Friday, March 10, 2023

Bits and Pieces

Kneaders says "Thanks for your support"
The parent company and operator of the Kneaders Restaurant located in the El Corredor Center on Oracle Road has permanently closed this location. According to the owner, the store did not meet its operating objective. We will miss it since we conducted the majority of our interviews there.

This, from Kneaders management: "We thank our loyal guests for their continued support and apologize for the inconvenience of our recent store closing in Oro Valley. We are dedicated to success in every market and this particular site did not meet the anticipated expectation in the region. We remain committed to offering the best service possible to our guests. While we know our next closest location is a ways away, we would love to see our faithful guests visit our other Arizona locations when they are in the area." (Source: Kneaders email to LOVE)

Classical Music Sunday at Riverfront Park
"The Town of Oro Valley and the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance have partnered to bring classical music to residents since 1997. The Oro Valley Riverfront Park Classical Concert Series supports some of the finest classically trained musicians with the opportunity to perform monthly in the community’s largest outdoor amphitheater.” The next concert is Sunday from 4-5:30 pm at Riverfront Park. Bring chairs and blankets. There will be a food truck. (Source: Town of Oro Valley Economic Development March Report)

Colorado River reservoirs at 34% capacity
The Arizona Department of Water Resources has posted a dashboard of information regarding Colorado Water. We have added a link in the right panel for it. Another source of future river water status is the amount of snowfall in Grand Lake Colorado. (See our report on this).  Good news: "22/23 snowfall [in Grand Lake] is 11% higher than the historical average this far into the winter." That should improve the rather bleak current situation [panel right].

Oro Valley housing growth continues to slow… should impact construction sales tax revenues
The town issued one permit for a single-family residence (SFR) in February. This continues a the three year downward trend in SFR permits issued that we noted in February. The most recent decrease in SFR permitting activity is not unique to Oro Valley. Oro Valley’s permit issuance results mirror the slowdown in new home growth nationally. Economic “experts” tell us that the slowdown is the result of increased mortgage interest rates. The baseline interest rate is being increased by the Federal Reserve in an attempt to combat rising inflation (caused by increased government spending).  An increase in this base rate increases all interest rates. Experts expect the Federal Reserve to increase the base rate quarterly for at least another year, thus further increasing mortgage lending rates; which, in turn, will depress new home buying. That will result in a decrease in an important piece of Oro Valley’s continuing income, construction sales tax revenues.

Property Taxes: Pima County Sends out "Notice of Value" with massive FCV increased.. but property tax base up much less
If you a home in Oro Valley, you should have received a "Notice of Value" from Pima County. The notice gives you the county's determination of your property value for 2024. The full cash home value (FCV) for one neighborhood increased 27%. It increased 20% last year. We suspect that it's the same throughout the county. For many years prior to that, the FCV had increased from 2 to 3%.  The good news is that property taxes are based on the limited cash value (LCV) which is also shown on the notice. By law, the LCV can not increase by more than 5% per year.  Want to see the FCV and LCV for others in your neighborhood? Visit this link.
 
La Cañada Drive asphalt replacement project begins March 13, drivers should expect delays 
"Construction on La Cañada Drive between Tangerine and Moore Roads will begin March 13, with contractor Sunland Asphalt removing and replacing the existing top two inches of asphalt. Road restrictions will be in place on La Cañada Drive with speed reduced to 25 mph. Drivers should expect delays. Please see details below. The majority of the work and delays will be through March 17 to align with Leman Academy’s spring break, so as to lessen construction impact on motorists. After March 17, ancillary work will continue until April 17 with minimal disruption to traffic." (Source: Oro Valley Media Release)
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