Mesa Gets It, Why Doesn’t Scottsdale?

Regular readers of this blog have no doubt read about our disappointment over the lack of vision and forward-thinking regarding development. One frequent example that we have lamented about is the difficulty that the Ironwood 92 project has encountered as it attempts to make its way through the approval process. A fantastic project that has the unanimous support of the businesses … Read More

Allies, Alignment & Alexander

Once upon a time Jason Alexander and Solange Whitehead were allies.  They worked smartly and effectively on the same team to defeat the ill-conceived Desert Discovery Center a few years back.  In many ways Alexander’s indefatigable leadership paved the way for Whitehead’s election in 2018. But a split has developed between the two, largely on policy lines.  This recent Facebook exchange about a … Read More

Conflict in Scottsdale City Council: Are They Looking for a Lawsuit?

It hasn’t been a big secret that Mayor David Ortega has had a sometimes contentious relationship with a few other members of the city council. That has recently come out in the open even more however, with a recent tift with Councilwoman Tammy Caputi coming to light and with potential stakes including a significant lawsuit. The most recent conflict is … Read More

Guest Editorial: 20 Applicants for Every Vacant Apartment

By Larry Kush I recently read an article in a nationally published apartment industry report called Rent Cafe, which stated that Scottsdale” renters struggled to find an apartment in our city where they met an awful mix of high occupancy rates of 96.3%, and 20 applicants competing for every vacant apartment that on average, stayed available for just 25 days.” … Read More

Econ 101: How to Solve the Valley’s Housing Crisis

I believe that we have a pretty sophisticated readership here, a subscriber base of highly educated people. As such, I assume many of you who are reading this have taken an Economics class or two. If you haven’t, I’ll explain one very simple principle: supply versus demand. Simply put, when supply of a good or service remains steady but demand … Read More

Canyon Trails Towne Center – A West Valley Great Recession Success Story Roars Back to Life With a New Owner And New Focus to Bring Multi Family Housing and Other Uses to the Key Property

Canyon Trails Towne Center Just Received Zoning Approval for Important Revitalization Elements; Speaks to Economic Development Momentum in West Valley The year was 2013 and Canyon Trails Towne Center, a 90-acre shopping center located at Yuma Road and Cotton Lane in Goodyear was struggling to attract new tenants after the Great Recession. Two key retailers had left the center and … Read More

Stopsdale or Scottsdale?

The Valley’s business community has been paying close attention to the turn Scottsdale’s 2020 elections have meant for one of the state and country’s more outstanding cities.  Would major investments still be rewarded or reviled by the new, slower-growth governing majority? Last night, Scottsdale’s City Council, including Councilwoman Kathy Littlefield, showed a sagacious balance of the anti-everything inmates trying to run … Read More

Sobriety Not Silly

As others have observed, not all residential project proposals are made equal. Year after year, overly ambitious developers attempt to cajole planning commissions and city councils all over the country, including in Scottsdale, trying to convince them of the sometimes dubious merits of the projects they’re championing. On the flip side of that, many developers do the right thing. And … Read More

Guest Editorial: Solving the Housing Crisis By Stopping NIMBYs

By Ronald Sampson Economics is a complex subject, but some aspects of it are incredibly simple. For instance, supply and demand; when supply is low and demand is high, prices will move higher. Alternatively, when you increase supply, prices drop. And with housing prices surging to incredible highs in the Valley, it seems fairly common-sense that one good way to … Read More