Sunday 04/09/06 IN THE NEWS!

$900M CityScape development proposal files with city, from the Phoenix Business Journal, reports that RED Development LLC and Barron Collier Co. filed its development plan with the city of Phoenix for the massive CityScape project in downtown Phoenix at Central Ave., between Washington and Jefferson streets. The project is planned for four buildings nearly 40 stories high with 800,000 square feet of office space, 1,200 residential units, 170,000 square feet of retail, and 150 hotel rooms. The project would take five years to complete. The goal of the project is "to create a new, cohesive urban core for the city that provides day and night activities and uses for residents, tourists and conventioneers," said RED Development Principal Michael Ebert. The first phase of the CityScape project could begin later this year.

$900M CityScape development proposal files with city
http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2006/04/03/daily62.html?t=printable



When Phoenix, Tucson merge, from the Arizona Republic, reports that Arizona's two largest metro areas are on course to meet and merge within a decade, engulfing several small towns along the way. While Phoenix and Tucson are separated by 120 miles, their suburbs reach much farther up and down Interstate 10. Planned developments stretch 60 miles south of Phoenix, deep into Pinal County. In Tucson, new projects are heading 40 miles north into Pinal County. Urban researchers are calling the corridor a megapolitan, or "super-sized" metropolitan area. "Megapolitans are the future of the country's growth," said Marshall Vest, an economist and director with the Economic and Business Research Center at the University of Arizona. "Phoenix and Tucson are already merging into one," he added. The notion of Phoenix and Tucson merging isn't new, but it is happening faster than most expected due to both cities rapid growth. Arizona is the smallest megapolitan and has the greatest potential for growth," said ASU Professor John Long. The Phoenix-Tucson megapolitan is one of several in the country, including the Los Angeles to San Diego area and the Portland-Seattle area. As a result of this "megapolitan", land is being bought in Pinal County and other fringe areas at a record pace. More than 600 land deals worth at least $1 billion closed on the fringes of metro Phoenix and Pinal County last year, according to local housing analyst RL Brown. Brown says 40 percent of all new Valley homes could be in Pinal County in the near future!

When Phoenix, Tucson merge
http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clicktrack/print.php?referer=http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0409merge0409.html



The boom in Metro Tucson, from the Arizona Republic, reports that since 2000, new home permits have jumped nearly 65 percent in Tucson, with 11,762 new home permits issued in 2005. The growth is reflected in the number of new home builders who have flocked to the area, including Toll Bros., Beazer and K. Hovnanian, to name a few. Growth in Tucson is moving north into Marana, where more than 14,000 residential lots are being reviewed by the town's planners. Dove Mountain and Gladden Farms are two master-planned communities that are being developed in Marana. Land prices have shot up in Pima County, causing developers to look to the fringe areas of Tucson for less expensive land. The number of active master-planned communities could triple in the next few years, said Will White, head of the Tucson office for Arizona Land Advisors, a land brokerage firm.

The boom in Metro Tucson
http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clicktrack/print.php?referer=http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/0410biz-tucsonhomes0410.html