The Dealmaker: 9/17/2018

Lucid signs $1bn+ investment agreement with Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. Lucid Motors plans to use the funding to complete engineering development and testing of the Lucid Air, construct its factory in Casa Grande, begin the global rollout of its retail strategy starting in North America, and enter production for the Lucid Air. More on this HUGE deal via Lucid’s official news release in Rose Law Group Reporter. http://bit.ly/2NOuC8x

Casa Grande may accept grant for road work at Lucid site. “The grant, which PinalCentral first reported on in July, would be for $500,000 to cover part of the cost of improving Selma Highway and would ‘have a direct impact on travel efficiency around this project area while having a positive impact on city revenues…’ ” Casa Grande Dispatch. http://bit.ly/2NmYcCZ

Where are baby boomers retiring? Don’t look far. With an assist from real estate consultant Jim Belfiore, AZCentral real estate reporter Catherine Reagor looks at “Why and where Arizona looks good to boomers.” http://bit.ly/2OuOACl

Taylor Morrison opens Summit Collection at Sky Crossing homes. • Off Deer Valley and 32nd St. near Loop 101 • Four floor plans • Starting in the low $600,000’s • Design details in the news release at AZ Business Magazine. http://bit.ly/2Nkz5R8

Maricopa’s most expensive home sold last month. This is the “third time the home has been sold since it was built in 2017.” InMaricopa has a rundown and photo of the “two-story, four-bedroom” Palo Brea house, along with info on the other four top sellers. (Also available: “Maricopa’s least expensive home is comeback kid,” which also features info on four other top bargain-basement deals.) http://bit.ly/2xiWvw9

This video shows what houses are made of in the last 40 years. This qualifies as Dealmaker’s “Quirkiest Item of the Day.” WATCH the “historical use of wood, brick, stucco, vinyl, fiber and ‘other’ options” morph in and out of popularity, “starting in 1977 and ending in 2017,” all in a mere 32 seconds — at Fixr. http://bit.ly/2D3TkO2 

Get a peek inside Topgolf Glendale before it opens this month. “The three-story entertainment complex offers more than 100 climate-controlled hitting bays where groups of up to six players can compete for points on the driving range. Topgolf provides the clubs and micro-chipped golf balls that track where players’ shots land.” AZCentral has the 26-image slideshow. http://bit.ly/2PHNvqW

New commercial development set for Scottsdale Promenade. “Scottsdale City Council has given final approval to re-plat a portion of The Promenade shopping center as developers there seek to create an internalized community storage facility.” Scottsdale Independent. http://bit.ly/2MGkQRl

Proposed truck plant in Coolidge will benefit Eloy school district.(Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents Saint Holdings as the landowner.) “On Thursday board members for the Santa Cruz Valley Union High School District approved supporting a Foreign Trade Zone designation for Nikola Corp.” Eloy Enterprise reports that the “district stands to see a boon in property tax money when the plant is built.” http://bit.ly/2NjTvtz

Phoenix light-rail projects could go back to voters. “A new Phoenix political committee dubbed ‘Building a Better Phoenix,’ filed paperwork Friday… The initiative petition calls for the city to end light rail and instead divert the funds to needed transportation improvements, like road repairs and expanded bus service…” AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2QDGEjS 

Doubletree Ranch Road reconstruction project met with resident concern. And not only “concern” but also “consternation and confusion” over the proposed project that will stretch “from Invergordon Drive to Scottsdale Road.” Issues include “replacing a four-way stop with a roundabout, and utilizing millions of dollars to replace a street that has at least seven years left in its lifespan.” PV Independent. http://bit.ly/2NNKZCq

Coates: Eloy gives boost to historian’s vision for a museum. The Old Toltec Elementary School on Camelot Street was “all but abandoned… The old school fell into disrepair. [Dick] Myers, however, saw something worth saving.” By PinalCentralcontributing columnist Bill Coates. http://bit.ly/2xmr432

Arizona Water nearing completion on treatment facilities. A facility in Arizona City will “serve as a treatment center to eliminate arsenic,” while another under construction in Casa Grande “will treat groundwater that has the potential of being contaminated by nitrates.” Arizona City Independent. http://bit.ly/2OwTyyH

River planning muddied up? “The general manager of the Colorado River District on Friday voiced strong criticism over what he fears is a lack of transparency when it comes to discussions over how to manage water in response to drought.” The Daily Sentinel. http://bit.ly/2peyrGd

Cameron’s $5M + deals of the day –  http://bit.ly/2Ox2d43

10th Annual AZ DealMakers – January 11, 2019. Don’t miss out on the BIGGEST homebuilding industry event for real estate forecasting and analysis, featuring the best speakers in the industry, including Rose Law Group founder and president Jordan Rose and Lennar division president Alan Jones. Plus, Belfiore Real Estate Consulting president Jim Belfiore provides an Overview on Housing. For the full list of speakers & panelists, along with registration info for Arizona Housing: Growth, Its Costs, Challenges & Opportunities, tap on!  http://bit.ly/2LAvclq 

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

Journalistic corruption in the Arizona Senate race. Senior Reporter/Writer Phil Riske takes Arizona Daily Independent to task for an article it published on Friday — a piece which includes a photo of Arizona Senate candidate Democrat Kyrsten Sinema that falls way ‘wide’ of the mark. In Rose Law Group Reporter. http://bit.ly/2plYknP

Flake opposes quick vote on Kavanaugh, putting confirmation in doubt. “GOP Senate Judiciary Committee member Jeff Flake said he is uncomfortable voting to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination later this week after the nominee’s sexual assault accuser went public.” POLITICO also reports that Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) “similarly said late Sunday that the committee should pause.” http://bit.ly/2MH8xEc

Scottsdale City Council candidates talk future of economic development.“The incumbents are: Kathy Littlefield, David Smith and Linda Milhaven; meanwhile, the challengers are Bill Crawford and Solange Whitehead.” Scottsdale Independent “reached out to each candidate seeking their interpretation of how the municipality ought to encourage economic development within city limits and this is what they had to say:” http://bit.ly/2Nkemgb

District 8 candidate talks light rail, economic development. “[Michael] Langley joined the race after Councilwoman Kate Gallego stepped down last month… Now the deputy director of Global Chamber Phoenix is leveraging his background in business and trade to campaign for the District 8 Phoenix City Council seat.” Downtown Devil. http://bit.ly/2Qx2Uff

Could districts diversify Flagstaff City Council? “If you map where those running for public office have lived in the past eight years, one thing becomes clear: When it comes to candidates, some neighborhoods simply seem to produce more than others.” Now, some folks in Flag are pushing for districts as a way of changing that, so that some neighborhoods are “better represented on council.” Arizona Daily Sun. http://bit.ly/2xhURLc

Charles Koch Foundation is spending big on an ASU criminal justice center. Why? “The [‘newly minted Academy for Justice’] says the grant will help bridge the gap between academics and policymakers in order to promote positive change in the criminal justice system. But critics say it represents another attempt by one of the country’s most prominent political donor networks to exert its influence.” The State Press. http://bit.ly/2pdojgY 

Scottsdale polo championship includes 6 matches during 2 days of shows, events. Who will be taking the polo field at The Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships: Horses and Horsepower? Scottsdale Independent fills us in on these and other Polo Party details in the run-up to the annual event at WestWorld of Scottsdale Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 10-11. http://bit.ly/2xdBS4v