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Joyce Clark Unfiltered

For "the rest of the story"

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

As you may be aware, Councilmember Jamie Aldama is running for mayor against the incumbent, Mayor Jerry Weiers and former state legislator, Paul Boyer. If and when Aldama turns in his nominating petitions he will be required to resign from his Ocotillo District council seat. The drop-dead date for turning in nominating petitions is April 1, 2024.

This could mean that Aldama is attending his last few city council meetings. As a mayoral candidate opposing the incumbent, Mayor Weiers, Aldama is desperate to position himself in opposition to the Mayor on every issue he can dig up.

It was evident that is exactly what he was doing at the February 27, 2024, City Council voting meeting. The last item on the agenda was seeking council approval for a garage construction agreement between the city and Fisher Industries, developer of VIA Resort, to build a city-owned, public parking garage.

Here is the verbatim transcript of Aldama’s remarks before voting ‘no’ on the agreement:

Starting at the 44 minute, 33 seconds mark: “Mayor, explain my vote. Yeah, I, uh, this is a data driven organization I, uh, and I have not yet to see any data that demonstrates a need for a parking garage for the VIA Resort. Absent the VIA Resort, Glendale does not require a parking garage. Uh, our City Manager shared with us awhile back that there was some area footage taken of Westgate and the, uh, stadium area and there was tons of parking left over. There ya go. We don’t need a parking garage. Um, our resident spoke very clearly, very concise about some of the issues I wanted to, uh, talk about. Uh, there’s no competitive process. There was no selection process. We spend more time on RFPs for lower dollar amounts than the $72 and a half million dollars. And I asked the question, was that a legal way of doing business and the answer is yes. Well, I don’t believe that it is. Um, and it should be a practice that the City of Glendale hold on the RFP process or any type of procurement process. Um, this has, in my opinion, have favor written all over it and, ah, I am not in favor of building a parking garage for the VIA Resort. We don’t need a parking garage absent the VIA Resort. I vote nay.”

Let’s take apart what he said. “I have not yet to see any data that demonstrates a need for a parking garage for the VIA Resort.” That’s because the parking garage is to be a public, city owned garage for anyone visiting the Westgate area. Yes, it will also serve VIA and the Mattel Amusement Park. With a projection of $32 million dollars annually in revenue earned by the city from these two projects, it is anticipated that the garage will be in constant use with the city earning a portion of the parking fees.

It is also important to point out that as Westgate develops the last vacant parcels it will result in no or very little on-site parking. That makes the need for a public parking garage all the more essential to keep the area thriving.

Another factor Aldama refuses to acknowledge is that VIA will have at least 2,500 parking spaces on site, either underground or above ground.

Aldama goes on to say, “Uh, there’s no competitive process. There was no selection process.”

Here is a portion of the packet of information relating to this agreement that was in every councilmember’s voting meeting  agenda packet:

“The City published a Request for Qualifications (RFQ), for design-build services of a parking garage at the City-owned Black Lot, in the Arizona Republic Newspaper on December 20 and December 27, 2023. The City held a mandatory pre-submittal conference on, Thursday, January 4, 2024, at 9:00am at the City of Glendale’s Adult Center. Twenty-four (24) firms attended the mandatory pre-submittal conference. Of those twenty-four firms, four (4) firms submitted statements of qualification for the RFQ.
A selection committee was formed, and each panel member reviewed the four submittals to score each firm according to the scoring criteria provided in the RFQ. The panel scored Fisher the highest scoring firm and agreed that Fisher demonstrated the capabilities to deliver this project according to the schedule and budget outlined in the RFQ.

Again, this information was provided to Aldama in his council agenda packet. Saying that there was no process does not make it so just because he said it publicly.

Aldama accuses senior management and city council of favoritism by saying, “Um, this has, in my opinion, have favor written all over it…” That is a serious accusation that is unfounded. As The information above provided to council shows that a selection process did occur.

Lastly, Aldama says, “And I asked the question, was that a legal way of doing business and the answer is yes. Well, I don’t believe that it is.” Aldama’s belief is not fact.

Aldama’s statement should cause you to ask several questions. Did he read the material in his council agenda packet? If not, he did not do his duty to become fully informed on the issues that he was to vote upon that evening. If he did read the material, why did he reject the staff report stating that the procurement process was followed?

The answer is simple. This is election season and Aldama wishes to become the mayor of Glendale. He picks any topic that he thinks will draw a contrast between himself and Mayor Weiers. This wasn’t the issue to use this tactic.

Was there political pandering on the part of Aldama? You bet there was.

© Joyce Clark, 2024    

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

On November 21, 2023, at city council workshop, the long-awaited revised Economic Impact Study for VAI Resort and Mattel Adventure Park was released. The numbers are just astounding and are shared here.

The project has grown considerably since it was first envisioned and presented to the city. The Applied Economics Study presented this project description:

“The development includes 10 mixed-use buildings. Buildings 5 and 8 will open at the end of 2024 and the remainder of the development will open in summer 2025.

  • VAI Resort Hotel

    Building 1 will include a 299-room luxury hotel with 17,000 square feet of restaurants, 18,000 square feet of retail shops and 130 underground parking spaces.

  • Building 2 will include 29,500 square feet of retail and restaurants, a 9,000 square foot spa, a 155-room hotel and 230 underground parking spaces.
  • Building 3 is a parking structure with 3,900 spaces.
  • Building 4 will include 47,000 square feet of restaurants and themed retail, an aerophile balloon, a 3,000-seat theater, an 8,000 square foot Barbie theater and a 19,000 square foot Barbie Dream House attraction.
  • Building 5 will include a 9-acre Mattel Adventure Park with 250,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor rides and amusements and 8,000 square feet of themed restaurants.
  • Building 6 will include a 311-roon hotel, 28,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, an 8,500 square foot kid’s club and 150 underground parking spaces.
  • Building 7 will include 70,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, a 20,000 square foot night club, a 10,000 square foot fitness center and a 10,000 square foot swim up bar.
  • Building 8 will include 318 hotel rooms, including the Amphitheater Tower with 27,000 square feet of sky boxes overlooking the 90,000 square foot concert venue. This area also includes 37,000 square feet of restaurant space, a 4,500 square foot retail/café area and 390 underground parking spaces.
  • Building 9 represents Konos Island in the middle of the swimming area with 40,000 square feet of island beach amenities, 10,000 square feet of restaurant space, and the elevated Aerobar attraction.
  • Building 10 includes 55,000 square feet of corporate office space occupied by the developer/owner.
  • Other Amenities include the beach and pool decks, service areas, and 1,060 surface parking spaces.”

In summary and please note that my numbers are estimated based on available information, there will be on the site including both VAI and Mattel Adventure Park:

  • 1,013 hotel rooms available in a 5-building complex
  • 5,860 parking spaces on site including 900 underground; 3,900 in a parking garage; and 1,060 surface parking spaces.
  • 100,500 square feet of restaurants
  • 108,500 square feet of retail space
  • 387,500 square feet of attractions

It should be noted that that estimates of development costs and revenues earned are conservative as can be shown by a conservative estimate of 4 of the hotels’ occupancy rate of 42% to 46% and one hotel at an occupancy rate of 66%. Please note in the Westgate area, hotels are averaging a 70% occupancy rate.

In total, there will be 2,346,523 square feet of development at a cost of over $900,000,000 (nearly $1 billion dollars). The magnitude and complexity of this development should not be underestimated. It is not like building a one-themed development such as a single, large manufacturing facility or a hotel or a retail center. Rather, it is building all these combined and more at once.

The project site is forecast to earn $2.2 billion dollars in new sales, property and bed tax revenues to the city, schools, county and state over the next 25 years. How is Glendale incentivizing this $1 billion dollar project? It will waive permit and plan fee waivers of up to $1 million dollars and enter a Government Property Lease Excise Tax (GPLET) agreement on the entertainment, recreation, and concession portions of the development. In total, all fee waivers and the GPLET is $107.4 million dollars over 25 years in return for a 25 year income of $2.2 billion dollars.

How does the 25-year revenue break down? Starting in the year 2025 Glendale is estimated to receive annual tax revenue of $29,318,615 and to receive $40, 289,165 by year 2049. That means each year Glendale will receive $29 plus million dollars escalating to $40 million dollars a year by 2049. That is more revenue than that earned by the city from the Arrowhead/Bell Road corridor per year. These revenues go a long way in making up for the state-imposed loss of approximately an annual $14 million in rental tax that cities can no longer collect.

With the GPLET the County and Schools will receive $7,833,554 in year 2025 annually escalating to $18,972,199 by 2025. The State is estimated to receive $45,768,687 in year 2025 annually escalating to $50,980,151. The current and potential revenues to school and county districts are:

  • Pendergast Elementary School District currently receives $55,452 in tax revenue. Even with a GPLET it will receive $2,906,600 annually.
  • Tolleson Union School District currently receives $51,883 in tax revenue and with the GPLET will receive $2,719,506 annually.
  • WESTMEC currently receives $1,765 in tax revenue and with the GPLET will receive $92,498 annually.
  • Community Colleges currently receive $11,121 in tax revenue and with the GPLET will receive $582,938 annually.
  • All other taxing districts (county) currently receive $32,997 in tax revenue and with the GPLET will receive $1,734,838 annually.

These statistics should give you a sense of the magnitude of this development. This development will solidify Glendale as THE Entertainment and Sports destination not only in the state but nationally.

I am so pleased and excited about this development that I have arranged to do a half hour “Beyond the Headlines” on each component, VAI Resort and Mattel Adventure Park. Taping of the videos will occur in January 2024. Expect them to be on air toward the end of February 2024.

© Joyce Clark, 2023     

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

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