Tempe Development Thread

[Don B.]

I'm not a fan of the Campus Edge Lofts design. They look like a blown up Motel 6 with more design elements added. Blech.

--don

[JAHOPL]

Global Hotel scales back Town Lake condo plan
Donna Hogan, EV Tribune, June 6

Le Meridien will have a lot fewer condos and a much-delayed opening date, but a Tempe debut is still in the works, a partner in the much-touted luxury hotel project said.

Adrian Glover, a partner in Sierra Hospitality, plans with development partner Valhalla Development Corp. to build the hotel at Hayden Ferry Lakeside, local developer SunCor's 17-acre, live-work-play project along the north side of Rio Salado Parkway between Mill Avenue and Rural Road.

The project will get in gear as soon as the construction market stabilizes and the hotel is redesigned with fewer condominiums, Glover said. He added that the 4.5-star hotel has never been off the books, even though the project, originally expected to be completed by the end of this year, has not yet broken ground.

The Tempe City Council was slated to discuss Le Meridien's status in a closed session Thursday evening, but city officials declined to discuss details. Valhalla representatives were not available for comment on the plans.

Hayden Ferry Lakeside master developer SunCor is still wondering when its centerpiece hotel will get built, said spokesman Bill Woodward.

The partners own the land, have kept up with all payments and have the financial backing to complete the development as long as they convert most or all of the originally planned 44 condos into hotel rooms, Glover said.

Condos, once requisite for new hotel projects, have fallen out of favor with investors because they are not selling, he said.

If Le Meridien's design do-over is completed and the construction market is stable enough to price the project - it originally had a $105 million tab - the hotel could break ground in early 2009 and be completed within two years.

[loftlovr]

A pretty comprehensive list for Tempe projects, dated and puffed albeit:

http://www.tempe.gov/business/development_report/pdf/project_report.doc

It is a doc file....

[gomoso22]

Originally Posted by loftlovr

A pretty comprehensive list for Tempe projects, dated and puffed albeit:

http://www.tempe.gov/business/development_report/pdf/project_report.doc

It is a doc file....

Wow so many projects for Tempe


for Centerpoint would be three-30 story towers and a 22 story.

[Azndragon837]

Tempedude...welcome to the forum! I have to ask: what Tiesto song is that in your video? I am a huge fan of him and his music, but I am drawing a blank on the song you picked. I was also at his concert on Monday...which was awesome! But nothing tops his concert with 15,000+ last August at the LA Sports Arena!

-Andrew

[tempedude]

Originally Posted by Azndragon837

Tempedude...welcome to the forum!

-Andrew

Gee thanks you are the first person to say that to me as long as I have been on here.

Andrew I think you ment to address and ask urevnet(Ryan) your question.

[gomoso22]

[HX_Guy]

Originally Posted by gomoso22

That's a really nice shot, the towers look great.

It's a bit odd seeing just two tall towers in downtown Tempe, doesn't really fit in, maybe if they were closer to the lake and blended in with the developments there. You have to start somewhere I guess though...there has to be that first that sort of breaks the ice.

[urevnet]

Originally Posted by Azndragon837

tempedude...welcome to the forum! I have to ask: what Tiesto song is that in your video? I am a huge fan of him and his music, but I am drawing a blank on the song you picked. I was also at his concert on Monday...which was awesome! But nothing tops his concert with 15,000+ last August at the LA Sports Arena!

-Andrew

Hey Azndragon837, that Tiesto song in my video is from disc 2 off the ISOS 6 (Ibiza) Album released last year. His show in LA with 15K sounds like it was amazing! I saw him spin in Vegas last year at Jet and there was probably 10,000 (all crammed shoulder-to-shoulder).

[urevnet]

As some of you might have seen last Monday, the CEO of Mortgages LTD died and although most will say suicide and the news will most likely report it as such, if you know the mess behind the scene and the ungodly amount money he lost his wealthy investors, it's obvious there were people out there that wanted his head! I say he was probably murdered and it was staged. Since I am involved with both commercial real estate and residential real estate on a deep level I here a lot about what's going on in the background and over the past week things have been very grim. All I can say is the general public has had no clue (initially) what a the domino effect would be of death of Scott Coles and how it would affect the real estate industry and specifically (to my interests) the major mixed-use urban projects under construction in or near Downtown Tempe and the rest of the valley! Folks, sorry to say, it's really bad, and it's going to get worse! There's no sugar coating it anymore. It's not all gloom and doom for some, since I suppose not matter what the situation there eventually going to be opportunity for someone, somewhere... hopefully it will be in the form of seeing much more affordable prices on a lot of these busted condo projects and the beginnings of a fresh new cycle.

Here's the latest article that just came out...

http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2008/06/10/20080610biz-mortgagesltd0610.html

[Don B.]

^ On a somewhat related note, I don't understand banks and mortgage lenders. They foreclose on a property because they won't respond to that seller's efforts to get them to reduce balances so that the property can sell, then they sit on the property.

The guy next door to us (who paid $1.16 million at the height of the boom in 2006) was foreclosed several weeks ago. He had reduced his price to $899k before the foreclosure, and his front yard was weedville. He had it up for sale nearly a year with no bites.

So the bank takes it back (First Magnus - which has been subsumed by another lender) and guess what? It's still up for sale at $899k. Do you think they could buy a clue? In fact, except for cleaning up the weeds (which may have been done by the HOA), nothing has changed.

These foreclosures are killing the market. I'm starting to think the government needs to freeze foreclosures while things sort out. Foreclosing isn't helping lenders any at all - it's hurting them, and it is counter-intuitive. Plus, it forces people out and properties become abandoned and neglected.

--don

[somethingfast]

Don,

It's not that simple. I am in the mortgage biz and I actually worked for First Magnus. First Magnus didn't foreclose on the property as FMFC never actually held any of the notes but always sold them in the secondary market within 30 days of close. It was likely Countrywide or similar that actively serviced the loan and foreclosed.

Things are going to get very interesting in the next 2-5 years in the mortgage biz and I believe regulation of some sort is coming and will be good for the industry. The industry was once a place where true professionals were the norm but became a friggin circus over the last 10 years. It will go back to being a noble profession, mark my words. I hated competing with deadbeat loan officers that lied, cheated and stealed to close a deal. they are scum of the earth...

[tempedude]

^Bingo.

[Don B.]

Originally Posted by somethingfast

Don,

It's not that simple. I am in the mortgage biz and I actually worked for First Magnus. First Magnus didn't foreclose on the property as FMFC never actually held any of the notes but always sold them in the secondary market within 30 days of close. It was likely Countrywide or similar that actively serviced the loan and foreclosed.

Things are going to get very interesting in the next 2-5 years in the mortgage biz and I believe regulation of some sort is coming and will be good for the industry. The industry was once a place where true professionals were the norm but became a friggin circus over the last 10 years. It will go back to being a noble profession, mark my words. I hated competing with deadbeat loan officers that lied, cheated and stealed to close a deal. they are scum of the earth...

According to my partner (who is a realtor), First Magnus was the scum of the mortgage lending biz...worse than most. This fool next to us should never have had the loan in the first place. He put nothing down and then hosed the neighborhood. I'm bitter because this guy ended up being the dead weight that dragged our subdivision over the proverbial cliff.

--don

[trigirdbers]

Yah, Mortgages LTD held the paper on Chateau if I recall. I know that they've had a hard time selling units and I can't imagine that this will make things any better.

[somethingfast]

Don,

To pain any single wholesale lender as worse than another is inaccurate. The only reason why FMFC gets a bad rap in AZ is because the went out of business overnight and left a lot of people high and dry. They were once the darling of Arizona lending (Charter Funding and Great Southwest were the retail brands in AZ) and could do no wrong. People only like winners. Not too many of those left in the biz. Believe me, big names are still going to go down. CWide basically is insolvent and if BoA had walked away, they would declare BK. This whole meltdown is going to level the playing field and no "name" will be any more valuable than any other. One of my company's selling points right now is that "we are still around" lol. The truth is, the Fed was way too loose with monetary policy from 2001-2004 and state regulations regarding lending practices were even worse. We're all paying for our own sense of greed coupled with poor government regulation.

[Sonoran_Dweller]

ASU plans big rooftop solar grid
Installation would be among largest of its type in nation

by Max Jarman - Jun. 10, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

More than 20 percent of the energy needs of Arizona State University's main campus eventually could be met by one of the largest rooftop solar-power plants in the United States.

ASU planned to announce an agreement today under which three companies will install, at their expense, solar electricity-generating equipment on up to 330,000 square feet of rooftop space at its main campus in Tempe.

Jonathan Fink, director of the Global Institute of Sustainability at ASU, said that the university will pay the companies a fixed rate that is slightly lower than what it is now paying for power from Arizona Public Service Co.

If APS raises its rates, the savings will become greater, Fink said.

Besides saving the university money, the solar-generating system will provide an important teaching and research tool, he said.

The project is part of the university's sustainability initiative, which includes education, business practices, research and facilities.

The plan calls for 2 megawatts of generating capacity installed on 135,000 square feet by the end of the year.

That's enough to run 4,600 computers and reduce carbon emissions by 2,825 tons per year, or the equivalent of taking 530 cars off the road for a year. Long-term plans call for up to 7 megawatts of solar-generating capacity to be built at ASU in Tempe, with additional solar installations at its campuses in downtown Phoenix and other locations.

"These large-scale solar installations demonstrate ASU's commitment to achieving carbon neutrality through on-site, renewable-energy generation," ASU President Michael Crow said.

Brad Collins is executive director of the American Solar Energy Society in Boulder, Colo., a non-profit group that promotes use of solar energy. He agreed that ASU is making "a very significant commitment" toward solar energy.

"The largest rooftop installations we've seen so far have been in the order of 1 to 2 megawatts," he said.

Google has a 1.6-megawatt facility on the roof of its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, and last month, drug maker Schering-Plough announced plans for a 1.7-megawatt rooftop system at its Summit, N.J., campus.

Those facilities, however, are dwarfed by proposed ground installations, such as the 280-megawatt solar plant planned by APS near Gila Bend.

Collins said that such large-scale installations are helping bring down the cost of generation of solar power by creating more production capacity for the equipment.

The industry also is benefiting from federal and state tax credits and incentive payments from utilities such as APS.

Honeywell Building Solutions, Independent Energy Group and SolEquity will build the systems.

They will recoup their investment, thought to be $30 million to $50 million, by selling the electricity back to ASU under a 15-year contract.

Honeywell Building Systems is a unit of technology and manufacturing company Honeywell International.

SolEquity is a new venture backed by Arizona Technology Enterprises, a subsidiary of the Arizona State University Foundation.

Its mission is to enable the widespread adoption of solar-energy technology by bringing together hosts for solar systems, investors and suppliers. Independent Energy Group is an investment group.

Aaron Parker, a spokesman for Honeywell Building Solutions, said such purchase-power agreements increasingly are being used to finance large solar projects.

The financing arrangements spare ASU and others the enormous up-front cost of installing the systems, allowing them lower energy costs while reducing carbon emissions.

APS is under a mandate from state utility regulators to generate 15 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2025 and is offering incentives to residents and business to install systems to generate renewable energy.

"It helps us meet the renewable mandate from the Arizona Corporation Commission and offsets the need for additional generation to meet future demand," said Barbara Lockwood, APS' manager for renewable energy.

She said a 2-megawatt system, such as the one planned at ASU, could qualify for up to $1 million a year in rebates from the utility.

Collins also noted the creativity and usefulness of the purchase-power agreement.

"We're starting to see a lot of innovative financing for solar installations," he said.

California's SolarCity, for example, is offering to install a 2.4-kilowatt residential system and lease it to the homeowner for as little as $70 a month.

http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2008/06/10/20080610biz-asusolar0610-CP.html

[andrewkfromaz]

I'm sorry, I don't think rooftop systems are the way to go, especially in the Valley. It just gets too dang hot here. Way more efficient to build a huge ground plant (such as the one mentioned in the article, natch) someplace slightly cooler where the panels can run more efficiently and last longer. I think rooftop plants are a novelty, and are going to remain so for the foreseeable future. Even semi-urban places with great, big, tracts of land (like the Google-plex) won't be able to match the efficiency of remote areas.

[SunDevil]

Originally Posted by andrewkfromaz

I'm sorry, I don't think rooftop systems are the way to go, especially in the Valley. It just gets too dang hot here. Way more efficient to build a huge ground plant (such as the one mentioned in the article, natch) someplace slightly cooler where the panels can run more efficiently and last longer. I think rooftop plants are a novelty, and are going to remain so for the foreseeable future. Even semi-urban places with great, big, tracts of land (like the Google-plex) won't be able to match the efficiency of remote areas.

I don't think the idea is to turn the univeristy into a power plant.

It's both a way for the school to save some money in the long term as well as a symbolic move to show that the univeristy is on board with the green movement.

[Don B.]

Why isn't a rooftop system the best way to go for solar? It's better having it on the ground in a rural area? I don't get it - both get the same amount of sun.

--don