Home builders push to limit impact fee increases - 2008-04-04
The Business Journal of Phoenix - by Mike Sunnucks
Home builders and real estate groups are forwarding a bill at the Arizona Legislature that would restrict cities' ability to raise existing taxes and impact fees on new homes.
The measure would keep city governments from raising development and new home impact fees on new subdivisions for two years after they receive city approvals.
Real estate groups including the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona favor the bill, saying it is not fair for cities to boost impact fees in the middle of construction ... Read More
Historic PV house needs buyer with vision - 2008-04-04
by Peter Corbett
Elsa Rector is hoping that her historic Paradise Valley home does not become another teardown, wanted only for the land on which it sits.
She and her husband, Fred, have lived in the home on 1.67 acres northwest of McDonald Drive and Invergordon Road for a decade and a half.
Duncan MacDonald, one of the town's original developers, built the house in 1931.
... Read More
Foreclosures force HOAs to cut corners on upkeep - 2008-04-03
Edythe Jensen - The Arizona Republic
Homeowners associations strapped by unpaid assessments related to the foreclosure-ridden real-estate market are mustering volunteer work crews, cutting maintenance jobs and scrimping on landscaping to save money.
Phoenix, Chandler and Avondale are among Valley cities fielding calls for help from HOAs that previously turned only to their own boards of directors and management companies.
"We are in new territory and need to find creative ways to work with everyone, whether that's stepping in with volunteerism or offering some... Read More
Phoenix affordable homes rise from the ashes of boiler house - 2008-04-03
A DEVELOPMENT of 47 new affordable homes on a well-known Thamesmead site has just been completed wuth a topping out ceremony.
The old boiler house site in Poplar Place, formerly part of the now discontinued community heating scheme, has been transformed into Phoenix Point, a mixture of three-bedroom homes and one and two-bedroom flats, all either for rent or shared ownership.
The homes are being built by Gallions Housing Association in conjunction with the nearby old boxing club site, where another 62 affordable homes are going up.
... Read More
Residents arrive at luxury Tempe condos - 2008-04-03
by William Hermann
Cheryl Hornyan loved her big house in south Tempe but says she's already fallen hard for a less-square-footage but "really fun, exciting lifestyle in the middle of everything" luxury condo in north Tempe.
Cheryl and husband Robert are selling their 3,500-square-foot home and have plunked $1.3 million down for a two-bedroom, 1,780-square-foot condo in Bridgeview, a newly completed 12-story tower on the south shore of Tempe Town Lake. It has stupendous views of the lake, including the bridges that span it, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa and almost every mount... Read More
State of the City - 2008-04-02
Casa Grande has gotten a bit of a breather with the crash of home construction, but continues to plan for the renewed growth city officials know will eventually come.
"We've approved the sewer master plan, which will help us as new development comes in to have the infrastructure available for them," Mayor Bob Jackson said during his State of the City address Thursday.
"It is probably more important for economic development with industrial users, commercial users than residential, so it's important that we know where we're going to put them and how all the pieces are go... Read More
Biltmore Estates home sells for $3.2 million - 2008-04-01
A neurosurgeon, an award-winning theater producer, the executive vice president and chief operating officer of U.S. Airways and a Scottsdale real estate broker are among the buyers and sellers in this week's priciest home sales.
$3,200,000
Dr. James J. Lynch and his wife, Caroline Dooley,{check} purchased a 6,000square-foot home originally built in 2002 at Biltmore Estates in Phoenix. Lynch is a neurological surgeon who specializes in spine surgery, cervical disorders, spinal deformities and trauma. He is president, founder and CEO of SpineNevada, a medical center spe... Read More
Light rail line brings new development in Tempe - 2008-04-01
While much of the country is experiencing an epic stalling of the housing economy, a new development is beginning construction along Tempe's light rail line.
Equinox, a 408-unit apartment home property on Apache and McClintock, will open next year. Beyond placing residents on the light rail line and in front of a bus station, Equinox is surrounded by a Park and Ride lot of 956 spaces. This allows residents to drive to the level they live on a walk a very short distance to their home. It also makes it easy for residents of Tempe and the surrounding communities to park just a couple m... Read More
Scottsdale Flex Building Sells for $2.8M - 2008-04-01
A flex building in the McDowell Mountain Business Center in Scottsdale, AZ, has sold after more than two years in escrow.
Five Peaks Management LLC acquired the property last month from Pavo Holdings LLC for $2.8 million, or about $144 per square foot. The two-story, 19,541-square-foot building, located at 16416 N. 92nd St., is under construction and scheduled to deliver by June. It consists of office and warehouse space.
McDowell Business Center consists of five structures totaling about 107,900 square feet.
There were no brokers involved in this transactio... Read More
Careful planning vital on I-10 bypass - 2008-03-30
The State Transportation Board should continue its studies of building highway bypasses that would siphon traffic from Interstate 10 through Tucson. Whether the bypasses actually become asphalt will be a public-policy decision and these studies will be its foundation.
The board is taking on the unpopular, but necessary, task of planning for our region's future transportation needs. The answers to the I-10 traffic problems aren't readily apparent. It is this ambiguity that makes the board's study imperative. ... Read More