The Dealmaker: 11/28/2018

Former Rep. Ed Pastor, Arizona’s first Latino congressman, dies at 75. Our prayers and thoughts go out to his family. http://bit.ly/2BDqPUH

Pinal County prepping December appeal to road-tax ruling. (Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents a coalition of property and business owners throughout Pinal County working to bring new transportation infrastructure to the county.) “Both sides in a lawsuit against Pinal County over a tax to improve roads are now waiting for a judge to decide whether that tax can continue to be collected during appeals.” The waiting comes after Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Whitten “took up” a Pinal County motion on Monday.InMaricopa. http://bit.ly/2DPxZ9U

Supreme Court finds unity in decision against the endangered dusky gopher frog; Rose Law Group Founder and President Jordan Rose comments. “In a unanimous 8-0 opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts, the justices overruled a federal appeals court that upheld the designation of more than 1,500 acres of forested land in Louisiana as ‘critical habitat’ for the frog — even though no dusky gopher frogs reside there now.” USA Today • Jordan Rose: “Great to see that the Supreme Court values private property rights over speculative animal protection.” http://bit.ly/2Qmjxgm

Arizona’s economic developers have scored big wins in 2018. “Each of these wins [Airobotics and Nikola Motors among them] are victories that the people of Arizona share in terms of quality jobs and economic growth that raises an already high quality of life in the state.” AzBigMedia. http://bit.ly/2KFySDt

David Weekley models open at Cadence, 20% of inventory sold. The David Weekley neighborhood in the Mesa MPC includes one- and two-story family homes with covered patios and lot sizes of 58 ft. x 125 ft. Models are open right next to the “The Square,” a feature Harvard Investment President Craig Krumwiede says is “unlike anything available in the East Valley.” Read on in the news release at RLGR. http://bit.ly/2RkNSsZ

Meritage bets on starter homes. “Steve Hilton is bullish on streamlined design centers, the use of manufactured trusses, and more entry-level offerings.” In this Builder interview, the Meritage CEO discusses housing-market downturns, panelized building, rising material costs, and more. http://bit.ly/2E0K3Gd

At least 25 apartment projects on West Valley’s suburban horizon. “The new developments could add more than 5,000 units in the region as rents continue to rise throughout the Valley, pushing more renters to the suburbs…” So what’s coming to Glendale, Peoria, Avondale, Surprise, Tolleson and Goodyear?AZCentral has the complete list — all 25 projects! http://bit.ly/2RpZStn

Slight growth for custom home building. If Dealmaker’s math is correct, Q3 2018 saw a gain of 3,000 “total custom starts” vs. Q3 2017. To check our math, pop over to Eye On Housing for NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz’s breakdown of all the data. http://bit.ly/2E2Y8mO

Court decision could open large swath of land in Buckeye for development. “13,000 acres [and then some!] could be opened for development after the Arizona Court of Appeals affirmed a judgment against [a] developer [and ordered] him to pay more than $72 million to the land’s previous owners…” The story in PBJ. (Also see “Land, money and 15-year court fight may end with $72M judgment,” in AZCentral.). http://bit.ly/2SdeNXA

Here’s why Novus Innovation Corridor is a visionary development. AzBigMedia has the latest news on the “350-acre master-planned, mixed-use” in downtown Tempe, featuring input from two folks intimately familiar with the project: Charley Freericks, senior VP of Catellus Development Corporation, the master developer of Novus; and Morgan Olsen, ASU’s multi-titled exec. http://bit.ly/2KEv712

Peoria in court fight with shuttered Salty Señorita. “P83… saw improvements and new business openings in 2018, but some anticipated upgrades remain vacant lots and empty buildings,” including a “prime corner” occupied by Salty Señorita. AZCentral reports on the city’s “court battle” that seeks ownership of the “closed Mexican restaurant.” http://bit.ly/2PWNGDz

Rio Nuevo moves ahead with $50 million TCC renovation. “If we want the Tucson Convention Center to be our Lincoln Center, we have to do this work.” – Rio Nuevo Board Chair Fletcher McCusker. For a rundown of the proposed improvements tap to RED News. http://bit.ly/2DPvKU7

Legal battle in Southern California could threaten federal Colorado River drought plan. “A fierce local battle over water rights unfolding in a small southern California courtroom Wednesday could threaten federal plans to replenish rapidly dwindling Colorado River water supplies. A third-generation farmer is seeking an injunction to block the Imperial Irrigation District from signing on to the seven-state compact.” In AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2zsjF4g

How the largest marijuana retail space in the U.S. plans to revamp a district; “history in the making,” says Rose Law Group partner and  Medical Cannabis Department Director, Laura Bianchi. “Next month, a seven-story building in the heart of Los Angeles’ Jewelry District will open up, filled with tenants who all have cannabis somewhere in their job description.” Could the endeavor “bring a neighborhood back from the brink”? In Forbes • In RLGR, Laura Bianchi says this history-making project demonstrates how the business of cannabis is continuing to “blossom and mature into a sophisticated main stream industry.” http://bit.ly/2zv9HyZ

Ivory Homes spearheading $200,000 contest. Not long ago, Clark Ivory, CEO of Salt Lake City-based Ivory Homes, figured that “affordable housing in the U.S. needed an innovative shot in the arm.” So he came up with the “Ivory Prize, a contest that aims to uncover, promote, and fund innovations in key areas of the affordability puzzle.” Builder.  http://bit.ly/2P8nBfm

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

10th Annual AZ DealMakers – January 11, 2019. Don’t miss out on the BIGGEST homebuilding industry event for real estate forecasting and analysis, featuring the best speakers in the industry, including Meritage Homes Chairman & CEO Steven J. Hilton and Christopher Todd Communities CEO Todd Wood. Plus, Belfiore Real Estate Consulting President & Founder Jim Belfiore provides an Overview on Housing. For the full list of speakers & panelists, along with registration info for Arizona Housing: Growth, Its Costs, Challenges & Opportunities, tap on! http://bit.ly/2LAvclq 

As a supplement to the Dealmaker, we thought you might enjoy these articles!

Arizona Supreme Court Justice urged governor to tap Bill Montgomery for Senate. But was there anything inappropriate about what Arizona Supreme Court Associate Justice Clint Bolick did? NO. As Justice Bolick points out, and as Phoenix New Times itself reports in a piece that skirts the edge of non-story territory: “Arizona’s judicial ethics rules allow judges to privately express support and make political contributions…” http://bit.ly/2BCAivo

Maricopa County saved nearly 7,000 ballots through curing policy. “According to data provided to the Arizona Mirror by the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, 7,240 early ballots had signatures on their envelopes that required further review.” But for the “new policy of attempting to ‘cure’ those ballots after Election Day,” 6,933 would have been rejected. http://bit.ly/2BD19Yz

You’d think with Cardinals, Diamondbacks and Coyotes, Glendale, Phoenix would rank high as sports cities. Nope, analysis finds.“WalletHub compared 419 cities across more than 50 key metrics related to the five largest sports in the U.S.: football, basketball, baseball, hockey and soccer.” http://bit.ly/2SgjWOQ

Don’t be misinformed about the ‘Word of the Year.’ Pretty much everything you ever wanted to know about Dictionary.com’s 2018 ‘Word of the Year’ but were too afraid of wasting time, as posted by KFYI. http://bit.ly/2AwR11G