The Dealmaker: 1/27/2017

Planning Commission to recommend rezoning in north Scottsdale to city council. If given “final approval,” then “14 [acres] of the 15.5-acre site at 7225 E. Dove Valley Road” would be rezoned from “commercial to urban neighborhood.” The applicant, who “intends on building 78 one-story homes,” refers to the zoning change as density “down-zoning.” So why, then, would so “many” neighbors “denounce the project”? And what caused “[t]ensions… to rise”? Find out at Scottsdale Independent. http://bit.ly/2jxIXqd

Homebuilder going green, sustainable with 2 new Arizona developments. “Maracay is building The Preserve at Adora Trails in Gilbert and Hawthorn Manor in Chandler… The homebuilder will register… the new subdivisions [164 homes, total] with the U.S. Green Building Council and is seeking LEED Certification for their environmentally friendly design and impact.” View an image of one of the homes and find out how much “less energy” use Maracay is shooting for, in Phoenix Business Journal. http://bit.ly/2jdRJex

Eloy City Council greenlights city hall project. “The new [$7.5 million, 20,000 square-foot] facility [at 118 E. Fifth St.] is anticipated to spark further economic development in the surrounding area.” For further “facelift” details plus info on the three funding sources, see Kevin Reagan’s report at Pinal Central. http://bit.ly/2kBv7Ay

Study finds golf courses still drive up home values. (BTW, we realize  this piece in REALTORMag involves golf, but was wordplay in the headline really necessary, with its use of the term “drive”? Seems a bit corny, no?  Anyway, onto the study…) “Researchers at Florida Atlantic University evaluated more than 10,000 home sales in the state’s Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties in 2015. They found that property values for homes adjacent to a golf course increased an average of 8 percent to 12 percent.” For more on the study, head to the links! http://bit.ly/2kubN9p

Foreclosure prevention returns to the unknown. “The expired Obama-era program — known as HAMP, the Home Affordable Modification Program — was widely criticized for its poor execution.” The New York Times explores what went wrong and what’s next for a program that was “always intended to be [of] limited [duration],” and one that “the mortgage industry, and even some consumer advocates, say now is the right time for the government to step away [from].” http://bit.ly/2k0YYDt

Where the Valley’s the growth and gains are expected in 2017 — (hint: look south and east). Greg Vogel [Land Advisors Organization] and Kevin Calihan [CBRE] clue us in on what to expect for “development and… housing… in 2017.” And while they “both look mostly to the east,” it’s Vogel who turns his sights toward Pinal County — and likes what he sees. As PBJ’s Mike Sunnucks reports: “Vogel shows heat maps at… presentations… displaying more intense… permit and residential home construction happening in the East Valley and [south] into Pinal.” Check out their optimistic views, here: http://bit.ly/2kaFJcJ

Cameron’s $5M + deals of the day – http://bit.ly/2kbHRl4