Author: BEX Staff

The U.S. Department of Justice announced it has settled its case against real estate technology company RealPage, which was accused of using its algorithms to allow landlords to collude on setting higher-than-warranted rent increases across the country. The price-fixing litigation was filed under the Biden administration. The Trump administration carried the case forward and said it secured the settlement to avoid a lengthy trial process and resolve the matter more quickly. Improving housing affordability has been a major domestic policy point for the Trump administration. The lawsuit alleged RealPage’s software let landlords set rent prices using nonpublic rent data submitted…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Affordable housing developer Dominium is seeking annexation and rezoning of property at the NEC of Perryville and Yuma roads in Goodyear. The annexation covers 31.2 acres, while the rezoning covers 27.85. The site is currently zoned Maricopa County Rural-43, which is single-family estate zoning for 1-acre lots. Dominium is requesting rezoning to City R1-A Reduced so it can build 214 single-family duplex units in a walkable community. The annexation request was scheduled to go before the Goodyear City Council on Dec. 8, after this issue went to press. While currently mostly vacant and historically used…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX The Gilbert Planning Commission/Design Review Board met last week to discuss details of Lennar Corporation’s planned 311-acre Harvest Grove master planned development at the SEC of Germann Road and Val Vista Drive. As the meeting was a study session, no action was taken. AZBEX was the first outlet to report on Lennar’s vision for the area. (AZBEX; June 3) Lennar has requested a minor General Plan amendment and unification under commercial rezoning with a planned area development overlay. The size of the planned development, its potential impacts on the San Tan Character Area, and resident…

The recently empaneled San Tan Valley Town Council heard a presentation on planning and development in the area, with a particular focus on the San Tan Valley Urban Core, a 3,239-acre project centered on Arizona State Trust Land. The presentation featured materials from the 2018 Special Area Plan and from the 2025 Urban Core approvals, covering plan amendment and zoning. The Special Area Plan covers 45,222 acres. Private owners control 31,642 acres, with State Trust Land making up another 12,911. The bureaus of Land Management and Reclamation each hold fewer than 500 acres. The Urban Core is considered vitally important…

Giving Back 1. Land investor Kelly Sands has donated 14 acres of land on State Route 260 to the Verde Valley Community Development Organization. The group says the land has the potential to serve as the location for up to 45 future homes. 2. The PICOR Charitable Foundation hosted its annual Pancake Breakfast fundraiser at Reid Park on Oct. 26, raising $95.7K for underserved youth programs in southern Ariz. A matching contribution from the Burton Family Foundation brought the total raised to $191.3K. PICOR reported every dollar raised will go directly to youth organizations, and the foundation has now raised…

Sales Transactions 1. Lincoln Property Company and Goldman Sachs announced the sale of the 1.27MSF “Building C” industrial building at Luke Field. Walmart purchased the building for nearly $152.2M. Lincoln’s announcement said the deal marks the largest Arizona industrial building sale of the year and is the first tenant commitment at Lincoln’s recently completed Luke Field—a 140-acre, 2.4MSF LEED Gold Certified logistics park in Glendale. Lincoln self-represented itself. Walmart was represented by Marc Hertzberg and John Lydon of JLL. 2. Stonepeak (as SP Cardinal Tempe Owner LLC) has paid $125M for Park Place, a 285-unit luxury student housing development on…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Developer Vestar has submitted an application for a second north Phoenix auction site through the Arizona State Land Department. According to the “Coming Soon” page on ASLD’s website, the property covers slightly fewer than 159 acres at the SEC of Interstate 17 and Carefree Highway. North Valley Parkway will run north-south through the site, roughly at the edge of the eastern third of the property. The first auction site, reported on in September when Vestar submitted its rezoning request for its planned Dove Valley Towne Center project, covers 186.8 acres along the east side of…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX The Goodyear Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended approval for requests associated with another major master plan by Harvard Investments. The developer is seeking a minor General Plan amendment and rezoning for a roughly 1,940-acre site near Estrella Mountain Regional Park. The location was formerly known as King Ranch and is currently planned by Harvard as a master plan called Rio 1900. Plans call for up to 5,762 residential units, including estate residential, various single-family residential offerings and multifamily. According to a local news report and the submitted narrative, Harvard owns most of the 1,940-acre…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX The Mohave County Board of Supervisors has approved changes to County zoning ordinances and will now require proposed data centers to provide their own electricity and water. In July, the County joined other jurisdictions around the state seeking to restrict data center development. In Mohave’s case, the Board enacted changes that removed data centers from the list of desired businesses under the County’s economic development goals. (AZBEX; June 10, June 18, July 23) Under the newly approved ordinance, “…to reduce the demand on local grids and water resources, Mohave County will require data centers to…

Planning and development professionals around Arizona should be aware of a major change scheduled to take effect at the end of the month. House Bill 2447 will significantly alter how local jurisdictions around the state manage site plan and development reviews. When the new law goes into effect Dec. 31, staff will review and approve development plans—including design reviews, site plans, plats and landscape plans—administratively. There will be no public hearings. HB2447 requires objective and quantifiable review standards to be established in every municipality. Those standards must be “clearly defined, measurable, and free from subjective judgment.” The legislation’s goals included…