Active adult community proposed at Asante in Surprise. “If approved, [Paradiso at Asante] would have a total of 1,566 units on 369.2 acres, about 10 percent of the total planned area of Asante.” P&Z Commissioner Matthew Keating: “[T]here’s a lot of interest in this part of town [Grand & Jomax] for exactly this type of community…” YourWestValley. (BTW, prolonged and painstaking research done by the crack staff here at Dealmaker has found that the word “asante” is actually of Swahili origin and means “thank you.” So, ASANTE to you, Google Translate!) http://bit.ly/2xuVMGw
David Weekley Homes releases 56 home sites in Verrado. “Situated on 80-foot [manageable] home sites, Victory at Verrado homes from Encore by David Weekley Homes will start from the $465s.” This particular report about these new home sites in Buckeye originally surfaced in AzBigMedia, but you can check it out in Builder. http://bit.ly/2wGVa2X
Optima Kierland is already 95% leased. Ascentris Managing Director Dan Cohen calls it a “rapid lease-up… at rental rates in excess of pro forma.’” Much more on the “10-story, 150-unit tower,” along with the other two phases of the Ascentris/Optima development at AZRE, where you can also check out renderings of the tower[s] with their “vertical landscape gardens” which never fail to impress. http://bit.ly/2vBKpLw
STUDENT HOUSING: A BUNCH OF BULFINCH – Shepley Bulfinch completes ASU student luxury housing. National architecture firm Shepley Bulfinch announced that it has completed “RISE on Apache… a new 15-story, 640,000 SF mixed-use student housing complex, located on the corner of Apache and Rural.” AzBigMedia has amenity and design details, including how Shepley Bulfinch managed to “site the large building… within the tight property footprint” and “scale its size to neighboring buildings.” http://bit.ly/2x1iQyT
New apartments not cresting: 5M new units need built, 12M need renovated. “That is according to a new report by the National Multifamily Housing Council and the National Apartment Association.” Arizona Multihousing Association president/CEO Tom Simplot: “The Phoenix metro area will need all types of apartments and at all price points… By 2030, the affordable housing crisis will become even more severe unless public and private sector leaders take bold, innovative action.” More in PBJ. http://bit.ly/2vGZlHt
Growth in U.S. home prices accelerated in June. “Home price growth accelerated slightly in June due to upward pressure from limited inventory and strong buyer demand.” For a rundown of the latest S&PCoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, click to The Wall Street Journal. http://bit.ly/2x1z8b9
July 2017 Market Report: Almost half of U.S. homes are worth more now than before the bubble. “[And in] seven metro areas, more than 90 percent of homes have exceeded their pre-recession peak values.” Check out the heat-map results for Phoenix and other cities in this “new Zillow analysis comparing Zestimate values on the same homes from their pre-recession peak and now.” http://bit.ly/2wPE97v
Single women build less home equity over time than single men in U.S. World Property Journal drills down into a new report by Redfin that “looked at 199,387 homes sold in 18 of the largest metros [including Phoenix] in 2012, of which 39.9 percent were purchased by single women.” The report found that “for every dollar of home equity single men earned over five years in the U.S., single women earned just 92 cents.” And what was the only “metro where women actually earned more home equity than men”? –> http://bit.ly/2gmalYM
Is it better to invest or pay off your mortgage? “It depends, writes Hal M. Bundrick in a piece for NerdWallet.” Builder presents a portion of this piece by Hal M. Bundrick along with link to full article over at NerdWallet, where you can also find out just who the Hal M. Bundrick actually is! http://bit.ly/2vpjd72
Associated Builders and Contractors praises Trump effort to roll back regulatory burden. “For the construction industry, unjustified and unnecessary regulations translate to higher costs, which are then passed along to the consumer or lead to construction projects being unaffordable.” That’s what the General Counsel for Associated Builders and Contractors said before the National Regulatory Fairness Hearing at the U.S. Small Business Administration Office. For a detailed list of “priorities for regulatory relief among ABC members,” tap to AZRE. http://bit.ly/2vHkiCb
Trump’s immigration crackdown Is making new homes more expensive. With an assist from Scottsdale-based Taylor Morrison Homes, Bloomberg looks into the impact that Trump immigration and trade policies could have — on everything from “framers” and “lumber” to “hardware, flooring, steel molded doors, windows and what builders call ‘finishings,’ the lighting, wall covering, fireplaces, countertops, appliances and other bells and whistles that go into a U.S. home.” http://bit.ly/2wlJj7R
CHEAP SEATS? – Big League Dreams, Gilbert disagree over safety report.“[A] Phoenix engineer hired by [Big League Dreams], performed ‘full‑scale load tests’ on the columns that support the grandstands and ‘confirmed there are no actual safety concerns that could be identified.’ But East Valley Tribune reports that “Gilbert’s attorney… was unimpressed.” It’s a controversy that could, ultimately, “result in the permanent removal of Big League Dreams as the park operator.” http://bit.ly/2vBwghK
Pollack: It was a pretty quiet week for economic data. But that doesn’t mean the Monday Morning Quarterback has nothing to say about it. Quite the contrary, as MMQ takes “advantage of this break in the action to discuss where we are in the economic cycle.” One big takeaway among many: “Most indicators suggest that the [expansion] cycle will continue upward for the next several quarters at least.” Plus data for these ‘Snapshots’ –> U.S.: Manufacturing, Mortgage Rates, New Single-Family Homes. AZ: Lodging, Sky Harbor – Enplanes & Deplanes. http://bit.ly/2vGvLCc
[OPINION] Volkmer & Lamb: Speaking in favor of Props 416, 417. (Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents a coalition of property and business owners throughout Pinal County working to bring new transportation infrastructure to the county.) In a co-authored piece at InMaricopa, Pinal County Attorney Kent Volkmer and Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb discuss their support for Propositions 426 and 417, and they urge a “yes” vote for both on Nov. 7 in order to “[e]nd gridlock, improve public safety, and give Pinal County the roads and freeways it deserves.” http://bit.ly/2vBAy8w
Arizona ‘Hyperloop’ team doesn’t win international competition, but vows to continue. “The team [called AZLoop] placed among the Top 8 [and was] already… planning for next year’s competition… SpaceX, the aerospace company led by Elon Musk… started the Hyperloop competition in 2015 and invited university students to compete to see who could accelerate its development.” Cronkite News. http://bit.ly/2wGsibm
Corporation commission orders Arizona Water Co. to negotiate with competitor. “Arizona utility regulators are considering taking away a water company’s lucrative service territory and giving it to a competitor whose executives have donated thousands to the political campaigns of two of the regulators. Commissioner Andy Tobin joined Dunn and Forese in a 3-2 vote forcing Arizona Water Co. to negotiate with Robson over the water-service rights for an 11-square-mile undeveloped area near Casa Grande.” AZCentral
AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2vptRud
All eyes on Ahwatukee, Arcadia for Phoenix’s City Council elections. “Half of the Phoenix City Council is up for reelection Tuesday, but all eyes will be on voters in east Phoenix where Councilman Sal DiCiccio is the only incumbent to face a challenger. Kevin Patterson, executive development director with Banner Health, is trying to unseat the District 6 councilman who has served on council for more than 13 years.” AZCentral notes that the district is “conservative-leaning,” but “history illustrates it can be a wild-card.” (Also see this related item from Arizona Daily Star: “Two city primary races to be decided Tuesday.”) http://bit.ly/2wH2FqS
Cameron’s $5M + deals of the day- http://bit.ly/2xv04hn
Phoenix launches independent investigation of police response to Trump rally protesters. “‘With the high profile nature of the events and community concerns and support expressed, it is important to use outside expertise [OIR Group, Inc] to add a layer of objective review in this situation,’ Phoenix City Manager Ed Zuercher wrote in a statement to Police Chief Jeri Williams.” Cronkite News. http://bit.ly/2wlMlcj
Trump says high Hurricane Harvey TV ratings led to Friday’s Arpaio pardon. “‘In the middle of a hurricane, even though it was a Friday evening, I assumed the ratings would be far higher than they would be normally,’ [President Trump] said during a joint press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto. Trump went on to echo his Friday statement, saying he granted the pardon because of Arpaio’s long career… ‘He’s very strong on borders, very strong on illegal immigration… He is loved in Arizona.’” Read on at KTAR: http://bit.ly/2xK5YKH
Graham, DeWit to meet on who will challenge Flake in GOP primary. “[Former Arizona GOP chairman Robert] Graham said he and [State Treasurer Jeff] DeWit will not run against each other, and they’re trying to figure out who would make the best Flake challenger, whether it be him, DeWit or another person… ‘The president encouraged us to talk and figure it out,’ Graham said.” Arizona Capitol Times (Also see this related story from KTAR: “Sen. Jeff Flake not sweating early polls in re-election bid.”) http://bit.ly/2iF7VFz
SPENT FUEL PROPOSAL NUKED – APS says it won’t take California utility’s nuclear waste. “Arizona Public Service Co. officials… said they will not agree to take fuel from California’s shuttered San Onofre Generating Station… Such a move would require approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and APS won’t ask for that approval, making the proposal a dead end, officials said.” AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2gnZTQA
Survey: Brain studies trigger decline in Arizona boys playing football.“The Barrow Neurological Institute released its newest findings on concussions in high school sports with a poll showing that one-third of the parents around the Valley will not allow their kids to play football.” But East Valley Tribune reports that “[w]hile the participation rates show a decline, the survey also showed that 85 percent of parents in the Valley would still allow their kids to play other contact sports.” http://bit.ly/2vBKNKg
