The Dealmaker: 7/11/2018

Museum Square to reinvigorate Old Town. Museum Square would be “a high-end mixed-use” near the “Museum of the West, Stagebrush Theatre and Scottsdale Artist’s School.” Anchored by “a four-star Museum Square hotel” with 190 rooms, the ARC Holdings’ development would also include “300 residential units on 7.4 acres.” A “stated goal” for the project is to “create a critical mass of ‘economic body heat.’ ” Sounds hot! Details and renderings at AZBEX. http://bit.ly/2ulACdi

More ways to discover affordable housing development opportunities. Phoenix is among six cities added to NAHB’s “exclusive series of maps detailing metro areas where the Low Income Housing Tax Credit is used to develop new affordable homes.” For info about the maps and how to access them, navigate to NAHBNow. http://bit.ly/2ucnqbx

Lawsuit against RCSC ready for oral arguments. At the heart of this legal fight: Should Recreation Centers of Sun City be compelled to follow Arizona’s Planned Communities Act “because it requires all property owners to pay assessments”? Some Sun City residents think so. Attorneys for RCSC argue otherwise, saying “that the corporation was set up as a ‘country club’ rather than an association.” Both sides could start talking about it, in court, “as early as August.” Read about it in YourValley. http://bit.ly/2KQpzDQ

NAHB supports Trump pick for Supreme Court. NAHB Chairman Randy Noel has given a thumbs up to President Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Read his remarks in NABHNow. http://bit.ly/2JeJh6S

Phoenix Biltmore Fashion Park making changes, lining up tenants. Macerich has some changes in store for “the aging mall” — “new tenants and upgrades over the next three years” — as it morphs from shopping destination to “lifestyle center.” KTAR. http://bit.ly/2L92dWg  

These 11 retailers may not survive 2018. The “shopping struggles” of Sears Holdings, “the poster child of the retail apocalypse,” are well known, as is the “disastrous ‘turnaround’ ” of J.C. Penney. What about the nine other retailers that are teetering on brick-and-mortar brink? Any surprises on the Motley Fool list? Find out via AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2N5CbDS   

Pinal farmers concerned about water reductions under drought plan. “State officials brought details of these reductions to the attention of stakeholders in Pinal County years ago and have been working on mitigation plans. However, the vision of the future has become increasingly bleak for Pinal farmers dependent on CAP water, with optimism drying up alongside shrinking projections for Lake Mead’s future water levels.” PinalCentral. http://bit.ly/2uohhrT 

Controversy in the air as Mesa homeowners decry neighboring asphalt plant’s odors. “Lehi Crossing, a residential housing development off north Loop 202 near Val Vista Drive in Mesa, is the mirror image of many other newer Arizona housing developments.” Except for the asphalt plant next door. And the stench. AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2uengQG

Powell says community comes first. “That’s the motto and mantra Dick Powell lives by as an incumbent Casa Grande City Council member, and it’s the driving force behind his seeking re-election.” A Casa Grande Dispatch candidate profile. http://bit.ly/2JdykCv

Varela wants to see projects through to finish. “[Councilman Ralph Varela] originally was elected to the council more than a decade ago and said he hopes to continue to serve Casa Grande and see many of the projects that began under his tenure to fruition.” The final Casa Grande Dispatch candidate profile. http://bit.ly/2L3UCLP

Laura Kaino appointed to Goodyear City Council. “Longtime Goodyear resident Laura Kaino was appointed to the City Council to replace Joanne Osborne.” Dealmaker previously put out news of this in dribs and drabs, as we were never able to get our mitts on a full report — UNTIL NOW! So here it is, courtesy West Valley View. http://bit.ly/2KSWg3S

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

Don’t miss anything… follow multiple winner of the Arizona Republic’s tweet of the week contest, and Senior Partner at Rose Law Group and Director of RLG Renewable Energy Department, Court Rich. http://bit.ly/Court_RichTwitter 

As a supplement to the Dealmaker, we thought you might enjoy these articles!

New-look Supreme Court could leave Arizona abortion laws up to governor. That’s because the president’s Supreme Court choice “could return the legal landscape to where it was before 1973, where each state gets to decide whether to allow abortion,” with governors of those states empowered with “final say” on such laws. By Cap Media Services’ Howard Fischer. (Related, ALSO in PinalCentral: “Supreme Court will hear Arizona age-discrimination case.”) http://bit.ly/2NFKuHE

State argues case on ballot-measure rule not ‘ripe.’ “Attorneys for the state and Republican legislative leaders are asking the Arizona Supreme Court to rebuff efforts by various organizations to void a statute that could make it harder for voters to propose their own laws.” Assistant Attorney General Kara Karlson: “Plaintiffs have not come close to meeting the basic requirements for ripeness…” By Howard Fischer in Arizona Cap Times. http://bit.ly/2N79PJj

Report: Hispanic motorists in Maricopa County still arrested, searched more often. This headline from Cronkite News conveys two of several findings from the latest “report on Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office actions.” Here’s another: “Whites were stopped for an average of 13 minutes, compared with Hispanics, who were stopped for about 16 minutes…” http://bit.ly/2m9ceYE

2018’s most & least energy-expensive states. And how did WalletHubdetermine the “impact of energy on our finances relative to our location and consumption habits”? It used a “special formula” in comparing “monthly energy bills” in each state. Tap on for the findings. http://bit.ly/2NLnRkW

Navajo Nation company buys stake in Four Corners Power Plant. “The Navajo Transitional Energy Co. has acquired a 7 percent stake in units 4 and 5 of the Four Corners Power Plant in a purchase from 4C Acquisition LLC, an affiliate of Arizona Public Service…” AZCentral reports that this “is the first time a tribal enterprise has become an owner of a coal-fired power plant, which receives coal solely from NTEC-owned Navajo Mine.” http://bit.ly/2zqfgRI