Rose Law Group searching for… Corporate/Tax Attorney to join the RLG team. We are fairly sure our readers are not corporate or tax attorneys but betting you have relationships with some… so if they don’t already work at RLG, they are really good, and they are less than satisfied with their current situation, please encourage them to send their resume confidentially to the HR Director Hslaughter@roselawgroup.com.
Lawyers join battle with city over ‘Arcadia Christmas House.’ (Disclosure: Goldwater Institute and Rose Law Group team up to save Christmas!) “For the first time in more than 30 years, Lee Sepanek hasn’t decorated his house with Christmas lights, saying that complaining neighbors and city red tape [‘vague, convoluted over-regulation’] have made it impossible.” On behalf of Sepanek, Goldwater Institute and Rose Law Group have asked the city of Phoenix for “clarification.” GI’s Director of National Litigation Jon Riches: “We are asking the city to say with specificity what Mr. Sepanek must do in order to continue a beloved Valley tradition.” More in AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2Bftnq7
Our Turn: Phoenix canceled Christmas because a guy handed out cocoa.(Disclosure: Goldwater Institute and Rose Law Group have teamed up to save Christmas.) And also teaming up, for this AZCentral OP-ED piece on the matter: Executive vice president of the Goldwater Institute, Christina Sandefur; and president and executive director of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, Scot Mussi. The two make the case that “Phoenix’s crackdown on a lavish light display is part of a larger problem plaguing home-based businesses.” http://bit.ly/2zeEqOL
WATCH: Rose Law Group works to save Christmas! On channels 3, 5, 10, 12. –> http://bit.ly/2hZhuj3
FLOUR POWER – Hayden Flour Mill Redevelopment proceeding. “Phase 1 of the plan calls for restoring and renovating the mill building to accommodate 14.2KSF of office space and creating a one-story, 8.4KSF restaurant addition… [For] Phase II, the grain elevators will be restored and a new hotel constructed… [Phase 1] moved another step closer to fruition last month after gaining approvals… from Tempe’s Development Review Commission.” AZBEX. http://bit.ly/2A19rcf
Retraction: Fifth Avenue Development clears Historic Preservation Commission hurdle.Downtown Devil has retracted a story that was posted last week which had “a factual error stating the decision made by the [City of Phoenix Historic Preservation Commission] went against the interests of the developer…” Here’s the lead for the CORRECTED article: “The Historic Preservation Commission denied an appeal against a recently proposed multifamily development near Roosevelt and Fifth Avenue Monday.” READ ON here: http://bit.ly/2zYkva6
Recent residential development sales in Metro Tucson total $6.27 million. Meritage, Pepper Viner, KB, Richmond American, and Miramonte each made deals. Real Estate Daily News has the purchase figures along with development details. http://bit.ly/2zZtpUS
Construction’s economic impact highest in 7 years. “[C]onstruction industry’s value added as a percentage of the nation’s real (GDP) rose to 4 percent in 2016, the highest level since 2009…. Thirty-seven states benefited from the rise… while 13 states experienced a reduction in activity.” See which states ranked highest and lowest for construction growth, and get the link to the full ABC report, at AZRE. http://bit.ly/2iGgU72
AZ Oct. unemployment dips; const. stays flat.AZBEX’s Roland Murphy pounds out the state’s hard hat job data — from Douglas to Kingman, Yuma to Flag, and points in between — from the recent report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. http://bit.ly/2A3pS5K
Existing sales up 2.0% in October. Additionally, Eye On Housing reports that “first-time buyer share increased to 32% of sales,” and both inventory and days on market ticked down. Get the numbers and other NAR housing data here: http://bit.ly/2hTnnhK
Home prices are dropping: How far are they falling? “The median price of an existing home… fell 0.24% from September to hit $247,000 in October…. [P]riceshave been falling each month since hitting a high of $263,300 in June.” Chief Economist Danielle Hale of realtor.com®: “[I]n spite of the month-to-month price decline, it’s still a pretty tough market for buyers. There aren’t very many options ofhomes available for sale.” http://bit.ly/2hMcURH
Multifamily developer confidence weakens in third quarter. “The National Association of Home Builders’ Multifamily Production Index (MPI) dropped 10 points to 46 in the third quarter of 2017 [marking] the lowest MPI reading since the second quarter of 2011… NAHB also tracks the multifamily market’s perception of vacancies” — in Eye On Housing. http://bit.ly/2B31UXB
Freddie Mac: Housing still on track for best year in a decade. “Freddie Mac explained this year’s modest economic growth, robust jobs gains and low interestrates made the environment more favorable for mortgages… [But it] doesn’t expect the favorable environment to continue…” Find out why, in HousingWire. http://bit.ly/2jO9J06
Gilbert increases spending on tourism, hopes to attract more visitors.“Part of growing the town’s tourism industry includes growing its hotels. The town has seven hotels and another, Home2 Suites Gilbert, under construction. Once opened, Gilbert will have 782 rooms total to offer visitors.” (Dealmaker “Daily Stunner”: “In 2006, Gilbert had 20 rooms available…”) So what is the town doing to “lure hotels to the area”? Answer at AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2hKmT9Z
Phoenix lands on CNBC’s list of cities with best shot at Amazon HQ2. “[B]ut for some curious reason… CNBC bundled Phoenix and Tucson into one region when ranking 23 different metros it believes have the best shot…” See what sort of chances (or ‘grade’) CNBC gives the Phoenix-Tucson region of “landing the $5 billion, 50,000-worker economic development jewel” — in Phoenix Business Journal. http://bit.ly/2BdZN49
Q&A: Councilwoman Julie Pace talks Paradise Valley limited government. In Paradise Valley Independent’s continuing series of interviews with PV councilmembers on the subject of limited government, Councilwoman Pace discusses the “philosophy of limited government,” including how it’s been “implemented… without a bloated bureaucracy.” http://bit.ly/2A0nor2
