Consumer Spending Showing Renewed Life
Economists are revising up estimates for consumer spending in the current quarter and the rest of 2014 after last week’s solid retail sales report and strong data on health care outlays. Retail sales jumped 0.6% in August, a four-month high, and July’s previously flat reading was revised to a 0.3% gain. Auto sales powered the advance, reaching an eight-year high as consumers replaced aging vehicles. But Americans also stepped up their purchases broadly, snapping up furniture, electronics, sporting goods and clothing… Read more »
Move Over, Kickstarter: Real Estate Equity Crowdfunding Is Catching On With Investors
In the high-flying world of commercial property investments, $1.5 million is a rounding error. So most investors probably didn?t pay much attention when, in late July, the owners of the Hard Rock Hotel Palm Springs said they had sold a 15 percent stake for that sum to a group of 85 people… Read more »
Phoenix Named Among Best Areas in US for Jobs
Besides being one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, Phoenix was recently named the fourth-best area to find a job this fall by Forbes. Forbes calculated the rankings by finding the percent of employers planning to increase hiring and subtracting the percent of those who plan to decrease their search for new employees… Read more »
$150M Chandler Viridian Project Zoning Entitlement Approved
The Chandler City Council on Thursday night approved zoning and a development agreement for Hines to develop the Chandler Viridian mixed-use project located near the Chandler Fashion Center and Loop 101/Loop 202 interchange. The 25-acre project will include a modern brand hotel, Class A multi-family and a central plaza with 250,000 square feet of Class A office and retail options along with a pedestrian promenade to Chandler Fashion Center. Chandler Viridian will enhance the overall value of the area and be a positive contribution to the Chandler Fashion Center?s substantial roster of retail tenants… Read more »
Mayo, ASU Collaborate on Biomedical Campus in North Phoenix
KUD International Inc. is working with the Arizona State Land Department to develop a 150-acre biomedical campus that eventually could create as many as 30,000 jobs. The New York developer plans to invest $1 billion to develop what could be one of the nation’s largest research parks… Read more »