This article about the Stockton Arena is from yesterday’s AZ Daily Star. I have been thinking about it since then and hadn’t posted because I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.  Tucson has been through this downtown arena talk twice before already and it’s become a running joke among Tucsonans, along with Rio Nuevo. Check out the following timeline:

DOWNTOWN ARENA TIMELINE

• OCTOBER 2003: Although not part of the Rio Nuevo ballot measure approved by voters, talk begins about building a new arena Downtown.
• JANUARY 2004: The City Council votes 4-3 to solicit proposals from developers for a new arena.
• AUGUST 2004: The city selects an arena development team led by Texas-based Garfield Traub.
• MARCH 2007: Downtown landowner Allan Norville unveils plans to build a Downtown arena and gem-show exhibit hall. Two days later, the city releases plans for a new arena shaped like a desert tortoise shell.
• APRIL 2007: The City Council unexpectedly approves the $130 million tortoise-shell arena with no public notice or input.
• APRIL 2008: A public-records request by the Arizona Daily Star showed costs for the tortoise arena had ballooned to $196 million.
• MAY 2008: The City Council kills the tortoise-shell arena because of the cost. It voted to negotiate with Norville to build a smaller arena on his land, but the deal is never finalized.
• FEBRUARY 2009: With no money to buy Norville’s land, the city moves the arena to a third site and is set to choose the arena’s architect and operator.

Here are the latest glamour shots courtesy of the Daily Star:

So while I love the pictures, I’ll hold my sincere excitement until we see a little more progress (actually breaking ground would satisfy me).

Here are your stats for today:

New Listings	134
Back on Market	18
Price Increases	10
Price Reductions	147
Contingents	52
Pendings	25
Solds	48
Expireds	24
Inactives	40

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Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain

The PGA’s Accenture Match Play Championship is right around the corner and will be held at the brand new Ritz-Carlton Golf Club located within the master-planned Dove Mountain community. For those of you who haven’t stopped by yet I recommend that you take a few hours and make a field trip, it truly is a spectacular course/resort (what you would expect from a Jack Nicklaus designed course).

The Accenture Match Play Championship, which brings together the world’s top 64 golfers in a unique head-to-head match-play competition, was founded in 1999 and was held in Arizona for the first time in February 2007 at The Gallery Golf Club in Dove Mountain.  It was announced during that after another year at The Gallery the tournament would move to The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain for the February 2009 tournament.

The practice rounds being Monday, February 23rd, and the actual tournament begins on Wednesday the 25th, continuing through Sunday the 1st of March. At the end of this post is a more detailed schedule of play.

The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain also features a 50,000-square-foot Clubhouse complex, complete with all of the services one would expect from a top-level private club, including a pool, tennis center, supervised Ritz Kids program, state-of-the-art fitness center, steward-serviced private locker rooms, a double-ended practice facility, and several dining venues with spectacular views.

The resort includes the  just opened 250-room Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain resort hotel and spa, and the first phase of The Residences, a 300-home residential community which is currently open in Phase I.  If you would like pricing/floorplan contact me and I’ll pass that right along.

For those of you who missed out on last year’s victory by Tiger Woods here is a brief recap (1:51 long)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8AfrrPrxDI

I’m hoping Tiger can make it out for this tournament after having season-ending surgery on his knee late last summer. The Tucson community can definitely use his presence to bolster the estimated $100 million+ economy boost the tournament brings to town. And that $100 million estimate was from 2007! I’m also looking forward to see how the new Nicklaus course treats the pros versus The Gallery course where the tournament was played last year.

Twenty seven holes are currently completed with nine more holes slated for completion in 2010. The first 18 holes, comprising the two tournament nines, are par 72 measuring 7,833 yards, while the third nine measures 3,974 yards at par 36. The routing of the final nine holes is complete but exact yardage has yet to be finalized.

The Arizona Daily Star has published an interactive course map that is pretty neat, check it out here.

Nicklaus designed course at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain in Marana, AZ

If you do end up stopping by here are some helpful area links:

Shopping

Tucson Shopping Malls

Oro Valley MarketPlace

Dining

Dining in/around Dove Mountain (Not a whole lot, but there are a few places to eat in the Fry’s Shopping Center)

Other area restaurants and dining options

Hotels

Nearby hotel options

For those of you driving/flying in from out of town be aware of the ongoing I-10 construction.

Parking will also be another obstacle to overcome. There is a huge designated parking lot (I say designated because it’s just dirt) on the southside of Tangerine Road a mile or two east of I-10. Shuttles will be provided from there to the course and back free of charge, and the parking lot will be monitored by TPD.

If anyone has spare tickets let me know!

2009 Accenture Match Play Schedule of Events

Saturday, February 21

Volunteer Appreciation Party
(by invitation only)
Walter Hagen Club
3-5 p.m. MT

Sunday, February 22

Bracket Announcement
5 p.m. MT

U of A/ASU AM-AM
Presented by the Tucson Conquistadores
Location and Time TBD

Monday, February 23

Practice Round for Professionals
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain

Gates Open
7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. MT

Pro-AM
Presented by the Tucson Conquistadores
Location and Time TBD

Tuesday, February 24

2009 Practice Round for Professionals
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain

Gates Open
7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. MT

Accenture Match Play Championship Sponsor Appreciation Party
(by Invitation Only)
Westin La Paloma Ballroom
6:30 p.m.-10 p.m. MT

Wednesday, February 25

Play begins: 32 Matches
(approximate match times: 7:40 a.m.-12:34 p.m. MT)
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain

Gates Open
6:30 a.m.-6 p.m. MT

Television Times
GOLF CHANNEL: 2 -6 p.m. EST

Thursday, February 26

Sixteen Matches
(approximate match times: 9:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. MT)
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain

Gates Open
8 a.m.-6 p.m. MT

Television Times
GOLF CHANNEL: 2 -6 p.m. EST

Friday, February 27

Eight Matches
(approximate match times: 10:50 a.m.-12:14 p.m. MT)
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain

Gates Open
9 a.m.-6 p.m. MT

Television Times
GOLF CHANNEL: 2 -6 p.m. EST

Saturday, February 28

Four Quarterfinal Matches
(approximate match times: 7:38-8:14 a.m. MT)
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain

Gates Open
6:30 a.m.-6 p.m. MT

Two Semifinal Matches
(approximate match times: 12:05-12:20 p.m. MT)
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain

Television Times
GOLF CHANNEL: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. EST
NBC: 2-6 p.m. EST

Sunday, March 1

36-Hole Championship Match
(First eighteen holes -- Approximate match time: 7:40 a.m. MT)
(Resuming match -- Approximate match time: 12:20 p.m. MT)
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain

Gates Open
6:30 a.m.-6 p.m. MT

18-Hole Consolation Match
(Approximate match time: 12:05 p.m. MT)
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain

Television Times
GOLF CHANNEL: 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. EST
NBC: 2-6 p.m. EST

Monday, March 2

First Flight: Accenture All-Amateur Team Championship
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain
6:30 a.m. MT -- Registration & Breakfast
Location: Clubhouse
8:00 a.m. MT -- Shotgun Start
Location: Clubhouse
Immediately Following Play -- Lunch & Awards
Location: Clubhouse

Second Flight: Accenture All-Amateur Team Championship
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain
11:30 a.m. MT -- Registration & Lunch
Location: Clubhouse
1 p.m. MT -- Shotgun Start
Location: Clubhouse
Immediately Following Play -- Reception & Awards Location: Clubhouse

Please contact the Accenture Match Play Championship office for further details at: (520) 207-0595

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Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain

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Well the Old Pueblo had a winter front come through town last night and it left us with a nice blanket of snow on the mountains around town. Below is a picture from the University of Arizona webcam located in the Gould-Simpson building. The Santa Catalina Mountains look beautiful capped with that snow!

Snow-Capped Santa Catalina Mountains on 2/10/09

Crazy weather especially considering we were in the 80′s just last week! Looking at the projected forecast I don’t think we’ll be returning to the warm weather anytime soon so it’s time to break out the jackets and sweaters again!

Here are the 24-Hour Tucson MLS Change Statistics:

New Listings	154
Back on Market	20
Price Increases	6
Price Reductions	159
Contingents	53
Pendings	36
Solds	40
Expireds	18
Inactives	45

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Just received an email from a co-worker regarding ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition show. They are visiting the Old Pueblo for a second time starting January 29th and finishup up on February 3rd. The lucky homeowners-to-be have no idea they will be selected yet but I’m sure they will be deserving of the home, which will be built by Tucson’s John Wesley Miller Company.

ABC is currently looking for volunteers at the Extreme Makeover Tucson website, and you are able to volunteer four-hour blocks of your time round-the-clock during the build process. Naturally the first few days and the last day of the taping are already booked up solid (everyone wants a little TV time!) and I’ve volunteered eight hours on Friday. It’s always nice to help out someone else in need and with an estimated 500 workers working around the clock there should be a ton of energy there.

If you don’t have any plans yet get out there and volunteer! If you see me feel free to say hello!

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A few weeks ago a writer/reporter contacted me with some questions regarding the Tucson real estate market and I had no problem shooting back a lengthy email describing what I currently see happening. I like discussing the trends and developments I see in real estate as it forces me to keep abreast of market conditions and makes me that much more informed for my clients.

The article was just published yesterday by NuWire Investor, an investment website that has a plethora of articles and resources for investing opportunities. Note: I was not reimbursed in any way for my contribution.

Here is the article: Speculators Scatter, but Investors Welcome in Optimistic Tucson

I’m cited along with Dave Smith, another local Realtor who also runs an excellent Tucson real estate blog. Check out his site here.

In my opinion the re-emergence of investors in the Tucson market is a sign that Tucson market has either bottomed out or is close to it. With lending guidelines as tight as they are now and interest rates not ridiculously attractive (although in the past few weeks they have dropped significantly) an investor must have good reason to pounce on property, usually dictated by price. Let’s hope this trend continues and Tucson can bust out of the recent real estate funk we’ve been experiencing.

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Good Morning everyone, the Tucson Association of Realtors, (TAR), has released the Tucson Housing Market sales statistics for May 2008. Here is a summary of the important points:

Sales Analysis

Average and Median Sales Price Decreases
Average and median sales price both decreased in May 2008. Average sales price declined to $250,803- down 9.98% from May 2007 and down nearly $6,000 from last month! Median sales price also declined nearly 10% from May 2007, ending up at $201,000.

Active Listings Decline
Active listings were at 8,527 units in May, a decrease of over one thousand active listings from May 2007. With summer season in swing this decline is perfectly normal.

Days on Market Rises Again
Average time on market continues to float near our highest level in several years with 77 days the average DOM for May 2008. By comparison, the DOM in May of 2005 was only 29 days!

Home Sales Snapshot
Home Sales Volume Decreased 34.93% from $395,081,716 in May 2007 to $257,072,764in May 2008. Graph on page 5.	Average Days on Market Increased 24.3% from 62 days in May 2007 to 77 days in May 2008. Graph on page 10.
Home Sales Units Decreased 27.71% from 1,418 in May 2007 to 1,025 in May 2008. Graph on page 4.	Pending Contracts (not yet closed in escrow) Increased 24.68% from 1,191 in May 2007 to 1,485 in May 2008. Graph on page 7.
Average Sales Price (all residential types) Decreased 9.98% from $278,619 in May 2007 to $250,803 in May 2008. Graph on page 6.	Active Listings Decreased 3.19% from 8,808 in April 2008 to 8,527 in May 2008. Graph on page 9.
Median Sales Price Decreased 9.86% from $223,000 in May 2007 to $201,000 in May 2008. Graph on page 7.	New Listings Decreased 6.51% from 2,441 in April 2008 to 2,282 in May 2008. Graph on page 11.

It appears that Tucson is over the worst of the housing slump for now, with active listings down from their high of over 10k in March/April of 2007. Pending contracts are up to their highest level since June of 2006 which indicates a rise in market activity. From what I’ve seen on the MLS the past few months, there aren’t nearly the same amount of foreclosures or bank-owned homes in Tucson as there were several months ago. I have no doubt short sales and foreclosures will be around for quite some time but it does not appear to be as prevalent as it was before.

So there you have it, Tucson real estate news for May 2008. If you have any questions or are in the market for a home in Tucson please feel free to contact me on my Tucson Real Estate website!

To view the past market statistics report visit my Tucson Real Estate Statistics Page.

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In today’s Arizona Daily Star, there is an article about the final gasp of the De Anza Drive-In to make way for another big-box “Power Center”. A short excerpt:

A developer is finalizing a deal to buy the De Anza Drive-In, at 1401 S. Alvernon Way, and has already started marketing it as a retail complex.

Evergreen Development Co. is calling the project De Anza Crossings, a 20-acre retail “power center,” in marketing materials distributed by Picor Commercial Real Estate Services.

Gregg Alpert, Evergreen managing principal, declined to say when he expects the sale to be final, saying only that it would be “later this year.” As far as Alpert knows, De Anza Land and Leisure doesn’t have plans to keep running the theater after the sale, but “we would be open to it,” he said.

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The Arizona Daily Star published an article today detailing an effort started in 2005 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that is just now coming to fruition. The bottom line is that many areas in the Southwest US (including Pima County) that are currently designated as “safe” in terms of flood protection may be re-designated as flood plains.

How are they deciding what is a flood plain?

“Marana Mayor Ed Honea received a letter July 20 from FEMA stating that the agency had done an overview of the area and determined that various structures within the town’s limits fall under the definition of a levee.

Brann said FEMA issued similar letters to all parts of the Southwest U.S. around the same time, starting a 90-day clock, by thee end of which each jurisdiction must supply FEMA with proof of which levees have provisionally accredited levee agreements.”

I’m curious to see just what a “provisionally accredited levee agreement” means but I assume that levees have to be periodically re-certified in terms of reliability and have some sort of federal stamp of approval. Here is a link to the FEMA page of the document in question.

Will it affect me?

The article states that homeowner’s who currently have home insurance in a low risk zone (Zone X) will be grandfathered in with their current rates once (and if) their home is re-designated to be in a flood plain when the new maps come out on September 20th. The people who will feel the crunch are the new homebuyer’s to the area with a federally backed mortgage; flood-insurance is required for all federally backed mortgages in a [tag]Zone A flood plain[/tag]. (Learn about different flood plain designations)

For anyone who is in the San Lucas subdivision I would suggest checking into a Zone X policy; be aware that the premium will have to be paid up front for the entire year. I called up my insurance representative and he said that if homeowners haven’t purchased flood insurance and their home is then re-designated to be in flood-plain, not only will they have to purchase a Zone A flood insurance policy but their lender will also probably require them to pay for a surveyor out of pocket to come out to their property and draw up a survey map (could cost $500-$600). Check with your lender/insurance company to be sure.

(Am I in a flood zone? <- Click here to find out!)

EDIT: 5/14/2008

Since I’ve written this post there have been a few notable developments, namely the issuing of a stay order by FEMA until October 2008 to allow the Town of Marana time to conduct it’s own floodplain study to present to FEMA officials.

Here is a short excerpt from a the Town of Marana’s website:

The Town of Marana has selected a drainage consultant to perform this large scale drainage study to show the actual floodplain hazards in these areas. FEMA has given the Town until October 2008 to submit the study information to affect the final maps. The Town and its consultant are on schedule to make this submittal in late May or early June 2008. It is expected that much but not all of the areas will be shown to not be classified as a FEMA special flood hazard area (SFHA), which is an area that requires the purchase of flood insurance.

Until we hear about this issue a lot of Marana residents (including me for the time being) are feeling antsy. Having to pay flood insurance would certainly slow down the incredible expansion towards the NW side of town until that issue is resolve; I have no doubt the pending Fry’s at Tangerine/Lon Adams would be postponed (again) and the super complex being planned at I-10/Tangerine may be put in jeopardy too. Will keep you posted!

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I’ve already written an entry about the I-10 construction that is just now gaining momentum here in town and here is why I’m writing about it again: After speaking with several prospects/clients/friends I’ve come to the conclusion that most people either didn’t know about the construction, didn’t know the full extent of the expansion, or were misinformed about critical details. And because I think this construction will impact most Tucsonans, I’m going to explain the What, When, Where, and Why… and I suppose the How, just to round it out.

What Construction?

A 2 1/2-year project that will expand I-10 from the current three lane to four lanes in each direction between the 29th Street and Prince Road exits. There will also be extra lanes for on/off ramps. Seven new bridges and underpasses will be constructed at the following streets: Grant Road, Speedway Boulevard, St. Mary’s Road, Congress Street, Granada Avenue/Clark Street, 18th Street and 22nd Street.

When
UPDATED 6/22/2007: The closure schedule has been updated by one week. Eastbound I-10 will close from Friday, June 22, 2007, at 10 p.m. to Sunday, June 24, 2007, at noon. Eastbound I-10 traffic will be routed onto the eastbound I-10 frontage road at Prince Road. All eastbound ramps between Prince Road and 29th Street will be closed for the duration of the project.

Westbound I-10 from Prince Road to 29th will close from Saturday, June 23, 2007, at 10 p.m. to Sunday, June 24, 2007, at noon. Westbound I-10 traffic will be routed onto the westbound I-10 frontage road at 29th Street. All westbound I-10 ramps between Prince Road and 29th Street remain closed for the duration of the project.
For the next three weeks there will be several alternating closures of eastbound/westbound I-10 with the frontage roads (outlined in graphic below). After July 1, 2007, I-10 will be closed down to 2 lanes eastbound/westbound from Prince Road to 29th Street for the next 3 years. Frontage roads in both directions are being expanded to 3 lanes to accommodate the increased traffic.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Where is the Construction?

From Prince Road on the north side to 29th Street on the south side. All entrance/exit ramps between these two streets will be closed until the completion of the project.

Why is there Construction?

Because Tucson and the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) are once again reacting to a problem instead of anticipating one. What’s worse is that they “can’t” add another lane in each direction to make a 10-lane freeway (which will inevitably be needed), according to a recent Q&A article from the Arizona Daily Star: “This section of I-10 cannot be widened again after this project because there will be no more right-of-way space between the interstate and the frontage road.”

How is the Construction Being Done?

Not the most critical section but some people may be interested; The project was awarded as a joint venture to Kiewit Western Company and Sundt Construction, Inc. and was budgeted at $200 million.

Conclusion: Everyone will be impacted by the Tucson I-10 construction project at some point in the next 3 years and it will definitely be a big factor in the Tucson real estate market. Someone who works at IBM (on the southeast side of town) will probably think twice about moving to Continental Ranch or Gladden Farms (northwest side of town). The biggest gripe I have with this project is that the speed limit for the frontage roads and the two lanes open in each direction on I-10 will only be 45MPH. Sure to be a headache for those of you who are already in a situation like above.

Hope this information was helpful, for more detailed info and weekly traffic alerts visit ADOT’s I-10 District page.

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