on immigration and trade.” http://bit.ly/2xlyB0q
Lawmakers say Ducey must decide on civil war monuments if legislature passes bill to remove them. “[Senate President Steve] Yarbrough said if someone introduces legislation in January to get rid of any or all of the monuments he will assign it to one or more committees for a hearing. And if it passes the Senate and House, that puts the question squarely in the governor’s lap. Ducey, however, wants no part of the controversy.” A Capitol Media Services/Howard Fischer report in Arizona Capitol Times. http://bit.ly/2vS8WP1
Our minds have been hijacked by our phones. Tristan Harris wants to rescue them. “Harris is a former product manager at Google who… proposes a renaissance in online design that can free us from being controlled and manipulated by apps, websites, advertisers, and notifications. Harris expanded on those ideas in a conversation with WIRED editor in chief Nicholas Thompson.” –> http://bit.ly/2wrpKOm
My flimsy farewell to football. “More NFL players are declaring they’ll follow Colin Kaepernick’s lead, and won’t stand for the national anthem this season. There are fans who say they’ll quit watching the game because of this.” Asking if he, too, should “quit watching,” author and WSJ sports columnist Jason Gay explores how hard it will be to “get football out of his life” — and then suggests “another, less difficult way to handle” it. http://bit.ly/2x6Fvrp
