Flagstaff & Northern Arizona Development Thread

[Buckeye Native 001]

Originally Posted by kaneui

Several new businesses are coming to the Milton Road corridor:


Another Natural Market Coming to Flagstaff
Flagstaff Business News
May 18, 2012

Sunflower Farmers Market has announced it will open a new full-service grocery store in Flagstaff, adjacent to Northern Arizona University, by the end of 2013. The market will join Bookmans, Michael’s, and Pier 1 Imports in the University Meadows Shopping Center located on Riordan Ranch Road.

Wonder how long it will be before a bad winter storm causes its roof to collapse?

I work part-time at Hastings. Some of my co-workers have running bet on which part of the shopping center will be the next to have its roof cave-in (there's a split between Pier 1 and Michaels)

[kaneui]

A few miles away from Flag, but here are two projects of note:


Sedona Resort Completing $25 Million Renovation
by Theresa Bierer
Flagstaff Business News
May 29, 2012

It’s easy to understand Myra DeGersdorff’s enthusiasm about upgrades at Enchantment Resort and Spa. As general manager of the property, nestled among Sedona’s breathtaking red rocks, $25 million can go a long way in creating magnificence. DeGersdorff has been in the business for three decades and calls this the best renovation she has ever seen. “It is something you would expect if you were in New York, L.A., or even South Beach, ” she said, describing improvements at the high end resort. “It’s vibrant; you walk in and you feel the energy with the really wide open spaces that flow from one area to the next.”

The rooms have been upgraded and, in some cases, expanded. “When you look at the rooms, there is lots of leather, and you see the coral and the turquoise coloring that you expect when you are looking at something in the southwest. Beautiful bamboo floors in the parlors and really gorgeous bathrooms with exquisite marble,” said DeGersdorff, of the contemporary redesign.

For full article: http://www.flagstaffbusinessnews.com...headline_title




Winslow wood mill set for 2013
by CYNDY COLE
Arizona Daily Sun
May 19, 2012

A Montana-based company won a contract Friday for the biggest-ever thinning project in U.S. history designed to restore northern Arizona forests to health. Pioneer Associates of Billings, Mont., will use the wood from 300,000 acres to feed a wood products mill that it plans to open in Winslow by the fall of 2013. Pioneer agreed to pay the U.S. Forest Service $6.6 million for the right to log the forests -- about $22 an acre. The mill will employ 600 people and cut ponderosa pines 5 inches in diameter and larger into pieces about a couple inches thick, with the pieces glued together and joined to form laminated panels.

Those panels go into doors, windows and furniture. "Really, the only way you can take this small wood and turn it into something valuable is through this process," said Michael Cooley, a sawmill operator in Heber speaking on behalf of Pioneer Associates and its Arizona subsidiary, Pioneer Forest Products. Mid-level jobs would pay some $26,000 to $32,000 annually, and the mill would be running at full capacity by 2015. Another 400 people would be employed logging and trucking on some 30,000 acres a year of Coconino and Kaibab national forests for 10 years. The first 5,000 acres will be logged this year.

The Pioneer contract is part of a 20-year plan to restore 2.4 million acres along the Mogollon Rim to a natural fire regime, reduce wildfire threats and create sustainable forest industries.

For full article: http://azdailysun.com/news/local/sta...a5ec15016.html

[kaneui]

Anticipating a May, 2013 opening, the Twin Arrows Navajo Casino Resort plans to pull in I-40 travelers as well as Navajo Nation business, and will eventually include a conference center, nightclub, full-service spa and golf course:



topping off ceremony - April, 2012; construction progress - July, 2012
(photos: etd-inc.com, Matthew Barger)


Casino going up at Twin Arrows
by CYNDY COLE
Arizona Daily Sun
July 4, 2012

A $175 million casino and hotel complex is going up on the Navajo Nation near Twin Arrows about 20 miles east of Flagstaff. The tribe now proposes to open this fourth tribal casino in May 2013, and to hire some 800 employees (mostly Dineh) to operate it. The Twin Arrows Navajo Casino Resort, near Interstate 40, will have nearly 1,100 slot machines, blackjack and poker tables, 200 hotel rooms by winter of 2013-2014, a gift shop selling mostly low-price items, a food court, a sports bar, and ultimately a spa area. Longer-term plans include parking areas and amenities for high-end motorhomes, a nightclub, a conference center, and a spa with steam rooms, massages and hot tubs.

Total revenues are anticipated to be slightly less than $100 million annually, but that is a rough estimate, said Derrick Watchman, chief financial officer for the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise and a former banking executive. The enterprise runs the casinos and recently sent $5 million in net revenues to the Navajo Nation government for its use. Watchman hopes to make that $30 million, altogether, in addition to $2.5 million sent to the state annually from a gaming system projected to employ 1,500 across all Navajo casinos. Employees in the Navajo casinos typically earn $24,000, have full benefits, and have the option of employer-paid education. "It's a pretty decent wage, I think, for the area, for what we're doing," Watchman said.


For full article: http://azdailysun.com/news/local/cas...268534151.html

[kaneui]

The new Catholic campus underway on McMillan Mesa is expected to be entirely energy self-sufficient, with a church seating 1,500 to be completed by Christmas and a two-story K-8 school scheduled to open in 2013:



The temporary styrofoam walls of the green-designed church will be filled with concrete.
(photo: Jake Bacon)


A church with a view
by JOE FERGUSON
Arizona Daily Sun
July 11, 2012

Quietly but steadily, dozens of employees of local contractors are busy building one of the largest churches in northern Arizona atop Flagstaff's McMillan Mesa. Although the walls are going up, it is still hard to make out the outline of the 24,000-square-foot church from Route 66 or Cedar Avenue, but that will change by the end of the year. Terrence Milligan, a project manager with the San Francisco de Asis Parish, said a cross for the new church will be visible from Interstate 40 once construction is completed. Father Patrick Mowrer, the pastor of the San Francisco de Asis Parish, said he plans on being open in time for the Christmas service. A planned two-story school, not yet under construction, is projected to open in 2013.

Standing a few feet from the newly constructed church stem walls, both men are proud that the long-delayed project is finally under way. Mowrer, affectionately known as "Father Pat," can see past the temporary construction -- the Styrofoam walls before they are filled with concrete, the unpolished concrete floors, and the lack of both a roof and stained glass windows. He can see a sea of parishioners praying underneath a roof, a vision he has had since the project was first envisioned nearly a decade ago. The new church, he said, is expected to serve all aspects of the local Catholic community's needs for the next 100 years.

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY

There have been setbacks, including financial ones and fights with the city over its design. But the extra time has allowed the parish to focus on the details. For example, the altar is surrounded by pews for 1,500 of the faithful that face east. "The Catholic Church tradition is this is where Christ will come back from, so we all face that direction," Father Pat explained.

The new church is also green, not in terms of the actual color, but being environmentally friendly, Milligan said. The church will have radiant heating by hot water pipes built into the concrete floors rather than a traditional furnace. Instead of air conditioning, the facility has an air exchange system that allows the parish to pump in cool air at night. "We bring the temperature down without using AC," Milligan said. "Environmentally, it is the way to go." Solar panels are also planned for both buildings, and Milligan is optimistic the parish will be entirely energy self-sufficient, selling excess electricity generated by the panels back to APS. "It is one of the largest green buildings in Flagstaff," he said.

And it is being built entirely by local contractors. "We are 100 percent local -- different than the county, the city and NAU. We made that commitment in the beginning to the community and we've honored it," Milligan said. Father Pat sees familiar faces each time he tours the construction site. "Looking around, I see my parishioners working on this, which is a great thing to see," he said.

OTHER BUILDINGS TO COME

The cost for the church and school is expected to be an estimated $17 million. The parish is in the process of selling the St. Pius X Center on Fourth Street after selling the San Francisco de Asis (formerly St. Mary's) school to The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix. The Valley parish plans to keep the downtown property and it will not be redeveloped for commercial use, said Father Pat. He added that the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Chapel and the Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel, both on the National Register of Historic Places, will remain in the parish's control and be used for special events. Milligan hints there will be other buildings going up on the Mesa in the coming years, including a home for nuns. In total, the parish owns 107 acres on the Mesa and the school and church will be built on roughly 14 acres.

[kaneui]

Hoping to tap into the nearly half a billion dollars spent on Grand Canyon tourism, developers and native tribes are planning new accommodations, attractions, and expanded air service:



Stilo Development Group USA has released an image of a Native American cultural center
that it proposes to construct in Tusayan as part of a larger development plan that will
include hotels, shops and restaurants.


The Canyon cash cow
by CYNDY COLE
Arizona Daily Sun
July 10, 2012

People boating the Colorado River were the Grand Canyon's highest-dollar tourists some years ago, paying $412 per party nightly for their trips. They account for fewer than 1 percent of the canyon's 4.3 million yearly visitors, but 9 percent of the national park's spending. The really big money to be made, however, is on people staying in hotels outside of the national park. Those overnight tourists created a $174 million market as of 2003, researchers found -- at least a 40 percent chunk of the $443 million in spending tied directly to Grand Canyon National Park visitation.

All of this matters because the number of places to stay outside of the park might be increasing in years to come, raising questions about who gets that business or whether all tourism dollars can expand further. Developers based in Italy and Washington state are proposing 1,000 to 1,200 new housing units in Tusayan in the coming years, just south of the South Rim (those are their most realistic guesses on the numbers they might build). They also plan some hundreds of new hotel rooms, resort rooms, rentals and time-share units. "The key would be getting people to stay one more night," said Andy Jacobs, a spokesman for Italian developer Stilo Group, which fully owns two of the three parcels to be developed.

Grand Canyon State Airport in Tusayan is being expanded to accommodate large commercial jets and more tour aircraft. Unlike the Canyon Forest Village plans of a decade ago, the Stilo proposal looks likely to happen, though it's uncertain when. Road access through the Kaibab National Forest is the next big question, accompanied by a likely economic analysis. A question as to whether Tusayan voters would get to approve or deny the new development was defeated this spring in an Arizona appeals court.

KEEPING TOURISTS IN FLAGSTAFF

Flagstaff hoteliers are going to have to keep up with whatever Tusayan can offer, said Heather Ainardi, director of the Flagstaff Convention and Visitors Bureau. "Tusayan's going to create competition for hotel rooms, specifically for tourists headed to the Grand Canyon," she said. An estimated one-third of Flagstaff's roughly 3 million annual tourists (that number is a calculated guess) are coming from elsewhere in Arizona with Flagstaff as their destination. That one-third coming mostly from the Valley is likely to stay in Flagstaff, Ainardi said. "They are truly coming to Flagstaff for Flagstaff," she said. New services like a guided mountain-biking course at the Nordic Center, an adventure course at Fort Tuthill and winter events with Santa Claus can only help keep tourists around Flagstaff, she said.

Another one-third come from most other states and are more likely to visit the Grand Canyon. The rest are from California or other countries. Ainardi hopes specific events and unusual offerings can keep tourists here for at least a day and a night. One local hotel offers a GPS unit for loan, along with a hotel stay, so that guests can find points along historic Route 66. Or this winter, tourists could make toys with Santa Claus at Fort Tuthill, ride a train with Santa from Williams, ski at Arizona Snowbowl and watch a snowboarding competition in downtown Flagstaff.

TRAMWAY INTO CANYON

Tourism near the Grand Canyon is now proposed to expand on multiple fronts. The Hualapai Tribe opened its Skywalk over the Canyon in 2007 and conducts flights to the Colorado River at a price of $380 per passenger. The air tour industry recently succeeded in a bid to expand its industry, by clearing a measure through Congress in June. The new legislation rewrites federal law and likely increases how much air traffic is allowed, above the 53,100 tour flights recorded last year (145 daily). The Navajo Nation has proposed a restaurant and tramway down to the Colorado River at its junction with the Little Colorado River. It remains to be seen whether that plan will become reality.


http://azdailysun.com/news/local/the...5a7512573.html

[kaneui]

Looking for ways to move forward with a $24.5M courthouse and $33.5M public works yard, the city council is exploring creative financing and other cost-reduction methods to make a new bond measure more palatable to voters in November:


Flagstaff projects to shave costs
by JOE FERGUSON
Arizona Daily Sun
July 12, 2012

New details emerging about a proposed new courthouse and public works yard suggest the projects will be vastly different than what was proposed two years ago. The newly seated Flagstaff City Council took out the cost-cutting scissors Tuesday night, looking to find ways to cut corners on the already slimmed-down proposals. Council must decide by next week whether to refer the bonds to the voters in November. The motivation is fueled by a desire to keep the amount of new bonds under $29 million, which city officials state is the maximum amount the city can bond for without having to raise the current secondary property tax rate. The constant rate means Flagstaff homeowners see their secondary taxes rise or fall each year with their property valuations. Primary tax collections citywide cannot by law rise by more than 2 percent a year, regardless of the change in property values.

CITY COURT

Under one scenario, construction of a new courthouse and adjacent parking garage in downtown Flagstaff could avoid the need for bonds altogether through a combination of court fees and a land swap with the developer. Don Jacobson, the city's court administrator, stated the possibility exists if the city could finance the entire $24.5 million project by giving the developer various city-owned parcels as well as dedicating a revenue stream from some recently adopted court fees. No firm agreement, however, has been reached.

The plan, known as Option 3, was favored by several councilmembers eager to find a solution other than asking voters for millions of dollars in new bonds. Two years ago, city voters rejected $23 million in new bonds to build a new city court. On Tuesday, Jacobson briefly showed a rendering of a new three-story courthouse built on the northwest corner of Agassiz Street and Aspen Avenue. The project, if built, would use some floors of he Bank of America building and its adjacent parking, both of which would get a facelift.

PUBLIC WORKS YARD

The Council also looked to trim the overall cost of a new public works yard, which is expected to cost $33.5 million. Erik Solberg, the city's public works director, declined to reveal many details about the leading proposal to build a new 22-acre public works yard but said it was on a county island with some existing buildings. Councilmembers tried to chip away at the first phase of the public works yard, estimated to cost $7 million. Councilmembers suggested the city does not immediately need to annex the land, tie the facility into the city's water system (rather than rely on wells) and fully upgrade the facilities.

Mayor Jerry Nabours said he told staff he was interested in a "stopgap measure" that would allow the city to acquire the necessary land but only put in the minimum improvements to get the new facility up and running. "What is the minimum we could do to get you into a new facility?" Nabours would ask during the three-hour discussion. Solberg said his staff is trying to bring down the cost of the yard before going to the voters. One current sticking point is state-required appraisals of the various parcels involved in the land swap. "We are working really hard to come in way under ($19 million in bonds)," Solberg said.

Members of the Council also were interested in delaying Phase 2 of the public works yard, which would have purchased adjacent land for future expansion. Solberg said the city would have to provide some type of up-front compensation to the developer in order to tie up the land for the next decade. The concern, Solberg said, is that without the land tied to the second phase, the public works yard would have no place else to expand if needed. Bidders for the public works yard were offered two city-owned parcels in trade -- McCallister Ranch and the existing yard.

FOREST THINNING

There was broad support for a $10 million bond project to pay for the thinning of forested areas in Dry Lake Hills north of the city, where a wildfire could lead to massive flooding downtown and on the NAU campus. The bond would also pay for thinning around Lake Mary, where a fire could threaten a major source of potable city water. City Manager Kevin Burke spent part of the meeting explaining the tax ramifications of approving new bonds and why the secondary primary tax rate would not increase. He used the example of paying off a mortgage to illustrate the issue before the Council. "Let's say you pay off the mortgage on your home. You have some choices. You have already built into your budget that monthly payment," he said. "You can now choose to put that monthly payment to that car that you've been putting off acquiring or you can put it in savings." While Burke wants to keep the rate flat, he conceded the amount taxpayers would actually pay each year would still fluctuate depending on home valuations.


City Projects Under Negotiation*

Public works yard
-22 acres
-78,000 sq.ft. building
-$19M max. in bonds

Courthouse, parking garage
-$6M to $8M max. in bonds
-Agassiz St. at Aspen Ave.

*Leading proposals

New vs. Old

Public works yard

2010 Bond Question
- $42 million in bonds
- 200,000 square feet
- all new facilities
- 22 acres
- city-owned land
- no increase in secondary property tax rate

2012 Bond Question*
- $19 million in bonds maximum, less if phased
- 78,000 square feet
- no new construction, modifications to existing facilities
- 22 acres
- privately-owned land
- no increase in secondary property tax rate

*Leading proposal

Courthouse, parking garage

2010 Bond Question
- $23 million in bonds
- completely financed with bonds
- courthouse & parking garage
- unknown location
- no increase in secondary property tax rate

2012 Bond Question*
- between $6 million and $8 million in bonds (maximum)
- partially financed with court fees, property exchange and bonds
- downtown redevelopment
- northwest corner of Agassiz Street and Aspen Avenue
- no increase in secondary property tax rate

*Leading proposal


http://azdailysun.com/news/local/gov...7e1cdd878.html

[kaneui]

With a potential developer deal to build the new courthouse and parking garage in the works, the $24M bond measure going to voters in November will only include $14M for a scaled-down public works yard and $10M for thinning of nearby forests:


Voters face $24M in city bonds
by JOE FERGUSON
Arizona Daily Sun
July 19, 2012

Flagstaff voters will be asked this fall to approve $24 million in new municipal bonds to build a new public works yard and to thin forested areas in the greater Flagstaff area. They will not, however, be asked to finance with bonds any portion of a proposed city courthouse and adjacent parking garage. Don Jacobson, the city's court administrator, hinted in the last week that the city is close to reaching a deal with a local developer, who would build the 20,000-square-foot courthouse and parking garage in exchange for various city-owned parcels as well as dedicating a revenue stream from some recently adopted court fees. No firm agreement, however, has been reached for the estimated $24.5 million project.

The decision to pull it off the agenda by city staff came as a relief to several council members, who balked at putting all three proposed bonds on the November ballot. The combined cost of the three measures would have forced the city to increase secondary property taxes, and there was a concern that too many questions would lead to voters rejecting all proposals. The Flagstaff Unified School District will also be on the November ballot with a $21 million capital bond measure.

"The maintenance yard needs a long-term solution but I believe the forest thinning project should be the top priority. I don't want to see that project fail because too many bond questions are on the ballot," Oravits said. "I think it is a good project, having dealt with the Schultz fire and the flooding." The Council was unanimous in its support of a $10 million bond project to pay for the thinning of forested areas in the Dry Lake Hills north of the city, where a wildfire could lead to massive flooding downtown and on the NAU campus. The bond would also pay for thinning around Lake Mary, where a fire could threaten a major source of potable city water.

But a technicality forced both Oravits and councilmember Celia Barotz to vote against the thinning project Tuesday night. Both offered strong support for the $10 million bond, but it was part of the same agenda item as the public works yard. Oravits and Barotz are on record as being opposed to the public works facility. A five-person majority, however, has backed bonding of up to $14 million in order to build a new public works facility at an undisclosed site. Councilmember Mark Woodson briefly referenced a similar proposal rejected by voters in 2010 in his support for bonding for a new public works yard. "The need has not gone away," Woodson said.

City Manager Kevin Burke has contended the proposed public works yard is vastly different than what was proposed two years ago. The 22-acre site currently under consideration has been scaled back from a 200,000 square-foot facility to 78,000 square feet, and rather than new construction, the city would make modifications to existing facilities. The city has not released details of the proposal, although city officials have confirmed the sole bid came from a local commercial property owner and the site is inside the city limits but on a contiguous county island.

The city pays about $6 million a year in bond retirement costs. Burke has repeatedly stated that if the Council approved bonds below $29 million, the city's secondary property tax rate would not increase. The city manager wants to keep the rate flat despite issuing new bonds, but he concedes the amount taxpayers would actually pay each year would still fluctuate depending on home valuations.


http://azdailysun.com/news/local/vot...8f4d20626.html

[kaneui]

A new $51M, 139,400 sq. ft. Justice Center for the Navajo Nation in Tuba City should finish construction by the end of 2012:



(photo: Okland Construction; render: Dyron Murphy Architects)

http://dm-architects.com/projects.php?id=112

[kaneui]

The recent renovation of NAU's historic North Quad removed the McMullen Circle roadway and parking lot and added more grass, trees, and sidewalks, making it more suitable as an outdoor event space:



North Quad view looking west towards the Gammage Library building (1930), with Old Main (1894) to the left.
(photo: Peak Engineering)

[kaneui]

Don't expect a Whole Foods in Flagstaff anytime soon: the city's second organic/natural foods grocery opens next week, with a third--Sprouts Farmers Market--slated for 2013.


Second nature: Natural Grocers set to open
by CYNDY COLE
Arizona Daily Sun
July 29, 2012

Flagstaff's second organic-food grocery store plans to open Tuesday in the former home of the Furniture Barn, if permits and final inspections allow. Colorado-based Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage will sell organic produce, frozen food, meat, dairy, pet food, books, bulk foods, and more than 7,000 kinds of vitamins. A family-owned business for 55 years, the company went public on Wednesday. It is still managed and partly owned by the founding Colorado family, and has 56 stores, and had sales of nearly $265 million in the most recent year, as per its recent filings.

Liz Isley is part of that family, and she and others have been working 15-hour days to stock shelves and finish the Flagstaff store, and get some final inspections. The company works on a theme of "affordable prices for everyone" on healthy food dating from its founder's door-to-door sales of yogurts and bread. Isley turns from holding the ladder to raise the "open" sign to show frozen meat, refrigerated flour, rows of vitamins, and areas where produce is headed. There's a community room, wireless internet, and a kitchen for cooking demonstrations. In addition to sales on coconut oil and organic beef hot dogs, Natural Grocers' newsletter and advertisement refers to peer-reviewed articles in academic journals pertaining to nutrition and gastroenterology. The store plans to have a nutritional counselor on staff.


For full article: http://azdailysun.com/business/local...70f7e5b04.html


Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage
503 W. Clay St.
www.naturalgrocers.com

[Buckeye Native 001]

They've been doing a shit-ton of renovations on that building ever since Furniture Barn moved out. I'm just glad the giant cow mural is still there...

By the way, the Sprouts moving into the same complex as Bookmans and Pier 1? Its going in where Hastings is presently located. Allegedly the building's owners (Nackard) violated its lease with Hastings by signing a lease with Sprouts before first discussing it with Hastings (as is allegedly part of the lease requirement), so Hastings has to move out by April 2013 when Sprouts plans to move in.

[kaneui]

Recent demographic research refutes Flagstaff's reputation as "poverty with a view," as upscale retailers move in to serve the area's more affluent residents:



The new Natural Grocers store saved the landmark 35-ft. cow mural on the former Furniture Barn
building, a 1920 structure on the National Register of Historic Places.
(photo: Ammodramus/Wikimedia)


Flagstaff Gaining Strength as Region’s Shopping Hub
by Theresa Bierer
Flagstaff Business News
August 20, 2012

When locals heard Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage was moving into the historic armory building on Milton Road and Clay Avenue, many wondered if the cow artwork would be painted over. Now that the grocer is open for business, fans of the giant bovine are pleased that it remains, overlooking the city’s busy thoroughfare. Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage chose this latest store location after careful research, said Nancy Flynn, the company’s director of marketing. “Flagstaff is a maturing city abundant with savvy and knowledgeable shoppers that are aware [of] and thoughtful about their health and wellness.” She also described locals as being careful about where they spend their time and dollars.

When the full service health food company was evaluating Flagstaff as a potential store site, they poured over market data. One of their resources was Buxton, a customer analytics company that can pinpoint incomes, product preferences and consumer behaviors. When Buxton was joined by credit reporting company Experian a few years ago, the collaboration produced an even more exacting resource, allowing them to track specific purchasing preferences. John Stigmon is well versed on the power of Buxton and what it reveals about the region’s buying power. The vice president of the Economic Collaborative of Northern Arizona (ECoNA) enjoys sharing the information and dispelling Flagstaff’s reputation as “Poverty with a View.”

Before joining ECoNA, Stigmon was Flagstaff’s economic development director. He says leaders’ quest to better understand Northern Arizona’s retail environment began in 2010. “The city got a consultant and measured off a huge trade area from Sedona to the Utah border from Ganado to Seligman.” The consultant compared estimates on consumer spending with actual sales tax figures. The study showed people from outside Flagstaff spent about $400 million in the city each year. “And all of a sudden, it dawned on us that we are more of a shopping hub than we ever realized,” said Stigmon.

The next information-gathering step involved Buxton, which offered a strategic household analysis of the greater Flagstaff area from Kachina Village to Doney Park. It found nearly 18,000 households with tenure of at least a year, 4,800 second homes, and 14,660 people who qualified as students by having a permanent address in another city. The average incomes of these groups surprised Stigmon and many others who looked at the report. It turns out Flagstaff is more affluent than many people give it credit for. The category with the highest number of residents is classified by Buxton as B03. “These are highly educated baby boomer families with upscale incomes and luxury homes,” explained Stigmon. “They are conservative investors and like functional clothes over designer labels.”

Flagstaff’s second highest category is A06, earning six-figure plus incomes: nearly 12 percent of the population falls into this group, a rate six times higher than the national average. These mostly middle-aged people drive SUVs or minivans and like to bike, jog and travel. As a university town, there is a high number of students who make up the transient J04 group, followed by C02, largely comprised of people under 35 earning above-average incomes. These statistics are attractive to retailers. But perhaps even more impressive is Buxton’s real-time consumer propensity report, which details exactly which items people within a certain radius are likely to purchase.

The City of Flagstaff’s economic vitality director Stacey Button is especially impressed with the economic tool. “Buxton will help tremendously with existing retailers who want to improve the bottom line and their offerings to the community.” While Button’s focus is helping established businesses, she acknowledges that the data could bring new retailers to the region. A question she and others in her department hear frequently is, “When will we get a Trader Joe’s?” Button says her staff continues working and communicating with representatives of retailers, including Trader Joe’s. That company’s spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki tells Flagstaff Business News that the city is not a part of their two-year plan, but that plan could change. In the meantime, city staff and ECoNA are standing by, ready to assist new and existing businesses and companies, armed with accurate and compelling data to help Flagstaff maintain and enhance its role as Northern Arizona’s shopping hub.


http://www.flagstaffbusinessnews.com...headline_title

[kaneui]

Panera Bread will be opening by year-end (first Arizona location), joining Dunkin' Donuts and Chick-Fil-A in a new retail building on Milton Rd.:


Chick-Fil-A under way
Arizona Daily Sun
August 12, 2012

Construction crews began pouring concrete last week at the corner of Milton and Riordan roads to bring three new businesses to Flagstaff. Phoenix developer Miriam Hayenga said the first business to open will be Dunkin' Donuts in mid-October, with Chick-Fil-A opening right before Thanksgiving and Panera Bread opening before the end of the year.

Hayenga, along with her brother, Bert, and Aaron Klusman, bought the property from George and Karen Nackard last fall.


http://www.panerabread.com/

[Buckeye Native 001]

Flagstaff will be Panera Bread's first Arizona location!? I thought for sure there were a few down in Phoenix and Tucson...

[kaneui]

Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001

Flagstaff will be Panera Bread's first Arizona location!? I thought for sure there were a few down in Phoenix and Tucson...

Panera Bread owns a majority stake in the Paradise Bakery and Cafe chain that is all over Phoenix and in Tucson, but I believe this is the first store with the Panera name in Arizona.

[kaneui]

Three large student housing developments--including two on the NAU campus--have opened this month to accommodate over 1,700 new residents for the fall semester:



Construction crews race to finish work at The Grove at Flagstaff Thursday.
(photo: Jake Bacon)


Housing for NAU students
By JOE FERGUSON
Arizona Daily Sun
August 27, 2012

Kayla Wright was one of hundreds of NAU students who were told at 8 a.m. Friday they couldn’t move into the newly built, private apartment complex across the street from the Flagstaff city jail. “I am livid,” she said, reaching to get another box from back seat of the car. Wright and her parents waited for more than two hours Friday before being allowed to move in, forced to wait in the parking lot roughly 100 feet away from her new apartment. Wright said she felt bad for her father; who flew in from New York the night before and got up before dawn to drive up from Phoenix to help her move.

City officials briefly red-tagged most of The Grove at Flagstaff apartment complex after the city fire marshal found that the alarm system was not working properly. That required the city to briefly block public access to the building until the code violations were remedied. In all, nine out of the 10 buildings were reopened by Friday afternoon, with city officials reporting a total of 48 residents would be put up in hotel rooms until the final building was ready. A representative with Campus Crest Communities, the developer behind The Grove at Flagstaff, blamed heavy summer monsoons on the delays. “Unexpected construction delays caused by heavy rains over the past few weeks delayed this morning’s move-in at the property,” he said, apologizing to the residents for the inconvenience.

Mark Landsiedel, the city’s community development director, confirmed that construction crews have been working around the clock in order to get temporary certificates of occupancy for the apartment complex. Emily Rend, director of marketing for Campus Crest Communities, confirmed the entire development is fully leased. The Grove is designed to house 562 students. The entire development is estimated to cost roughly $33.1 million, according to information on the Campus Crest website designed to attract private investors. Rents for the two- and three-bedroom apartments were not disclosed.

NEW CAMPUS DORMS FILLED

Across town, two privately-funded dorms on the Northern Arizona University campus opened without a hitch. Jane Kuhn, the NAU facilities director, said Hilltop Townhomes, on the site of the old ropes course, and The Suites on McConnell Drive were fully leased as well. The new halls were built by third-party developer American Campus Communities, which paid an estimated $85 million to build the two complexes in an agreement with the university. The dorms will house roughly 1,100 students between them, including a handful of Coconino Community College students.

The Suites are traditional, suite-style dorms with double occupancy, either with two students in a single room with its own bathroom or students in two, single-person rooms connected by a shared bathroom. The Hilltop Townhomes are four-bedroom, three-bath, two-story townhouses which have additional amenities to the usual dorms, including a dishwasher, washer, dryer, air conditioning and access to a parking garage.

MORE SUPPLY, LOWER RENTS

Rosemary Harris, a Realtor with Flagstaff Realty, said she was not sure what effect the new student housing will have on the local real estate market. “It is too early to tell,” she said. She speculated the new housing could lead to decreases in rent for some properties near the university, believing an increase in supply could force landlords to price their property more aggressively. She said continued increases in the number of NAU students here in Flagstaff could offset any downward pressure on prices caused by new supply. More than 17,761 enrolled in classes on the Mountain Campus last fall, according to the school website. Roughly 7,000 lived in NAU campus housing. NAU’s Office of Residence Life operates 21 on-campus dorms and apartment complexes for single undergraduates, graduate students and families.


http://azdailysun.com/news/local/hou...a4bcf887a.html

[kaneui]

The Coconino County Planning and Zoning Commission agrees with Munds Park neighbors that a proposed 1,400-bed church camp would adversely affect adjacent properties:


Big church camp off Interstate 17 denied
by CYNDY COLE
Arizona Daily Sun
September 5, 2012

Plans for a large church camp at Fox Ranch Road south of Munds Park have been defeated for now. Neighbors told the Coconino County Planning and Zoning Commission that a 1,400-bed camp with a 100-room lodge and a 2-acre lake would bring a lot of traffic to their neighborhood near Interstate 17 and Woods Canyon. The Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously defeated on Aug. 28 the proposal for a facility slated to serve as many as 10,000 campers annually. Commissioner and landowner Don Walters recused himself due to a conflict of interest.

"We're exploring and evaluating all of our options to move forward," said Greg Mengarelli, executive director of the United Christian Youth Camp, which proposed to expand from its Prescott location. He said the group wasn't sure yet what it would do next. It has the option to appeal the commission's decision to the Coconino County Board of Supervisors. The camp organizers had been willing to set aside plans for a 100-room lodge and make a number of other changes sought by Coconino County planning staff. "They gave us a 4-inch-thick packet. They were willing to accommodate everything we asked for, without complaint," said Commissioner Sat Best.

The opposition, however, came down to neighbors who contended that the tract was zoned for a handful of property owners, not an operation that would bus in up to 1,400 kids most summer weekends. Commissioners agreed that the traffic would have an adverse impact on their properties. "It was just going to completely change the nature of the adjacent properties," Best said.

The United Christian Youth Camp had proposed originally to build three, two-story dormitories, a 9,800-square-foot meeting house, and a 54,000-square-foot lodge with 100 rooms that could be rented out. An amphitheater, ropes course, two 39-foot towers for watching wildlife, a guard house, a large play field, a water tower and four covered bridges were also part of the plans. In all, about $40 million worth of facilities had been proposed. The area sat upstream of Woods Canyon, a common route for large animals migrating under Interstate 17.

[kaneui]

The developers of the proposed 14-acre Sno Park on McMillan Mesa may yet get approval for nighttime lighting, which would fall well within the requirements of the Dark Skies lighting ordinance:


Council rescinds lighting ban for Sno Park
by JOE FERGUSON
Arizona Daily Sun
September 5, 2012

A final decision on nighttime lighting for a sledding facility on McMillan Mesa could be months away. The City Council decided 4 to 2 on Tuesday to approve a 10-year lease with the developers of the Flagstaff Sno Park, but they removed all language related to whether the lighting is permissible. Instead, the developers would be required to include detailed plans for lighting as part of seeking a conditional use permit from the city's planning and zoning commission if they want night operations. The CUP process for the 13-acre snowplay area is expected to take several months.

Councilmember Scott Overton was part of the majority to support the change in the lease, noting the Council has never seen the details of the lighting plan that would be required by the commission. He was, however, a reluctant supporter of a lighting-neutral lease. At one point, he pleaded directly with the local developers, John Crowley and TJ Dana, to back off night operations initially. "I would strongly advise against (pursuing nighttime lighting)," Overton told the developers. Joining Overton in amending the lease were Councilmembers Jeff Oravits and Karla Brewster, along with Mayor Jerry Nabours.

Vice Mayor Coral Evans, who herself used the city-run sledding hill at the same site nearly 30 years ago, was the loudest voice against amending the lease. Evans cautioned against unforeseen consequences of the amendment, asking her colleagues not to "punt" in the minutes preceding the vote. "I am really disappointed because we had a balanced proposal that met the needs of the entire community. It was a great compromise," she said. Councilmember Celia Barotz, who has opposed the sledding facility on the mesa -- with or without lights -- joined Evans in opposition again. The sole councilmember who did not vote was Mark Woodson, who recused himself to avoid a conflict of interest because his company did the surveying for the project.

Crowley confirmed after the vote he would ask the planning and zoning commission for lighting. But he was not sure whether he would ask the panel for a total of 30 days of lighting per year, with the lights being turned off no later than 7 p.m., as he proposed to the council earlier Tuesday night. He has previously offered several compromises related to night lighting designed to appease dark skies advocates opposed to the commercial sledding hill. Preliminary plans for the Sno Park called for a total of 36 light stands generating 288,000 total lumens. With the developed area being about 14 acres, the total lumens per developed acre would fall well within the strictest requirements in the Dark Skies lighting ordinance. The use of lights would extend the hours of the sledding hill, making it more financially viable, Crowley said.

Marilyn Weissman, the president of Friends of Flagstaff's Future, said she was disappointed with the Council decision, saying the Council "punted" to the planning and zoning commission despite a tremendous amount of public input. She said she was disappointed that the majority of the Council chose not to make a decision Tuesday night. Several members of the Council confirmed that amending a conditional use permit after several years of operations would probably be easier than amending an existing lease. The Council chambers were packed for Tuesday night's meeting, with supporters of the Sno Park wearing white T-shirts they printed up that read, "I want the Flagstaff Sno Park." A Council meeting held last month was dominated by locals opposed to the Sno Park.

[kaneui]

The latest addition to Flagstaff's fine dining scene--Cyrano's Seafood & Chophouse--is an East Coast-style supper club featuring fresh seafood, beef tenderloin and foie gras:



Glenn and Julia Menein are opening Cyrano's, a new upscale restaurant on Highway 180.
(photo: Josh Biggs)


A supper club for Flagstaff
by JOE FERGUSON
Arizona Daily Sun
September 9, 2012

Glenn and Julia Menein are bringing back the supper club. The local couple drew on their East Coast roots to transform a popular location on Fort Valley Road into an upscale restaurant serving one-of-a-kind meals with fresh seafood, beef tenderloin and foie gras. The couple has sunk their life savings and months of sweat equity into transforming the former Jotini's -- and before that, a pizza parlor -- into a supper club like the ones they remembered while growing up on the East Coast.

Glenn has experience in the local restaurant scene, working for the last 19 years as the director of operations for Beaver Street Brewery and The Lumberyard. "He knows something about the restaurant business," Julia says, smiling. The pair hired Mark Pawlowski as their chef, who quickly convinced them to do more than the restaurant's name implies -- Cyrano's Seafood & Chophouse. "He is a classically trained chef and so our menu is very eclectic at this point," she said. Menu items include: Ahi tuna tartar, duck confit wontons, beef tenderloin tips, oysters, clams, steak and foie gras. The restaurant also has an extensive wine list. Cyrano's also offers a happy hour of sorts, serving tapas from 4 to 6 p.m. during the week. The rest of the evening is more formal, offering a full menu with entrees ranging in price from $25 to $35 apiece.


For the full article: http://azdailysun.com/business/local...715d28a70.html

[Locofresh55]

Originally Posted by kaneui

The latest addition to Flagstaff's fine dining scene--Cyrano's Seafood & Chophouse--is an East Coast-style supper club featuring fresh seafood, beef tenderloin and foie gras:



Glenn and Julia Menein are opening Cyrano's, a new upscale restaurant on Highway 180.
(photo: Josh Biggs)


A supper club for Flagstaff
by JOE FERGUSON
Arizona Daily Sun
September 9, 2012

Glenn and Julia Menein are bringing back the supper club. The local couple drew on their East Coast roots to transform a popular location on Fort Valley Road into an upscale restaurant serving one-of-a-kind meals with fresh seafood, beef tenderloin and foie gras. The couple has sunk their life savings and months of sweat equity into transforming the former Jotini's -- and before that, a pizza parlor -- into a supper club like the ones they remembered while growing up on the East Coast.

Glenn has experience in the local restaurant scene, working for the last 19 years as the director of operations for Beaver Street Brewery and The Lumberyard. "He knows something about the restaurant business," Julia says, smiling. The pair hired Mark Pawlowski as their chef, who quickly convinced them to do more than the restaurant's name implies -- Cyrano's Seafood & Chophouse. "He is a classically trained chef and so our menu is very eclectic at this point," she said. Menu items include: Ahi tuna tartar, duck confit wontons, beef tenderloin tips, oysters, clams, steak and foie gras. The restaurant also has an extensive wine list. Cyrano's also offers a happy hour of sorts, serving tapas from 4 to 6 p.m. during the week. The rest of the evening is more formal, offering a full menu with entrees ranging in price from $25 to $35 apiece.


For the full article: http://azdailysun.com/business/local...715d28a70.html

A little off topic but that couple looks uncomfortable posing together in that pic. It's almost like they just had an argument about an hour before this picture was taken and she's faking a smirk. Anyways, lots of good info on developments in the Flagstaff area. When I get back stateside, I would love to see Flagstaff and all that it has to offer.