The Dealmaker is a daily note of the day’s top real estate stories served just in time for lunch. Bon Appetit! Subscribe here to receive the Dealmaker to your inbox
Kate Gallego sworn in as Phoenix’s mayor, stresses need for affordable housing. -> As well as other “familiar themes from the campaign trail,” including “spreading investment to different areas of the city” and “supporting bold, innovative ideas and work to veterans and older adults.” The recap of Thursday’s swearing-in ceremony in Arizona Mirror. http://bit.ly/2YboU37
Can Kate Gallego fix Phoenix?New Times calls her a “wonk” who’s “attuned to granular policy details.” She’s also known as “the smartest person in the room.” So Mayor Kate Gallego may be just what Phoenix needs “at a moment when the City Council is turbulent and divided” and the city “faces significant challenges that have not been fully addressed.” http://bit.ly/2Jyq1GD
Stellar Residential hosts ‘glass-raising’ at One Camelback Building. There were “more than 50 industry partners and guests at a ‘glass-raising’ ceremony” on Wednesday “to honor the commencement of construction for the highly-anticipated renovation and repurposing of One Camelback into an upscale apartment building.” For a rundown of the event, plus a closer look at the project and the company behind it, tap on to AzBigMedia. http://bit.ly/2FspSQV
Valley housing market remains robust — especially for sellers.AFN takes a look at recent housing data from Realtor.com® and the Cromford Report, each of which show “improving conditions for sellers” and “no signs here of us getting close to a buyers’ market.” http://bit.ly/2TUHCxc
Phoenix ranked as third-best housing market for first-time buyers. The finding comes from Zillow’s 2019 Best Markets for First-Time Buyers Analysis, which “ranked the 35 largest U.S. housing markets across four metrics, including low median home value and strong forecasted home value appreciation.” Get report highlights and access the full analysis via KTAR. http://bit.ly/2TPS5ds
Ethics complaint against Scottsdale planning commissioner filed by Prop. 420 activist. “A Scottsdale activist filed an ethics complaint against Planning Commissioner Kelsey Pasquel after her comments about ‘fake’ citizen opposition to the Papago Plaza redevelopment — a project in which her new husband is involved.” AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2Cy0l70
Chandler ranked among top cities where $50K goes the furthest. To boot, “Chandler was also one of four cities on the list where the median income exceeded $50,000,“ according to Go Banking Rates which “studied 100 cities to find out where $50,000 will stretch the furthest after including taxes and living expenses.” KTAR. http://bit.ly/2JucqQG
Scottsdale considering 3 solar projects. “The major projects include installing solar campuses at the city’s North Corporation Yard and Civic Center campuses and installing a parasol solar shade structure over the City Hall parking lot.” Details, including the price tag for all three projects along with estimated energy cost savings, at Scottsdale Progress. http://bit.ly/2Ft1jmW
NAU Student Athlete High Performance Center project details released. A “$40 million,” “80,000” sq. ft. facility to be situated at the “south end of the Walkup Skydome by the main fan entrance.” Okay, so maybe it’ll end up costing more and it might not be THAT big and it could be located elsewhere — but it will DEFINITELY be “a game-changer for all student-athletes”! (per one school official). Read about it in Arizona Daily Sun. http://bit.ly/2OltzuL
Wickenburg P&Z considers building height permit adjustment. The request for a height restriction adjustment “stems from what many other municipalities are doing across the country to their zoning regulations” as they try to attract “potential investors in their core areas or opportunity zones.” Here’s a Wickenburg Sun report, filed in the run-up to last night’s meeting on the matter. http://bit.ly/2HEmSU2
Fate of Sedona Cultural Park still unknown after sitting idle for more than a decade. The “40-acre private property — which is for sale — has been vacant since 2004.” Red Rock News reports that the property owner is “currently working with four parties,” but “nothing is set in stone.” http://bit.ly/2unhPP0
[REGIONAL]The zoning code banned his tall fence, but not the naked mannequin party behind it. A property owner in Santa Rosa, California was informed by the city that “he had to lower the fence around his home.” Jason Windus did so, then “set up multiple naked mannequin models in his yard,” which were “on full display for the entire neighborhood to see.” Reason. http://bit.ly/2CxZ0x7
As a supplement to the Dealmaker, we thought you might enjoy these articles!
Click here for 2019 Arizona Legislative News
Napolitano questions need for Trump order to enforce campus free speech. President Trump’s “executive order would withhold federal research dollars from public schools universities… that don’t protect free speech on campus.” Former Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano calls that policy “unnecessary and, in some respects, undesirable.” Cronkite News. http://bit.ly/2TsAVgW
Arizona Supreme Court says Stringer can’t give document to Ethics Committee. “[The] order prohibits Rep. David Stringer from turning over a document sought by the House Ethics Committee in its investigation into sex crime charges he faced in Maryland the early 1980s.” The ruling “could be a substantial obstacle as the committee seeks to enforce a subpoena ordering Stringer to turn over documents related to the Maryland case.” Arizona Mirror. http://bit.ly/2Jzppk9
Contractor blasts Tucson over inclusion on divestment list. “West Point Contractors says the city is wrong to include the company on a list of firms it won’t invest in over ties to President Trump’s effort to build a border wall.” VP John Alley highlights in a letter that “the border fence project the company is working on in El Paso was approved during the Obama administration.” (Doh!) Arizona Daily Star. http://bit.ly/2CxXDyp
