$1.6 million awarded in Scottsdale land-use suit A battle over responsibility for a failed commercial development in north Scottsdale involving allegations of fraud, bad faith and breach of contract was resolved last week when a jury ordered defendant First American Title Insurance Co. to pay the plaintiff companies, the Equitable Troon H LLC and the Equitable Troon K LLC, about $1.6 million in damages. View article…
Streetcars may fulfill Tempe desires A modern streetcar just got the green light to cruise Mill Avenue between Southern Avenue and Rio Salado Parkway in Tempe. Metro, which operates bus and light rail service in the region, got the go-ahead from The Maricopa Association of Governments to move on the 2.6-mile project. View article…
Phoenix light-rail expansion plans prove divisive A Phoenix man is hoping to derail Metro light rail’s plans to lay track through his neighborhood as part of an 11-mile extension to the city’s west side. John Maurin, who has lived in the St. Matthew neighborhood north of the state Capitol for all of his 61 years, has attended several public meetings about Metro’s proposal to build the extension on Jefferson Street from Central Avenue, past the Capitol and state buildings, through his neighborhood to Interstate 17, then north to Interstate 10 and west into Tolleson. View article…
Sky Harbor year-to-year stats on rise Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport posted a 2.1 percent bump in traffic in October compared with 2009, and year-to-date numbers are up 1.7 percent. View article…
Phoenix tumbles in Cybercities job report A new report from the TechAmerica Foundation finds that the Phoenix area shed 5,800 technology jobs – or 6 percent of its total from 2008 to 2009. View article…
Scottsdale tax collections fall 3 percent in October Scottsdale’s October sales tax collections of $9.6 million were down 3 percent from the previous year, according to the city’s monthly report. View article…
Alcoholic beverage sales to rise in 2011 Restaurant and bar owners will see a modest boost in alcoholic beverage sales in 2011, according to new research from consulting firm Technomic Inc. View article…
Office Sales Gain Traction Office sales are expected to gain momentum in the coming year as investors move further afield to acquire quality properties in an increasingly competitive arena. Investors made one point crystal clear in 2010. They have a voracious appetite for low-risk office properties in top markets, and they’re willing to pay a premium to get them. “I think we have all been surprised at how strong the demand has been for fully leased buildings,” says Charles Baughn, an executive vice president at Houston-based Hines. View article…
National Home Prices Down 5.8%, Major Metros See Double Dip: Report The November home market report from Clear Capital shows that prices nationally fell another 5.8 percent over the previous three months. The company says although the pace of decline has slowed, home prices show no signs of bottoming out yet. View article…
U.S. Homes to Lose $1.7 Trillion in Value This Year: Report According to analysis released Thursday by the research firm Zillow, U.S. homes are expected to lose more than $1.7 trillion in value this year. Since the market peaked in June 2006, the company says homeowners have been stripped of $9 trillion in equity. View article…
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