Home builder slating 400 homes under $200K. (Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents Fulton Homes.) “Fulton’s new Pinal County homes are in a development called Glennwilde” and “come a decade after… Fulton built 900 homes in another Maricopa development called Cobblestone Farms.” CEO Doug Fulton: “We are thrilled to be back in Maricopa.” More on Glennwilde — and from Doug Fulton — in PBJ. (Subscriber Content) http://bit.ly/2BkMCkG
The new renewable. In an article which focuses on the “rise of the multi-household single-family home that adjusts in real-time and over time to an evolving family’s needs,” Builder’s John McManus spotlights Meritage Homes’s role in forging the “radically new pathway” to this “new renewable.” http://bit.ly/2ynqZKW
New senior living community planned for Scottsdale. “The Wolff Company has submitted a proposal for… a new 164KSF senior living facility… near the Indian Bend Wash [and] Silverado Golf Club.” AZBEX notes that the “developers plan to make enhanced utilization of the wash a key feature of the facility,” and that “the plan also includes an 800SF salon.” (Makes you wonder if the “wash” didn’t somehow inspire the salon idea. Perhaps one day we’ll see folks emerging from there, sporting some sassy new “Indian Bend Wash & Wear” do.) Further details and sitemap here: http://bit.ly/2AADJUt
Data center plan advances. “Plans for the McDowell Road Data Center — on nearly 98 acres at the SWC of 40th Street and McDowell Road — took a step forward last week as the City of Phoenix’s Planning Commission approved the project’s [PUD] request. Phoenix Retail Co., LLC [reportedly ‘a subsidiary of Quality Technology Services’] bought the vacant site in… in July… The site plan calls for a three-building complex, with structures up to 85 feet tall.” AZBEX. http://bit.ly/2AVdmpz
ASU to relocate Thunderbird School from Glendale to downtown Phoenix campus. “The building will be between First and Second streets, just north of Polk Street on ASU’s downtown Phoenix campus.” AZCentral reports that the “new building is expected to open by January 2021.” Thunderbird CEO Allen Morrison called the move “an exciting new chapter in the history of a transformational institution.” http://bit.ly/2AhSBTQ
ASU to sell 140-acre Glendale campus in effort to move Thunderbird downtown. “Glendale officials said they didn’t know until [yesterday] morning that [ASU] is moving its Thunderbird School… to its downtown Phoenix campus. “[N]ow that ASU has made their decision, our immediate priority is ensuring the careful planning of the redevelopment of the 140-acre site…” Phoenix Business Journal (Subscriber Content). http://bit.ly/2AiXsUw
Goodyear approves incentives for Chewy center, 700 jobs. <– A “$910,000 incentive package” for Chewy’s “802,671-square-foot distribution center in Goodyear.” The “internet fulfillment” center is located on a 49-acre site near Van Buren Street, 143rd Avenue and Interstate 10.” Mayor Georgia Lord, Chewy CEO Ryan Cohen, and Arizona Commerce Authority President and CEO, Sandra Watson each give a thumbs up to the online pet-product retailer’s West Valley landing — in PBJ. http://bit.ly/2j0eznk
Coolidge council continues rezoning push. “[T]he council approved three ordinances rezoning land owned by [Pinal Land Holdings] from Agricultural to General Industrial (I-1)”: 938 acres south of Selma Highway near Corman; 240 acres north of Hanna, west of Vail; 160 acres near Randolph and Vail. READ ON in Casa Grande Dispatch. http://bit.ly/2AiXGLq
A CRUSH IN CASA GRANDE – Auto salvage company breaks ground in Casa Grande. “LKQ Corporation, an auto salvage company, plans to build a 107,000-square-foot warehouse on 120 acres at the northwest corner of Thornton and Peters.” Casa Grande Dispatch reports that commissioners approved the project with the condition that” no vehicle shredding occurs on site, and that car crushing happens only at “certain times.” http://bit.ly/2AS4hxr
Tucson group claims city began project on protected land. “The site is four acres and sits northeast of the Mission Garden… After witnessing the machinery [on a site where there are ‘artifacts and human burial sites’], Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace members contacted city officials.” Find out what happened next in this report by KVOA (News 4 – Tucson). http://bit.ly/2ATySLc
Sizing the 55+ market. Builder has “some bottom-line insights impacting what people want — and will pay for — as they near and tip into retirement.” http://bit.ly/2ynFX3O
HPPI: ‘LET’S GET SMALL’ – Gap between expectations and appraisals reaches new 2017 low. “In November, home appraisals were an average of 0.67% lower than what owners expected, according to Quicken Loans’ National Home Price Perception Index (HPPI)… [The gap] is the smallest since March 2015.” What about our own HPPI here in the Valley? Are “appraisers opinions higher or lower than homeowner perceptions”? Find out in Builder. http://bit.ly/2ynHAi1
Tax bill negotiators agree to reduce mortgage interest deduction. “The move means homeowners will now be able to deduct interest on the first $750,000 of a new mortgage, down from the current limit of $1 million.” How House and Senate tax negotiators finally came to see eye to eye, in Axios. http://bit.ly/2CdpHoY
Bump in 2018 conforming loan limits likely to save borrowers thousands. “Nationwide, the 2018 conforming loan limit for most counties increased by $29,000 (6.8 percent), to $453,100.” What about counties in Arizona? Heat-mapped numbers and the full report at Zillow. http://bit.ly/2C1kgZx
Record-setting pace of price increases continues. “Prices paid for inputs to residential construction, softwood lumber, gypsum products, and OSB all increased in November, according to the latest Producer Price Index release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.” Eye On Housing has the charted and graphed data. –> http://bit.ly/2Bi2YL8
Construction backlog surges, sets 3rd-quarter record. “Providing more evidence of a strengthening economy, Associated Builders and Contractors’ Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) set a record as it expanded to 9.45 months during the third quarter of 2017, up 9.8 percent from the second quarter to the longest backlog reading in the eight-year history of the series.” Highlights by region, plus ABC Chief Economist, Anirban Basu on how the “nonresidential construction cycle stands to get even hotter,” at AZRE. http://bit.ly/2AjVALo
Meet your neighbor: Bronze Star recipient Larry Kush serves on Scottsdale Planning Commission. Why did Larry move to the area? What changes would he like to see? Who inspires him most? The Vietnam Veteran supplies the answers to these and other questions in this regular bio-feature from Scottsdale Independent. http://bit.ly/2ymWncM
Cameron’s $5M + deals of the day – http://bit.ly/2AjiqTs
Legislatures waking up about ‘scary’ cyber crime; a word of caution for Internet users from Lauren Reynolds, who practices cyberlaw. Monday’s Dealmaker featured this report on how “states are focusing more and more on cybersecurity.” What we didn’t have at the time was Rose Law Group litigation attorney Lauren Reynolds’ view on the matter. But we do now. Here’s a snippet: “Without consistent and comprehensive regulations, it is especially important for individuals to educate themselves about their Internet activity and what information they are making available.” Read Lauren’s remarks in full and access the Arizona Capitol Times report, in Rose Law Group Reporter. http://bit.ly/2BWfoot
Appeals court upholds reopening of uranium mine near Grand Canyon.“A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Bureau of Land Management did not violate environmental protection law by letting the Arizona 1 mine reopen in 2009 after a 17-year break in production.” While an Arizona-Utah economic group hailed the ruling as a “step in the right direction,” environmental groups decried the decision, saying that it “sets a precedent that will let ‘zombie mines’ operate under old regulations.” Cronkite News. http://bit.ly/2ynN4cE
Privately funded border wall hits the wall. A bid to build a privately financed border wall ended after six years with a whimper and some hunting cameras, but no actual wall, Arizona Capitol Times and Yellow Sheet Report said Tuesday. Tap to Rose Law Group Reporter for the rundown on this major fail, plus access this related item from Pinal Central: “Smith defends disbanded border fence funding plan.” http://bit.ly/2j26jmP
The secret to get fan support for Arizona sports team: Win. “A common sight at Arizona professional sporting events, fans flock to the respective sites to cheer on opposing teams — otherwise known as their ‘hometown teams.” Cronkite News explores Phoenix’s fickle-fan problem — as well as the obvious “solution.” http://bit.ly/2nZsJKr
Newsmaker BONUS: Rose Law Group Reporter Top 10 List of Recent Fake News Stories. By Senior Reporter/Writer Phil Riske, your main source for major fake-news items from around the state. –> http://bit.ly/2j0186z
