Games of Riddles | Rose Law Group Reporter

The Dealmaker is a daily note of the day's top real estate stories served just in time for lunch. Bon Appetit!

Is Amazon the secret backer of a proposed Valley ‘hazmat’ distribution center? 

 

 

Quick answer: Quite likely. ”While Amazon’s name is not included on any of the documents submitted to Mesa, several clues suggest the distribution center is being built.” 

Codenamed ‘Project Thunderbird,’ “early plans call for a 40,903-square-foot office connected to a 727,433-square-foot industrial warehouse that is located on a 68.38-acre site on the north side of Pecos Road between Sossaman and Ellsworth.” 

Strong hints include: • “Project Thunderbird was submitted by Ford & Associates Architects,” a designer of “several Amazon buildings” 

• The property owner is “Seefried Industrial Properties,” a “development partner with Amazon” 

• “The drawings of the proposed building happen to have a blue strip running around the top third of the structure, similar to ones found on other Amazon distribution centers.” 

As for ‘hazardous materials’… “With Amazon, Seefried and the city of Mesa declining to comment on the proposed project, it is unclear whether Amazon would be storing and distributing hazardous materials at the site, or what kind it could be storing.” 

But: A 2019 report on such Amazon warehouses said “products that fell under the ‘hazardous" disclaimer include everything from glitter hair spray and nail polish to household cleaners.” 

Status: “Project Thunderbird is still in its early phases and no public meetings related to the site have been scheduled.” PBJ https://bit.ly/3rvVIGX

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Nikola sells Coolidge site to investor. 

Here’s the deal: An “entity tied to STORE Capital Corp… purchased 394 acres” from Nikola Corp. “for $50.4 million, or about $127,708 an acre…. Nikola previously acquired the site for its factory in 2019 for $23 million, or about $59,346 an acre.” 

Plant not included: Nikola did not sell” its electric vehicle and hydrogen-fuel truck “manufacturing plant to the investor but signed a ground-lease agreement that's set to expire in 99 years.” 

 

Driving the deal: PBJ reports that “Nikola was planning to spend less money in 2023 and was reportedly selling its Coolidge facility to raise money” while “working to protect its ongoing operations and decrease its cash outlay below $400 million by 2024.”  https://bit.ly/3O9DwLh

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Arizona to award new sports betting licenses. 

One team is 'absolutely' applying. 

 

(Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents Phoenix Rising Football Club.)

Who’s in? In the disclosure, we let the cat out of the bag — “Phoenix Rising FC will ‘absolutely’ apply for an event wagering license, after it was denied one when the licenses were first available in 2021.”

 First shot falls short: Phoenix Rising Governor Bill Kraus “said there was some discussion at the time whether the team qualified as playing ‘at the highest level’ of the sport, which is a requirement in the law to get an event wagering license.” 

 Another possible factor: “Phoenix Rising had also played at a stadium on the Gila River Indian Community, which also could have affected the team’s application for a license, Kraus said. Now, the team plays in central Phoenix.” 

 Bottom line: “We have solved or corrected a few of the issues that we had with our first application,” says Kraus. 

 Widening out: “The Arizona Department of Gaming announced it will award three new event wagering licenses, two for Arizona sports franchises and one for an Arizona tribe. The state has 20 total licenses, 10 for sports teams and 10 for tribes, and has awarded eight to teams.” AZCentral https://bit.ly/3JRDBBK

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More than beer sampling?

Brewed with pure AZ wastewater: “The Arizona Department of  Environmental Quality is undergoing a rulemaking process that will… guide providers through the process of purifying wastewater for drinking.” 

DPR, or “direct potable reuse water,” is “a multi-step treatment process that… removes impurities and contaminants such as bacteria, viruses, organic compounds, and pharmaceuticals.” 

 

How’s it taste? “DPR has been found to be safe and effective in providing high-quality drinking water. Studies have shown that the treated water is of comparable or better quality than conventional drinking water sources.”

Who’s doing it? “So far, the city of Scottsdale has been the only water provider to apply for a permit. However, that permit, granted in 2019, does not include detailed provisions for large-scale purification of wastewater.” 

“‘It’s a demonstration permit,’ says ADEQ Water Quality Division deputy director Randy Matas. “It allows them to create beverages, such as bottled water and beer, as a way to get purification out into the public as a concept, get it socialized, get used to the idea of purification.” 

Timeline: “Rules likely will be drafted this summer and a public comment period to run from August to October, Matas said.” The goal is to have “rules in place by June 30 of next year.” Scottsdale Independent  

Dealmaker suggestion: Turning wastewater into drinking water via DPR treatment is awesome! But maybe they can come up with a better name for it other than DPR — you know, a name whose acronym doesn’t sound so much like the word “diaper”? https://bit.ly/3JW42pR

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A group wants to incorporate San Tan Valley. Residents say they're on the fence. 

Why make it a city? San Tan Valley “has boomed as housing prices have soared in metro Phoenix, and residents and [Pinal County] officials have long expressed concerns that it's outgrown its roads, services and unincorporated status.” 

 Leading the effort: STV Inc. 2024. Chaired by Chair Tyler Hudgins, the committee is hoping to bring the matter to voters. “Ultimately, if this goes to the ballot, we can see if this is really what the community wants,” said Hudgins. 

 

 

 Reason for hope: While “previous incorporation efforts have failed before even making it onto voters' ballots,” this time around “some of the provisions in state law that served as barriers to incorporation have been revised or removed.”

 But: During the committee’s “first pitch at a community meeting Tuesday,” several attendees “told The Arizona Republic that they left the gathering the same way as they came in — on the fence.” 

 Their worries: While “none said they were wholly opposed to incorporation… many had questions and concerns about the potential boundaries of the proposed city, how it might improve services in the area and its tax base and economic projections.” https://bit.ly/3PTSlUK