The Dealmaker: 2/15/2019

Gila River pulls out of Drought Contingency Plan. “[The Gila River Indian Community] on Thursday yanked its scheduled ratification of its part of the deal, potentially upending any chance of the state meeting the March 4 deadline.” Cap Media Services’ Howard Fischer has the story in Arizona Cap Times. http://bit.ly/2GLqF0H

Facing cutbacks on the Colorado River, Arizona farmers look to groundwater to stay in business. “With the imported supply of water now about to go away, the farmers in the [Pinal County] area are bracing for changes that they see approaching much more rapidly than they had anticipated.” AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2Gq2h5r

Amazon to New York: Drop dead; Rose Law Group Founder and President Jordan Rose comments on the pullout. “Amazon thought it had locked down support for a new [HQ] by wooing a feuding mayor and governor. What it failed to anticipate was how the neighborhood’s politics would sweep it up in the growing split between establishment Democrats and the party’s insurgent progressive wing.” POLITICO • “I can’t imagine any Arizona Municipalities passing up such an extraordinary opportunity! These big deals are always hard but you give and take and find a way to yes.” More from Jordan along with the full report on Bezos’ Big Apple bye-bye, here: http://bit.ly/2DFMaNg

Opportunity Zone experts voice concerns over program’s rules, suggest fixes In IRS hearing; Dan Gauthier, Rose Law Group transactional attorney handling many O-Zone investments, gives his take. Dan Gauthier: “Many stakeholders testified about key issues left unresolved in the proposed regulations – we are hopeful these issues will be addressed in a second set of proposed regulations in the coming months.” Read about yesterday’s packed-house O-Zone hearing in Bisnow. http://bit.ly/2DJq10w

Phoenix set for vote on contentious $75M condo tower. “While many high-powered business leaders support the 12-story project [planned for the parking lot of Phoenix Country Club], a group of homeowners is vehemently opposed, saying ‘height is blight.’ ” PBJ reports, however, that Sunbelt Holdings President and CEO John Graham has adjusted the project’s size, chopping some 81 ft. off its originally proposed height. (Subscriber Content) http://bit.ly/2TRxmBY

Late John McCain’s Phoenix high-rise condo for sale. Cindy and John McCain “moved into the 6,500-square-foot condo at 24th Street and Camelback Road in 2006.” The condo’s key features and the price to own them at AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2UUqBiO

Old Town Peoria mixed-use zoning changes. “Old Town is now organized into a new mixed-use district that makes it clear Peoria City Council has a plan to revitalize and change the look of the oldest area of the city.” Peoria Times has a rundown of the changes, including an aerial showing how the zoning area is split between residential and commercial. http://bit.ly/2UZdBIH

Jerome passes accessory building ordinance. “Ordinance 446 amends the definition of an ‘accessory building’ as being a building or structure that is ‘visually’ subordinate to the main building.” But don’t expect to book a stay in one of these buildings anytime soon. CV Bugle. http://bit.ly/2GxtSlh

Did the government shutdown hurt Flagstaff housing sales? Q4 numbers were “down 10 percent from the year prior.” While the shutdown may shoulder some of the blame, there are other culprits as well. Arizona Daily Sun. http://bit.ly/2X1KcQ2

D-Backs said Chase Field badly needs repairs, but have made almost none. “The Arizona Diamondbacks have completed hardly any stadium repairs since they took control of Chase Field last year, despite previously insisting nearly $8 million in upgrades would be necessary during the 2018-2019 off-season, records obtained by The Arizona Republic show.” http://bit.ly/2GHBb98

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

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