The Dealmaker: 7/26/2018

Shea Homes plans to build 137 houses at new East Valley communities.(Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents Shea Homes.) AZ Business Magazinescratches the surface on news that Shea Homes has purchased 62 homesites at Eastmark in Mesa and 75 homesites at Gateway Quarter in Queen Creek. http://bit.ly/2uP7vQA

Toll Brothers buys 781 acres in Surprise for $62.5 million. Toll at Prasada, located on the sunset-side of Cotton Lane between Cactus and Peoria, will be a “residential community with more than 2,200 homes.” For deal and development details, plus a layout of Toll Prasada, tap to RED News. http://bit.ly/2LRJrDl

As land values rise in Phoenix area, mobile-home parks disappear. This year, investors have snatched up a “record number” of mobile-home parks, with “a growing number of new owners” looking to turn “them into new, higher-priced developments.” And while that “may be good for investors,” AZCentral reports “it may not be great for the Valley’s overall housing-market health.” http://bit.ly/2mMTui4

Can’t afford it: The new housing crisis in Arizona. Your one-stop housing-crisis news center, covering all facets of housing affordability — from eviction rates and rising rents, to inexpensive neighborhoods and possible affordability solutions — at AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2NNZvGB

Buyers say garages, updated kitchens aren’t as important as this. Here’s the KEY cut-to-the-chase QUOTE: “For many buyers, ‘location, location, location,’ means ‘schools, schools, schools.’” REALTORMag looks at findings from a new survey showing the “compromises that buyers are willing to make to get their top-choice schools…” http://bit.ly/2uQV86s

Shea Homes Arizona pilots lighting technology in Queen Creek. (Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents Shea Homes.) “Homeowners now have ultimate control to select where they want their switches” — and they can thank Shea Homes and Deako who’ve teamed up “to offer the latest in pre-installed smart lighting technology at Origin at Gateway Quarter.” Queen Creek Independent. http://bit.ly/2AmWdsf

Arizona rape victims were trapped in their leases, until now. “An Arizona woman who was raped by a neighbor and then trapped in her apartment lease” due to a prohibitive state statute that requires “tenants to pay fees to break a lease,” has worked with lawmakers to make sure “no more sexual-assault victims have to suffer in that way.” The story at AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2uXte9h

Phoenix has more than 2.7M SF of office space under construction. That’s the “most seen since 2015,” according to JLL’s Phoenix Office Insight – Q2 2018. However, that “still may not be enough to meet… demand.” Highlights and link to the full report at AZRE. http://bit.ly/2JWa6Nv

Ranking Arizona: Top 10 developers. “Here are the Top 10 commercial real estate developers in Arizona, as featured in the 2018 edition of Ranking Arizona.” http://bit.ly/2v4GLuM

Arizona’s construction industry aims to train more women. AzBigMediaexamines some of the programs and efforts — from ADOT, ASU, and Sundt — that are training and encouraging more women to enter the construction industry and, in turn, “changing the face of construction in Arizona.” http://bit.ly/2mHGL02

Arizona regulators OK takeover of Johnson Utilities, name two finalists. Further coverage of news we brought you yesterday on the Arizona Corporation Commission decision to name either EPCOR or the towns of Queen Creek and Florence as the interim manager to run Johnson Utilities — in AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2LTnPpU

Surprise P&Z votes to change leadership. “The Surprise Planning and Zoning Commission [has] selected a new chair and vice chair; while another commissioner opted to leave the voluntary board.” Who’s in? Who’s out? YourValley has the scoop. http://bit.ly/2Oia31P

Eloy City Council approves revisions to zoning ordinance. “The Eloy City Council approved an updated zoning ordinance in terms of advertising and signs, subdivision regulations and the ‘official zoning map’ on Monday evening.” Eloy Enterprise has the ordinance update overview: http://bit.ly/2vb6ZM2

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!

Food for thought: Facebook makes me throw up. Senior Reporter/Writer Phil Riske has a beef with a certain variety of Facebook photos and those who dish ‘em out, in Rose Law Group Reporter “Growlery.” http://bit.ly/2LREev6

[OPINION] Google and Facebook are strangling the free press to death. Democracy is the loser. “As gatekeepers to the news, Google and Facebook pose dangers to even the most successful outlets. Legislators need to speed the process of bringing them to heel.” A highly opinionated, left-of-far-left piece by author Barry Lynn, in The Guardian. http://bit.ly/2LNUm0F

[ANALYSIS/OPINION] Democrats start to scare mainstream Americans. In the interest of balancing things out, here’s a right-leaning piece, courtesy of Washington Times columnist Joseph Curl, who seems to take tremendous glee in presenting findings from a new poll conducted by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal showing that “just 33 percent of those surveyed think the Democratic Party is ‘in the mainstream.’” http://bit.ly/2NMnplJ

Notorious Arizona lawmaker says he’ll work to end legislative immunity. “The Arizona lawmaker who gained infamy for bragging about using legislative immunity to avoid speeding tickets said he’d sponsor a bill to remove the provision from the state constitution… Rep. Paul Mosley issued his mea culpa Tuesday at a candidate forum in Lake Havasu City.” KTAR has the highlights. http://bit.ly/2mJRrv1

Ballot issues pamphlet won’t include amount of tax revenues, panel decides. The Arizona Association of Realtors is backing a “tax-limiting measure” that could see the state lose out on “more than $5.2 billion a year in revenues.” Yesterday, a “Republican-dominated legislative committee decided” that “voters don’t need to be told that.” Cap Media Services Howard Fischer reports on the fuss over foregoing mention of that revenue figure — in Arizona Daily Star. http://bit.ly/2OlkpxN

What? Bipartisanship? Unlikely allies back bill to fund $11.6 billion in national parks work. “Reps. Raul Grijalva and Rob Bishop agree on almost nothing, but the two came together Wednesday to back a bipartisan bill that could steer billions toward a national parks maintenance backlog that reached $11.6 billion last year.” Cronkite News. http://bit.ly/2JXrykD