COVID-19 News Round-up for September 22

Budget, Policy & Stimulus News  Will Latest Stimulus Proposal Stop Housing Crisis?  The $1.5B bipartisan stimulus proposal from the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus offers another round of $1,200 stimulus checks and other cash assistance for those in need as the COVID-19 recession wears on. But it’s unlikely the proposal would stop a potential wave of evictions and foreclosures next year if […]

Phoenix #2 in Data Center Growth

Source: JLL  COVID-19’s impact on public safety and stay-home orders drove significant demand for immediate digital connectivity around the world. JLL’s 2020 Mid-Year Data Center Outlook finds data centers’ resiliency and reliability established the sector as one of the few to perform strongly during the first half of the year.  According to the report, Phoenix ranks as a top […]

COVID-19 News Round-up for September 18

Budget, Policy & Stimulus News  Florence Offers “Returning Stronger” Grants  Florence businesses have until October 31st to apply to the town for grants to reimburse them for expenses and losses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Town Council has authorized the creation of the Returning Stronger Grant Program for businesses that have assisted the town in fulfilling its role to protect public health, and which […]

ADOT Opening Additional 2021-2025 Plan

Source: Arizona Department of Transportation  The Arizona Department of Transportation will open an additional comment period for the revised 2021-2025 Tentative Five-Year Transportation Facilities Construction Program on Friday, September 18th. The additional comment period will extend through Tuesday, October 27th.  The State Transportation Board will receive the newly revised Tentative Program during its monthly meeting on September 18th. Earlier this year, ADOT conducted its traditional process for […]

COVID-19 News Round-up for September 15

Budget, Policy & Stimulus News  Yuma County to Contribute to State Relief Fund  The Yuma County Board of Supervisors voted to fund a state-sponsored relief grant program designed to help small businesses in the unincorporated areas of county. In doing so, county staff members have been authorized to execute an Executive Services Agreement with Local Arizona First Foundation to contribute $20K […]

Gilbert Surf Park Delayed Again

By Cecilia Chan for Gilbert Sun News  A much-ballyhooed 25-acre water park in Gilbert touting technology that can create ocean waves for surfing in the desert is delayed yet again – this time until 2022.  The Strand@Gilbert in February 2019 inked a deal with Gilbert to build the $60M project on town-owned land near Queen Creek and Higley roads, […]

Dollar Stores Show E-commerce Resilience

By Les Shaver for GlobeSt.com  While many CRE sectors and product types have floundered after COVID-19 hit, one industry has continued to flourish.  In the second quarter, cap rates for dollar stores fell a 12-basis point decrease when compared to the prior year, according to The Boulder Group.  There are some long-term concerns for the sector, most notably […]

COVID-19 News Round-up for September 11

Budget, Policy & Stimulus News Republican Stimulus Proposal Includes 2nd PPP, New Protections Small businesses could see a second round of Paycheck Protection Program loans and legal liability protections from COVID-19-related claims under a new, scaled-down stimulus proposal introduced by Senate Republicans. The new bill would create a second round of PPP loans for small […]

COVID-19 News Round-up for September 8

Budget, Policy & Stimulus News  Many Businesses Opting Out of Payroll Tax Deferral  The decision to let employers defer payroll taxes is part of the Trump administration’s effort to boost the economy absent any action from a stalemated Congress on a relief bill. Taxes can be deferred from September 1st through the end of 2020, […]

Ariz. Headed for Faster Recovery

By Victoria Harker for Chamber Business News  Arizona is positioned for a faster economic recovery than the rest of the nation, and with some strategic moves on the part of state policymakers and citizens, it should jump back to a leading spot within next year or so, according to local economists.    “We have the chance for this […]