EXCLUSIVE: Avondale approves Encanto Crossing. The Avondale City Council Tuesday night unanimously approved a rezoning and pre-Plat to allow for the development of a 60-acre subdivision west of the northwest corner of Avondale and Encanto boulevards. The property is owned by Avondale Recovery Acquisition, LLC and Treguboff Properties. Jordan Rose and Chris Webb from Rose Law Group handled the case. Jordan Rose: “This was another great experience for our clients in working with the City of Avondale which truly knows how to get business done.” Rose Law Group Reporter. http://bit.ly/2mOSHxg
HPPI PERCEPTIONS – Owners get real about home values. Homeowners are starting to pick up what appraisers are puttin’ down! Outta sight! According to the latest National Quicken Loans Home Price Perception Index [HPPI]: “Homeowners still tend to slightly overestimate the price of their home, but not by nearly as much as they did a year ago.” For the latest national figures plus HPPI numbers for Phoenix, boogie over to REALTORMag. http://bit.ly/2FJALw5
[COLUMN] The corrupt politics of low-income housing. “State officials [in California, Georgia, and Michigan, for example] gleefully line their own pockets at taxpayers’ expense… But it all pales in comparison to the misdeeds of the Navajo Housing Authority, which is supposed to provide housing on the Navajo Indian reservation.” By Christian Britschgi, assistant editor at Reason. http://bit.ly/2mJzL2q
Neighbors rally vs proliferation of short-term rentals. Sparked by the purchase of a home in the Estate La Colina neighborhood by a “Las Vegas-based investor,” and then the conversion of that home from “single-family residence to a short-term rental,” a “group of neighbors” showed up at a “Tempe City Council work-study meeting to express concerns over the growth in short-rentals in general and, in specific, about [that] home at 8648 S. Holbrook Lane.” Wrangler News. http://bit.ly/2mHcsGd
AZBEX initial forecast event surprises. “While it was nearly a given multifamily would be king of the hill in the 2017 commercial construction landscape, many other trends the Arizona Builder’s Exchange staff uncovered in preparation for its inaugural 2018 Construction Forecast event… caught both them and several industry experts by surprise.” Coverage of the event, including details on sectors, projects and projections for 2018, 2019 and 2020, at (where else but) AZBEX. http://bit.ly/2EQOGiG
Plaza Companies breaks ground on Estrella Medical Plaza II. “Plaza Companies has secured two new leases totaling over 23,000 square feet for Estrella Medical Plaza II, and recently broke ground on the building on the growing Banner Estrella Medical Campus, located at 9201 W. Thomas Road… The Class A, four-story, 64,000-square-foot space will open in December of 2018…” Image and further info at AZRE. http://bit.ly/2EQBGtg
Schedule for Pinal road projects released. (Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents a coalition of property and business owners throughout Pinal County working to bring new transportation infrastructure to the county.) “The timetable for the major road projects approved by Pinal County voters in November [Propositions 416 and 417] is still up in the air, but organizers have released a… tentative schedule… that breaks down the projects into four phases, to be completed every five years, with the first phase set to start in 18 to 24 months.” Arizona City Independent. http://bit.ly/2mFxOUt
8 construction trends to watch in 2018. “Some [trends] are evolutions of past years, such as offsite construction and an increasing reliance on technology, and some… are new, such as a focus on resiliency after the… damaging hurricane season… and devastating fires… Other trends that will shape construction revolve around policy, both federal and state, the ongoing labor shortage and gargantuan projects, including Amazon’s much-anticipated HQ2.” Read about them all at AZBEX. http://bit.ly/2ESkhR8
DACA disputes intensify building labor capacity worries. Builder’s John McManus wonders: “As immigrants’ share of US construction workforce grows, and workplace raids become more common, which direction will Congress take on the issue?” http://bit.ly/2mHEZvs
Hotel Adeline opens in central Scottsdale. “The 4.5-acre property [at 5101 N. Scottsdale] makes its debut following a $12 million renovation… Los Angeles-based ESI Ventures developed the hotel and New Orleans-based HRI Lodging, LLC will manage it.” For amenity info along with interior and exterior images, tap to Scottsdale Independent. http://bit.ly/2DkzRZi
Water issue dams forward movement of Pine development. Payson Roundup reports that the “developer of the first new subdivision in Gila County in years faces additional delays… after struggling for nearly a year to get the 18-home subdivision to the board of supervisors.” At issue is “whether the subdivision served by the Portals IV water district has a 100-year water supply,” even though, as this report states, the “county has not previously required subdivisions to demonstrate a 100-year water supply.” http://bit.ly/2DrRnde
Eloy to spend $20K on economic development promotion. “City officials said the [‘economic development promotional print publication and digital project’ from ROX Media Group] will be a great marketing tool to tell businesses why Eloy would be a good place to start a business or relocate a business. Especially with the interstate and railway so close to the city.” Eloy Enterprise. http://bit.ly/2mG1nW9
‘HE’S BEEN EVERYWHERE, MAN’ – Town of Florence hires new planning manager. “Larry C. Harmer will begin his duties with the town on Feb. 5.” Florence Reminder describes him as a “planner with experience in many different Arizona cities and towns…” And from the looks of it this report, Larry has landed in more towns and cities than Johnny Cash rattles off in the tune, “I’ve Been Everywhere.” http://bit.ly/2DjdeUV
RFP issued: PII of Solar Zone at UA Tech Park. “Tech Parks Arizona and [TEP] this week issued an RFP for companies interested in taking part in Phase II of The Solar Zone. The Solar Zone is a public-private partnership between the University of Arizona and TEP, serving as an innovation hub to test, evaluate and demonstrate solar technologies.” AZBEX has details on what the “project is ideally looking for” along with a link to the “full RFP, including contact information and submission guideline.” So tap to it! http://bit.ly/2EPW4dU
Outsider Republican Sanchez enters race for Phoenix mayor. • Moses Sanchez is the first Republican to jump into the race • Moses Sanchez previously served on Tempe Union High School Governing Board • Moses Sanchez never sought city office • Moses Sanchez would be the first Latino mayor in the city’s history • More on Moses Sanchez, including several more mentions of his name, at AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2FNS3bo
Cameron’s $5M + deals of the day – http://bit.ly/2DKtVpy
Parent insists biology matters to keep ex-wife from sharing custody of child; Rose Law Group family attorney Audra Petrolle deems overturn ‘unlikely.’ “Saying biology matters, an Arizona woman is making a last-ditch effort to keep from being forced to share custody of her child with her former wife. [The] attorney for Kimberly McLaughlin, is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn last year’s ruling by Arizona’s high court, which concluded that Suzan McLaughlin had the same right to claim parentage as if she had been Kimberly’s husband.” A Capitol Media Services/Howard Fischer report at Arizona Capitol Times. Audra Petrolle: “The constitutional right to equal protection and, by extension, the right to enjoy the ‘constellation of benefits that the state has linked to marriage’ is not likely to be outweighed by the attempts to capitalize off of biologically based statutes for the purpose of facilitating inequity.” http://bit.ly/2DskUnr
How do I opt-out of an arbitration provision? In last week’s Rose Law Group Reporter article “Did I give up my rights with my online purchase?” Rose Law Group Class Action Department Chair, Kathryn Honecker, and Law Clerk, Clark Wu, “explained why you need to check your contracts and terms of service for buried arbitration provisions and the ability to opt-out of such provisions.” This week they tackle how to opt out, with “some guidelines to keep in mind when writing an opt-out notice.” http://bit.ly/2DeYPFm
SPEAKING OF ‘OPTING OUT’… Arizona lawmakers to California: Can we help you secede from the union? “Goodbye, California. State Rep. Mark Finchem won’t be sad to see you go.” On Tuesday, the Oro Valley Republican “introduced a concurrent resolution supporting California’s secession… ‘Arizonans, in deep respect of the United States of America and our constitutional republic that secures the blessings of liberty to us and our posterity, give complete support to California’s secession,’ states HCR2021, which was co-sponsored by Rep. David Stringer, R-Prescott.” More on the resolution in Arizona Capitol Times. http://bit.ly/2FMpbA7
[OP-ED] Mr. President, stop attacking the press. “Whether Trump knows it or not, [his] efforts… to discredit the free press by bestowing ‘fake news awards’ upon reporters and news outlets whose coverage he disagrees with… are being closely watched by foreign leaders who are already using his words as cover as they silence and shutter one of the key pillars of democracy.” By Sen. John McCain in The Washington Post. (And in case you missed it yesterday, Rose Law Group Reporterhas this RELATED COMMENTARY by Senior Reporter/Writer Phil Riske: “Lawyers, journalists, business execs swim in dirty bath water; Throw ‘em out?”) http://bit.ly/2EPRqgc
Higher car insurance rates on the horizon? “Rebuffing claims it will harm some low-income individuals, a Senate panel agreed Tuesday to increase the amount of liability insurance that motorists must purchase to drive on Arizona roads. The 6-1 vote by members of the Senate Committee on Transportation and Technology came over the objections of Sen. David Farnsworth, R-Mesa, who said the more extensive coverage will increase costs.” A Capitol Media Services/Howard Fischer report in PinalCentral. http://bit.ly/2Doqo2f
