Glendale Council approves marijuana dispensary expansions. (Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents Arizona Organix Inc.) Medical marijuana dispensaries can get a bit bigger and stay open a little longer after the city approved a zoning text amendment brought by Rose Law Group land use attorney Tom Galvin on behalf of Arizona Organix. In ”addressing the needed changes,” Galvin pointed out that Arizona Organix, a company with an “impeccable track record,” is a “thriving successful business” which is “bursting at the seems in their current location,” and with “customers who cannot make it before the current 8 p.m. closing time.” More in Glendale Star. http://bit.ly/2GWhYll
Amended GPLET reform bill passes through legislature. HB 2126 would “change slum and blight definitions and specifications regarding the size of the city’s Central Business District.” Downtown Devil reports that “[a]lthough the bill narrows the requirements [‘of areas that qualify for use under the Government Property Lease Excise Tax’], amendments to it drastically diminished its impact on the controversial tax incentive.” http://bit.ly/2qwfwHh
Palmcourt Tower coming to Arizona Center. An entity of North American Development Group has purchased 1.3 acres at the NW corner of 5th St. and Fillmore with plans to build a 29-story, 354-unit apartment community that will start on the eighth floor. For deal and further development details, including plans for the FIRST SEVEN FLOORS, check out the press release in Rose Law Group Reporter. http://bit.ly/2GYak65
Taylor Morrison buys Gilbert land for $6.5M. AZRE has a tidbit on the homebuilder’s recent purchase and its plans for a “subdivision called ‘Greenfield Ranch’ ” at the NE “corner of Greenfield and Queen Creek.” http://bit.ly/2IUlj0D
Chicanos Por La Causa to redevelop Mesa mobile home park into mixed-income housing. The nonprofit organization has its eye on redeveloping Mesa Royale, an “aging mobile home park” on Main that was “once deemed ‘unfit for human habitation’ by the city.” Plans call for a “$25 to $50 million” project that would include townhomes — “some of which will be available at a low-income price for Mesa Royale residents” — as well as “commercial space along Main.” AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2IUL4hI
Zillow to become cash buyer of homes. “Zillow on Thursday announced that it will become a cash buyer of homes in the PHOENIX and Las Vegas markets, and a source says that it expects to hold between 300 and 1,000 residences on its balance sheet by the end of 2018.” Further details and Opendoor’s response to the news at Axios. http://bit.ly/2GWrWyV
Phoenix home prices rising fastest in more affordable areas. AZCentralreal estate reporter Catherine Reagor surveys the home-buying landscape — how “Phoenix home prices are rising the fastest in many of its most affordable, centrally located neighborhoods, from downtown Phoenix to central Mesa, where young buyers want to live and can afford houses.” http://bit.ly/2GUFDOX
Most expensive home sales in Phoenix. Arizona Foothills Magazine reports that its top home sales for the week — 4.2.18 – 4.8.18 — totaled over $30 million, SPIKING $6 million from the previous week. Among the home features seen (and not seen) in this installment: A 5 bedroom floor plan, Venetian plaster walls, a 5 car garage, a butler pantry, and panoramic views of envious Phoenicians snapping, “Yeah, I got your ‘butler pantry’ right here, pal!” http://bit.ly/2HwkLyF
First-ever evictions database shows: ‘We’re in the middle of a housing crisis.’ “[Sociologist Matthew] Desmond won a Pulitzer Prize in 2017 for his book, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City. His latest project is The Eviction Lab… the nation’s first-ever database of eviction. To date, the Lab had collected 83 million records from 48 states and the District of Columbia.” Terry Gross interviews Desmond for NPR’s “Fresh Air.” http://bit.ly/2JIaGPT
AC Marriott hotel in the works at Kierland Commons. A connection to a “younger generation” and to “the Kierland Commons.” AzBigMedia reports that the 165-room, six-story hotel “would be built on the northwest corner of Greenway Parkway and Kierland Boulevard” and “will serve to tie in the Westin Kierland Resort to the shopping facilities nearby.” http://bit.ly/2JJ37IP
Effort to save Phoenix’s first Orthodox Jewish synagogue reveals forgotten history. “The historic synagogue with ties to the Holocaust, Hollywood was saved from demolition, but the owner says restoration would cost at least $3 million.” An in-depth story by Arizona Republic reporter Jessica Boehm. http://bit.ly/2JLoTM6
ASU holds informal meeting on Thunderbird School property.Thunderbird School of Global Management is leaving Glendale and heading to Downtown Phoenix. So what’s going to happen to the property that once housed the school? That’s what this “informal meeting” was about: To “discuss the future for the land that ASU plans to sell to developers.” Read coverage of the meeting in TheGlendale Star. http://bit.ly/2GVbzTy
Phoenix approved The Farm at Los Olivos — here’s what’s next. The Parks and Recreation Board has “voted to move forward” with the Greenbelt Hospitality project located at Los Olivias Park, north of Indian School at 28th St. Phoenix New Times reports that the “next step” in the process will “involve negotiating a contract with the city.” In other words, look for The Farm to break ground in 2025! Kidding. But how long could it take? —> http://bit.ly/2EJT9Df
Queen Creek council votes to sue Pinal County over STV incorporation.“Thursday, the Queen Creek Town Council voted unanimously to move forward with a lawsuit against the Pinal County Board of Supervisors and the Elections Department supervisor in their official capacities over the petition filed with the county over the incorporation of the San Tan Valley.” Details on what has led up to the suit and more on this latest development in Casa Grande Dispatch. http://bit.ly/2JH988M
Cities where women are most successful. “SmartAsset looked at percent of women with bachelor’s degrees, median earnings for full-time working women, percent of businesses owned by women” and many other factors. Among the findings? Two cities in the Valley of the Sun cracked the top 24 — one of which ranked No. 2! HINT, which is sure to be a SPOILER: In light of these findings, might the No. 2 ranked city change its name to something like Scarlettdale?) Via Builder. http://bit.ly/2HzRtzp
Achieve Pinal tells Eloy Chamber 7th-graders are the future. “The Eloy Chamber of Commerce April luncheon featured a progress report on education from Judee Jackson with Achieve Pinal, and she said seventh grade is a crucial area… With big projects like Lucid Motors, Dreamport Villages and PhoenixMart being proposed, Jackson said it is important that people are prepared for the potential 30,000 jobs coming to the county.” So start getting ready for the future, Class of 2030! Eloy Enterprise. http://bit.ly/2qAcAdF
Scottsdale agent goes viral with bobcat vs. rattlesnake video. “Real estate professional Laura Lucky was showing a home to a couple in Scottsdale… when they drove up on a sight taken straight from the Wild West: a hungry bobcat versus an undeterred rattlesnake along the road.” Lucky recorded the deathmatch and posted it. “As of Thursday, the video had nearly 1 million views.” WATCH via REALTORMagand find out which critter — bobcat or rattler — emerged luckiest of all! http://bit.ly/2HngUqa
Cameron’s $5M + deals of the day – http://bit.ly/2HkCrzC
Valley’s Best Kentucky Derby Party getting here as fast as the horses – http://bit.ly/2HqEShJ
