Pinal County leaders talk need for Prop 416 and 417; Jordan Rose, founder and president of Rose Law Group, moderates. (Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents a coalition of property and business owners throughout Pinal County working to bring new transportation infrastructure to the county.) “Last Friday a large breakfast crowd gathered at a Pinal Partnership event in Gold Canyon where Pinal County officials came together to talk transportation and the half cent sales tax that will be on the ballot in November through propositions 416 and 417.” Callan Smith was there and he covers the event in Rose Law Group Reporter. http://bit.ly/2wV4sYr
Under construction: Here are the top home builders in Phoenix. Which home builder — D.R. Horton, Meritage, Taylor Morrison — had the most Valley housing starts in 2016? Find out in the 2017 edition of Phoenix Business Journal’s annual Home Builders list. –> http://bit.ly/2wV8kZw
See the top residential real estate teams in Phoenix. Another list from PBJ, this one the 2017 edition of its Residential Real Estate Teams. Walt Danley and Robert Joffe topped the list, posting 2016 total dollar volumes of $163.54M and $135.33M, respectively. Check out the rest of the rankings and total dollar volumes here: http://bit.ly/2eZioe8
Phoenix family members sentenced for real estate fraud, tax evasion. “Daphne Iatridis and her husband, Arthur Telles, both 59, were sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered… to forfeit 26 fraudulently purchased properties…” ADI reports that from 2008 to 2012, “the defendants… stole others’ identities, used bogus trusts to buy the properties and fraudulently notarized documents to facilitate the improper purchases…” (No word yet if the couple has resorted to similarly shady activities in an attempt to purchase the residence known as “The Big House.”) http://bit.ly/2f0HDg0
East Valley millennials driving new trend toward home ownership. “East Valley millennials, who have gravitated toward rentals in recent years and helped spur an apartment boom throughout the Valley, are now interested in home buying due in large part to rising rents… Chandler and Gilbert are uniquely poised to take advantage of this market shift…” East Valley Tribune. http://bit.ly/2xrHUjx
Curious about the most expensive home sale in your Arizona neighborhood? AZCentral real estate section has a new feature “that tracks the priciest home sales in the Valley’s 150 ZIP codes” where “you can find the biggest sale of the week.” Real estate reporter Catherine Reagor “spent an hour clicking through” it. Tap to see what she found. –> http://bit.ly/2vPDvml
P&Z denies Casa Grande group home request; council can hear appeal. “Heeding the concerns of neighbors, the city planning commission has denied an expansion for a children’s group home in Casa Grande… Homeowner Tiffany Battle, who operates the Safeway House Youth Facility, was seeking the change in an effort to expand the number of children she can house from six to nine… [T]he earliest the council could hear the case would be Oct. 2.” PinalCentral. http://bit.ly/2fe5SEk
Judge denies Park Place plea. “A judge has denied a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction filed against the town by the developer of Park Place in downtown Fountain Hills.” As previously reported by FHT, “N-Shea Group [was seeking a] temporary restraining order to prevent the town from shutting down construction for $453,611 in unpaid development fees.” Does the ruling mean that construction has come to a halt on the Bart Shea development? Not quite. http://bit.ly/2xrMAGj
Drive Shack golf facility is opening near Cardinals’ stadium. “Preliminary approval for the approximately 60,000-square-foot, complex has been granted… The site is zoned and primed for construction at the southwest corner of Bethany Home Road and 99th Avenue, just off Loop 101.” Experience AZ reports that it will be an “entertainment destination that combines golf, dining, competition and fun.” Get further details and view an impressive twilight rendering of the facility here: http://bit.ly/2gYFONl
Recent Tucson sale transactions reported. Check out the “transactions for commercial land, and retail properties reported by CBRE, Chapman Lindsey and Realty Executives” in Real Estate Daily News. http://bit.ly/2y0aPIw
Sedona P&Z reduces code further. Sedona is seeking to slim down its 600-page Land Development Code with a “rewrite of several major sections.” Red Rock Newsreports that the update — the first in 20 years! — will not only “provide clear and specific direction for development and redevelopment,” but will also “help carry out the community’s vision for the future provided in the Sedona Community Plan.” http://bit.ly/2wUZf1p
Sedona to look at amendments. “Sedona is considering four separate requests, three submitted by applicants and one city-initiated… The city’s request stems from the lack of affordable housing in Sedona… To address this problem, city staff is recommending to increase the number of multi-family dwellings allowed per acre within Sedona.” Red Rock News. http://bit.ly/2y0YqEk
Construction down, hiring up, experts puzzled. AZBEX’s Roland Murphy examines the data from two recent reports put out by Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. — data that he says has left “pundits, experts and those who cover them [including Murphy himself] scratching their heads.” (For a related item, see Senior Reporter/Writer Phil Riske’s piece: “The goal: Make construction sexy again” in Rose Law Group Reporter.) http://bit.ly/2eRbcNf
6 reasons Amazon won’t pick Arizona for new HQ site. “[D]oes Arizona realistically have a shot at securing Amazon’s HQ2? No, according to some of Arizona’s top thought leaders, but that’s OK with them.” AzBigMedia. http://bit.ly/2xg6R0y
New Peoria city manager brings enthusiasm to job. “[Jeff Tyne] has taken the helm of the city’s highest non-elected position, after the retirement of long-time city manager Carl Swenson… Mr. Tyne shared his thoughts with Peoria Today about the future of the city and how he plans to guide it through its next stages of growth.” You can read the Q&A in YourWestValley. http://bit.ly/2xgtvWG
How Arizona members of Congress voted on major issues. Among issues up for yea or nay: Hurricane Aid, Debt Limit; Retention of Subsidized Air Travel; Retention of Amtrak Subsidy; and “Pay As You Go” Hurricane Aid. Click through for the Voterama rundown. http://bit.ly/2gZhMC6
Arizona lawmakers weigh in on case pitting gay rights, religious rights.“Three Arizona lawmakers [‘Reps. Trent Franks of Glendale, Paul Gosar of Prescott and Andy Biggs of Gilbert’] were among the scores of House and Senate members who filed [a U.S. Supreme Court] brief… defending the Colorado cake shop owner that was sued for refusing to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.” Cronkite News. http://bit.ly/2gWIAX9
Bannon plotting primaries against slate of GOP incumbents (including Jeff Flake). “Steve Bannon, Trump’s bomb-throwing former chief strategist… is launching an all-out war against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Republican establishment… Leading the target list is Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, an outspoken critic of the president who recently published a book lamenting the rise of Trump.” Read on at POLITICO. http://bit.ly/2gYx3TL
Arizona rises to third in national ranking for installed solar capacity. “…[A]fter ranking seventh in 2016, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.” PBJ also reports that “Arizona has risen to third in the nation for installed solar capacity” and that the state “now has 3,254 megawatts of solar installed compared to 656 megawatts in 2016.” http://bit.ly/2wWx7uS
With all its casinos and lottery sales, wouldn’t Arizona be among ‘Most Gambling-Addicted States?’ “WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states across 15 key metrics. The data set ranges from presence of illegal gambling operations to lottery sales per capita to share of adults with gambling disorders.” Get the WalletHub findings at Arizona Daily Star. http://bit.ly/2xrSYNP
