Hold on! Not so fast there .... if the Mesa City Council truly believes that a government cannot be effective without the active engagement and participation in our elected government by the citizens who live here, you can easily see for once again the results. Note the scheduling of probably the most important item on the schedule for yesterday's three public meetings - the PUBLIC HEARING is the last to be heard. Only one person speaks up: Verl Farnsworth.
The City Administration can fool most of the people all of the time - except in 2016 when taxpayers overwhelmingly REJECTED a $200-Million Proposition in the General Election. Last year 'the sales pitch" to transform Downtown Mesa into a satellite campus for ASU worked, although 84,000 people voted against the Shake-Down to go into more debt service obligations. ASU could have financed it with more than a $1.3B treasury. Rampant real estate speculation and private wealth-creation for a "the Chosen Few" who just happen to be closely-connected cohorts of the mayor, some who are hired high-paid lobbyists for ASU [including a revolving-door former U.S. Congressman] and a former Arizona State Senator who gambled on high returns for himself at the same time he held public office. __________________________________________________________________________ But never mind all that - the public show must go on . . . and on-and-on until someone or something dips deeper into the pervasive corruption of a group of "friends-and-family"
Really nice to see one more new business opening the door and turning-on-the-taps-here in Downtown Mesa. The opening image captures the outside of the 'resurrected' place at 14 N Robson just above Main Street. That's a nice addition to the sidewalkscape: an outdoor patio. Your MesaZona blogger got a quick walk-through by one of the owners. It's a work-in-progress. A 'soft-opening' is planned very soon - maybe tonight! Then there's always First Fridays + Motorcycles on Main on June 7th. . . with a "Grand Opening" to follow June 14 and/or June 15. The new place aspires to be a neighborhood hang-out where you can enjoy yourself in a laid-back- atmosphere. It may be a little later than anticipated earlier, but after getting approval for a liquor on October 15, 2018, it took only about six months for Thirsty LLC to open the doors - that includes extensive interior renovations and removing some old paint to expose the original brick walls. (See the link to In-Stalk. com for more details)
"Scheduled to open in April of 2019, Chupacabra Taproom will be serving downtown Mesa the finest selection of craft beer and wine from all over the world. In addition to our selection of beer and wine, we also aspire to be a neighborhood hangout where you can relax and enjoy yourself in a laid-back atmosphere. Whether you are a seasoned pro, or someone new to the craft beer world, we look forward to making your acquaintance. If you are looking for insight, our knowledgeable staff would be happy to make recommendations to match your palette and personal taste."
Looks like there's gonna be more than 15 beers and brews on-tap. According to information from one of the owners, food will be provided by food trucks parked in the alley. A note about the Chupacabra Branding and Logo: CHUPACABRA TAPROOM BRANDING What is a Chupacabra? ....a mythical creature with the literal translation: A Goat-Sucker READ MORE https://alexbogh.myportfolio.com/chupacabra-taproom-branding _________________________________________________________________________
A company called Smart Asset has assembled a list of the best places in America for those who want to live outside the city proper and commute in for work. To find the best places in America where it pays off to commute, they compared metro areas to their main cities across five different factors: differences in housing costs commute times property taxes home value change the odds of a long commute. Reference: https://finance.yahoo.com/news Here's how Metro Phoenix MSA ranked
7. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ (tie)
Median Housing Cost
Home Value Change
Average Commute Time (minutes)
Percentage With a Severe Commute
Effective Property Tax Rate
Phoenix $1,060 8.30% 26.3 6.20% 0.60%
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ $1,110 6.88% 26.8 7.30% 0.60%
The Data and Methodology section shows how Smart Asset gathered data and analyzed it.
To find the most affordable metro areas for commuters, we compared data for 50 of the largest metro areas and their principal cities across the following five metrics:
Housing cost. This shows the difference in median housing cost for residents living in the metro area compared to those living in the principal city of the metro area.
Average commute times. This metric shows the difference in the time it takes to travel to work, on average, for residents living in the metro area compared to those living in the principal city.
Property tax rate. The difference between the average effective property tax rates for the metro area compared to the principal city.
Home value change. This metric shows the difference between the percentage change in home values from 2016 to 2017 in the metro area compared to the principal city.
Severe commute times.This shows the difference between the percentage of residents living in the metro area who spend more than 60 minutes travelling to work compared to residents living in the principal city.
All the metro areas were ranked in each metric.
Next, they found the average ranking for each metro area, weighting all metrics equally. Using this average, we created the final rankings. The metro area with the best average ranking got an index score of 100, while the metro area with the worst average ranking received a 0.
(All data comes from the Census Bureau’s 2017 1-year American Community Survey)
Places Where It Pays Off to Commute in 2019 SmartAsset
Hizzoner the mayor opens the study session immediately giving attention and the floor to Item 5-l. That's while other City Couincilmembers take the time to think about if they have more questions or would like presentations on anything else on the agenda for the Monday June 3, 2019 regular meeting . . . all the information was at-your-fingertips in earlier posts on this blog. _________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: SO FEW PEOPLE IN A CITY OF OVER 475,000 TAKE THE TIME TO WATCH _________________________________________________________________________
Big focus on Improvements along Mesa Drive - just a coincidence that City Manager Chris Brady gets a chance to team up with the City Engineer Beth Hunig to say there may be some surprises .... Readers of this blog might keep in mind that there's a Massive Mormon Temple Make-Over at the intersection of Mesa Drive & Main Street that might help to explain all the "improvements" along the way that have been delayed or side-lined for years.
Contracts have not been signed, but construction is expected to begin In July and last for approximately 18 months.
Blackstone to Buy U.S. Logistics Assets from GLP for $18.7 Billion
Deal will be the largest-ever private real estate transaction globally
Singapore and New York – GLP and Blackstone today announced that they have entered into an agreement for Blackstone to acquire assets from three of GLP’s U.S. funds for a purchase price of $18.7 billion.
Blackstone Group LP is doubling down on the future of online shopping, agreeing to buy $18.7 billion of U.S. logistics assets from Singapore’s GLP Pte in what it says is the world’s biggest private-equity real estate deal.Blackstone will gain 179 million square feet of warehouse assets, greatly expanding the size of its U.S. industrial footprint, the New York-based company said in a statement late Sunday.
As online shopping grows in popularity, the need for warehouse space by retailers seeking to expand their digital operations and cut delivery times has ballooned. That’s lured investors into logistics real estate at a time when other types of commercial-property transactions have slowed amid concern over rising interest rates and a pullback by foreign investors.
The sale comes amid record fundraising for private-equity real estate funds and a flurry of warehouse deals.
Blackstone acquired Canyon Industrial Portfolio’s last-mile properties for $1.8 billion in March last year,
The world’s biggest alternative asset manager also agreed to purchase Canada’s Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust in a C$2.5 billion ($1.9 billion) deal in January last year,
Much of that portfolio is also made up of so-called last-mile warehouses, which have grown in value as e-commerce companies expand and seek faster deliveries.
This overall transaction totals 179 million square feet of urban, infill logistics assets, nearly doubling the size of Blackstone’s existing U.S. industrial footprint.
Blackstone Real Estate’s global opportunistic BREP strategy will acquire 115 million square feet for $13.4 billion and its income-oriented non-listed REIT, Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT), will acquire 64 million square feet for $5.3 billion.
Ken Caplan, Global Co-Head of Blackstone Real Estate, commented:“Logistics is our highest conviction global investment theme today, and we look forward to building on our existing portfolio to meet the growing e-commerce demand. Our global scale and ability to leverage differentiated investment strategies allowed us to provide a one-stop solution for GLP’s high quality portfolio.”
Alan Yang, Chief Investment Officer of GLP, said: “GLP was able to leverage our deep operating expertise and global insights in the logistics sector within four years to build and grow an exceptional portfolio. We are proud of the business our team built and are confident it will continue to flourish under Blackstone’s leadership. We are looking forward to expanding our footprint in the United States to continue to seize key opportunities in the U.S. market.”
Frank Cohen, Chairman and CEO of BREIT, said: “These properties are a complementary addition to our stabilized commercial real estate portfolio, which is oriented toward our highest conviction themes, such as logistics.”
Established in Singapore, GLP is a global investment manager with $64 billion assets under management in real estate and private equity funds. Its real estate fund platform is one of the largest in the world, spanning 785 million square feet.
GLP entered the U.S. real estate market in 2015 and through a series of major acquisitions became the second-largest owner of logistics real estate assets in the country by aggregating high-quality, modern logistics assets across 36 major markets.
GLP will remain invested in the U.S. across real estate, technology, and credit and is committed long-term to the U.S. market.
Blackstone’s real estate business has approximately $140 billion in investor capital under management. It operates around the globe with investments and people in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Blackstone is one of the leading owners of logistics properties today with assets in North America, Europe and Asia. In the U.S., Blackstone built and sold Indcor and successfully replicated this strategy with Logicor in Europe.
Inclusive of this transaction, Blackstone has acquired over 930 million square feet of logistics globally since 2010.
> Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel to GLP
> Eastdil Secured LLC, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as financial advisors to GLP.
> Financial advisors to Blackstone:
BofA Merrill Lynch,
Barclays
Deutsche Bank
J.P. Morgan
and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC
> Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Eastdil Secured LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as Blackstone’s financing advisor. > Simpson Thacher & Bartlett served as legal counsel to Blackstone.
About GLPGLP is a leading global investment manager specializing in logistics and related technology investments, with $64 billion of assets under management in real estate and private equity funds around the world. The Company’s real estate fund platform is one of the largest in the world, spanning 73 million square meters (785 million square feet). In 2019, GLP was recognized by Private Equity Real Estate (PERE) as Global Firm of the Year and Logistics Investor of the Year.
About Blackstone Real Estate Blackstone is a global leader in real estate investing. Blackstone’s real estate business was founded in 1991 and has approximately $140 billion in investor capital under management. Blackstone’s real estate portfolio includes hotel, office, retail, industrial and residential properties in the US, Europe, and Asia. Blackstone real estate also operates Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT), a leading perpetual-life, monthly NAV REIT that seeks to invest in stabilized, income-generating U.S. commercial real estate across the key property types, including multifamily, industrial, retail and hotel assets, and to a lesser extent in real estate-related securities.
There's a SPECIAL COUNCIL HEARING on top of the City Council Study Session and the Regular Meeting. The Special Meeting - last on the published agenda - is A PUBLIC HEARING on the proposedFiscal Year 2019-20 Budget and the proposedFiscal Year 2019-20 Secondary Property Tax Levy. (materials attached)
That is Item 1-a. Item 1-b requires a vote: A resolution approving the budget for the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2020. (5 votes required) MATERIALS ATTACHED [2]
Links to access, read and understand the agendas or get-in-touch with your touch with your Mesa City Council district representative:If you don't contact your Councilmember and discuss items or tell them how you feel, they will listen to someone else
SPECIAL COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING Upper Level @ 5:50 pm A public hearing on the proposed Fiscal Year 2019-20 Budget and the proposed Fiscal Year 2019-20 Secondary Property Tax Levy. (materials attached)
CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION 5:15 - 5:45 PM [Printed on 5/30/2019] > Roll Call (City Council members participate in person or by telephone conference call.) > 1 Review and discuss items on the agendas for the June 3, 2019 regular and Special Council meetings. > 2 Acknowledge receipt of minutes of various boards and committees. 19-0677 Library Advisory Board meeting held on March 19, 2019.2-a > 3 Hear reports on meetings and/or conferences attended. > 4 Scheduling of meetings and general information.
_________________________________________________________________________ FILL-IN THE BLANKS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> _________________________________________________________________________
60 satellites last week in one life-off by SpaceX. Here's some really good information and background provided by Scott Manley's YouTube Channel. NOTICE all the companies who are increasing satellite traffic by the thousands - there's a stunning image in the streaming video of the '60-satellite train'.
Published on May 27, 2019
Views: 228,941
There's a lot of concern right now about the future of Earth based astronomy with the prospect of thousands more satellites getting in the way of ground based telescopes. What's the balance between science & culture vs worldwide network accessiblility? Trevor Mahlman's Starlink videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaVCp... Here's Trevor's guide on how to find the Starlink train while it's still close together.https://www.tmahlmann.com/2019/05/how...
