Life Coach in Casa Grande, AZ

Phoenix-based Modus Cos. — known for building communities that focus on saving energy to curb greenhouse gas emissions — just closed on 39 acres in Casa Grande, with plans to build 470 build-to-rent homes.

With major employers such as Nikola, Lucid and Kohler bringing more than 6,400 jobs to the area — and many more moving to the region for other jobs — founder Ed Gorman figured there's going to be a need for more housing.

Purchased from Walton Cos. for $2.9 million, the acreage is at I-10 and Florence Boulevard, next to the 1 million-square-foot Promenade Shopping Center.

The project will be built in two phases, featuring resort-iike amenities in the community, including clubhouse, fitness center, pool, hot tub, pickleball courts, and a dog park.

"The dog park area is large enough for dogs to run in; large enough where they can run and play and be dogs," he said.

While build-to-rent communities are known for detached single-family homes with their own backyards, these backyards will be even bigger than the typical BTR backyard, Gorman said. They will be at least 15 feet deep.

Plans call for breaking ground by the end of the year, which is when he plans to break ground on 270 apartment units during the first quarter and 200 BTR units during the second or third quarter at I-10 and Watson Road in Buckeye.

He also plans to build 100 units in downtown Buckeye, with construction to start at the end of the year, and also recently bought land in Florence, where he will start construction later next year for 300 units.

With $367 million in total development costs, these projects are valued at more than $750 million at buildout.

Financing for these projects comes from family offices.

"We've got institutional capital that wants to talk to us," he said. "We're in a great spot. We went from scraping together money from friends and family 18 years ago to get one project done to multiple options. But we're staying with the few family offices that have really supported us. It's a developer's dream place to be."

As these projects get off the ground, Gorman said he is looking at scaling the product nationally.

"Investors love it," he said. "It's taken awhile to prove this net-zero thing over the last 18 years. It's coming to the front burner that everybody wants. Nobody knew the mathematics behind it. We had to prove it one project at a time."

The units feature Zero Energy Star certification for maximum energy efficiency, rooftop mounted solar panels, mini-split heating and cooling systems with a 20 SEER heat pump, energy recovery ventilators, hybrid hot water and other environmentally friendly features designed to lower utility bills for residents 60% to 70% more than traditional building methods, he said.

ARIZONA, USA — Another round of monsoon storms pummeled the Valley Sunday night, bringing rain, lightning, dust and heavy winds.

Storms are expected to continue into the late evening and overnight.

These storms will end up in northwestern Arizona Monday morning; we’ll have another round of scattered storms fire in the early afternoon.

10:47 p.m. Storms made their way out of the Valley, but Monday night holds more of the same.

10 p.m. Rain's coming down hard north of Phoenix on I-17.

9:30 p.m Check power outages around the Valley:

9:20 p.m. Phoenix getting rain & wind tonight.

9:13 p.m. The majority of the Valley is under a Severe T'storm Warning at this time.

8:10 p.m. A dust storm warning is in effect for parts of the Valley

7:50 p.m. Strong outflow winds are headed for the Valley.

7:36 p.m. A dust storm warning is in effect for parts of the Valley until 8:30 p.m.

7:25 p.m. Dust storm warning for parts of Arizona until 8:15 p.m.

7:21 p.m. Severe storms moving north towards the Valley. Strong winds, blowing dust and possible hail. Storm threat for the Valley through the late evening hours.

6:50 p.m. A dust storm warning is in effect for parts of the Valley until 8:15 p.m.

6:15 p.m. Storms capable of producing 60mph winds and large hail are moving north through the Lower Deserts.

Arizona Weather

Arizona has seen its fair share of severe weather. Here is a compilation of videos from various storms across the Grand Canyon state.

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Here is the schedule and scores for the Week 4 Arizona Interscholastic Association high school football games. (Reporter Richard Obert's picks are capitalized.). Scores will be updated as they become available. (Note, more than a few games were postponed Friday due to weather)

Week 4 high school football

All games 7 p.m., unless noted

6A Conference

Thursday

Avondale Westview, 0, Suprise Valley Vista, 49

Friday

Chandler Basha 63, Mesa Desert Ridge, 0

Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, 45, Chandler Hamilton, 0

Tucson Salpointe Catholic, 35, Anthem Boulder Creek, 22

Phoenix Brophy Prep at Peoria Centennial (ppd to Sat)

Laveen Cesar Chavez, 24, Tolleson, 7

Chandler 50, Tempe Corona del Sol, 0

Brawley, California, 36, Yuma Cibola, 0

Gilbert Perry, 28, Phoenix Desert Vista, 7

Mesa Westwood 29, Mesa Dobson 6

Phoenix Pinnacle at PEORIA LIBERTY (ppd to Sat)

Lone Peak, Utah, 13, Gilbert Highland, 0

Mesa Mountain View, 35, Mesa, 24

Phoenix Trevor Browne 21, Phoenix North 20

Scottsdale Saguaro, 13, Queen Creek, 8

Phoenix Sandra Day O'Connor, 28, Mesa Red Mountain, 14

GLENDALE MOUNTAIN RIDGE at Surprise Shadow Ridge

Queen Creek Casteel, 14, Upland, California, 9

GIlbert Williams Field 49, Scottsdale Chaparral, 28

Saturday

PHOENIX MOUNTAIN POINTE vs. Las Vegas Arbor View, at Bishop Gorman

5A Conference

Thursday

Goodyear Desert Edge, 65, Phoenix Barry Goldwater, 15

Scottsdale Notre Dame, 50, Glendale Ironwood, 0

Phoenix South Mountain, 47, Avondale La Joya, 0

Friday

Mesquite 21, Maricopa, 7

Goodyear Millennium 49, Avondale Agua Fria, 0

Marana, 35, Sierra Vista Buena, 0

ALA Queen Creek at Glendale Cactus (game will resume Sat)

Cave Creek Cactus Shadows, 17, Tucson Sunnyside, 14

Scottsdale Desert Mountain, 49, Phoenix Camelback, 8

Oro Valley Ironwood Ridge at GILBERT CAMPO VERDE

Buckeye Verrado at WADDELL CANYON VIEW

Laveen Betty Fairfax at CASA GRANDE

Chandler Arizona College Prep 22, Gilbert, 9

Gilbert Higley, 49, Marana Mountain View, 7

Avondale West Point at TEMPE MCCLINTOCK

Phoenix Central, 41, Phoenix North Canyon, 0

Paradise Valley, 37, Tucson Flowing Wells, 0

Glendale Copper Canyon, 12, Tucson Rincon University, 6, OT

Tucson Cholla, 14, Sahuarita, 11

Mesa Skyline 47, Tucson 28

Glendale Apollo, 21, Phoenix Sunnyslope, 28

Tucson Desert View at Surprise Willow Canyon, (cancelled)

Saturday

Millikan, California at PEORIA SUNRISE MOUNTAIN

4A Conference

Thursday

Phoenix Shadow Mountain, 24, Glendale Independence, 10

Mesa Eastmark, 36, ALA Gilbert North, 33, OT

Chino Valley, 33, Phoenix Maryvale, 6

Phoenix Carl Hayden, 40, Tempe, 26

Phoenix Thunderbird 56, El Mirage Dysart 7

Friday

Apache Junction 56, San Tan Foothills, 0

Phoenix Arcadia, 16, Benjamin Franklin, 9

Buckeye 49, Glendale Deer Valley, 14

Tucson Pusch Ridge, 34, Tucson Catalina Foothills, 9

Flagstaff Coconino, 62, Lakeside Blue Ridge, 6

San Tan Valley Combs, 54, Coolidge, 6

PHOENIX NORTHWEST CHRISTIAN at Goodyear Estrella Foothills

TEMPE MARCOS DE NIZA at Fountain Hills

PRESCOTT at Glendale

Prescott Valley Bradshaw Mountain, 41 Tucson Mica Mountain, 14

Lake Havasu, 28, Bullhead City Mohave, 14

Surprise Paradise Honors 27, Phoenix Moon Valley 10

Payson 17, Cottonwood Mingus, 13

ALA West Foothills at PEORIA (ppd to Mon.)

Poston Butte 20, Eagar Round Valley 13

Tucson Sabino, 41, Tucson Sahuaro, 20

Snowflake, 20, Show Low, 14

ALA Ironwood at PHOENIX SIERRA LINDA

Chandler Seton Catholic at CHANDLER VALLEY CHRISTIAN

FLORENCE at Casa Grande Vista Grande

Sahuarita Walden Grove, 48, Phoenix Greenway, 7

PHOENIX BOURGADE CATHOLIC at Phoenix Washington

Kingman Lee Williams, 48, Wickenburg, 15

Flagstaff, 12, Winslow, 14

Yuma 47, Yuma Kofa, 0

Yuma Catholic, 54, River Valley, 19

Saturday

Phoenix Alhambra at PHOENIX ARIZONA LUTHERAN

3A Conference

Thursday

Phoenix Christian, 21, Gilbert Christian, 40

Buckeye Youngker, 48, Buckeye Odyssey Institute, 14

Friday

Benson, 55, Bisbee, 18

TUBA CITY at Ganado

Page, 28, Holbrook, 46

Tucson Pueblo, 35, Safford, 27

Tucson Palo Verde VERSUS Tucson Santa Rita,

Chinle, 18, Fort Defiance Window Rock, 48

Saturday

PARKER at Needles, California, 4 p.m.

2A Conference

Wednesday

Many Farms, 14, Sanders Valley, 12

Thursday

Heritage Academy Laveen, 54, Madison Highland, 6

Friday

Trivium Prep at PHOENIX NFL YET

Scottsdale Coronado at ST. JOHNS

Pinon, 0, Alchesay, 40

Miami, 21, Arete Prep, 0

Red Mesa, 0, Camp Verde, 62

Tucson Catalina at PHOENIX CORTEZ

WELLTON ANTELOPE at Glendale Prep

San Carlos at HIGHLAND PREP

Zuni, New Mexico, 0, Keams Canyon Hopi, 32

San Pasqual, 0, Mountainside, 36

Eloy Santa Cruz, 26, Phoenix North Pointe Prep, 0

Tucson Tanque Verde, 0, Pima, 43

Tonopah Valley, 7, Scottsdale Prep, 34

Globe, 8, Tombstone, 47

KINGMAN ACADEMY at Phoenix Valley Lutheran

Chandler Prep, 6, Phoenix Veritas Prep, 26

Maricopa Sequoia Pathway, 0, Willcox, 49

Saturday

St. John Paul II at GILBERT SAN TAN CHARTER

1A Conference

Friday

Mayer, 6, Heber Mogollon, 61

Fredonia at EL CAPITAN/CENTENNIAL ACADEMY, 6 p.m.

Elfrida Valley Union, 16, Sells Baboquivari, 24

Williams, 26, Bagdad, 20

ST. DAVID at Duncan

Chandler Lincoln Prep, 0, Winkelman Hayden, 55

Desert Heights at JOSEPH CITY

Mohave Accelerated at San Manuel, CANCELLED

Kearny Ray, 6, Superior, 50

Anthem Prep at Tempe Prep at Mesa Community College

Saturday

FORT THOMAS at Dishchii'bikoh, 1 p.m.

SALOME vs. Cicero Prep, at Scottsdale Prep, 5 p.m.

Lucid Motor’s (NASDAQ: LCID) production facility in Casa Grande, Arizona, is set to expand three-fold after Pinal County purchased 1,400 additional acres of land from 14 property owners for $113.5 million. The Lucid site is currently around 600 acres.

The land lease agreement from Pinal County will bring Lucid’s manufacturing site to 2,000 acres in total, which could bring the site to the size of an OEM manufacturing campus for the automaker and its suppliers.

Lucid could hire more than 6,000 people when the project is completed.

Earlier this month, Teslarati reported that Lucid is planning to expand its production plant, known as AMP-1, with construction beginning in 2023. The plant is being built in a series of phases, with the third phase set to begin sometime next year. The project could extend “possibly into 2025,” documents seen by Teslarati said.

Lucid Motors (NASDAQ: LCID) is planning to expand its AMP-1 production facility in Casa Grande, Arizona, with construction starting in 2023, documents show. Lucid is set to begin construction on the third phase of its AMP-1 production plant sometime in 2023, with the project extending into 2024 and “possibly into 2025,” Teslarati learned. Lucid’s current … Continue reading

Business Journal Phoenix is now reporting that Pinal County came to a lease agreement for 1,400 additional acres worth $113.5 million.

The additional acreage could be utilized for additional buildings that are set to be built as a part of the Phase 3 project. We learned that existing buildings would also be expanded as Lucid hopes to boost production at the plant to 400,000 units per year. The company continues to release new trim levels of its Air sedan, most recently unveiling the Sapphire, which is among the fastest EVs and could compete with the Tesla Model S Plaid.

The Phase 3 project also will add a Customer Experience Center, which will require an expansion of roadways near the site. The City of Casa Grande is funding this project with a $7 million investment, which will see Thorton Road, Selma Highway, and Peters Road expand considerably.

Lucid started Phase 2 of AMP-1 expansion in late 2020, which saw the construction and modification of several facilities, including the Body in White building, Stamping Plant, General Assembly Building, and others.

Lucid is struggling to ramp production of its vehicles currently, only delivering 679 vehicles in Q2. Lucid cut its production goals for the year by 5o percent at the end of the quarter, citing “extraordinary supply chain and logistics challenges.”

“We’ve identified the primary bottlenecks, and we are taking appropriate measures,” CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson said. “We continue to see strong demand for our vehicles, with over 37,000 customer reservations, and I remain confident that we shall overcome these near-term challenges with a relentless tenacity and a steely determination.”

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Lucid Group has been having difficulty ramping up manufacturing at its plant in Arizona, and that has forced it to revise the 2022 production forecast twice this year.

While the EV startup originally said it would make over 20,000 Air electric sedans this year, it slashed that target to between 12,000 and 14,000 units in late February. Then last month, Lucid again cut its yearly production target to between 6,000 and 7,000 units.

At the time, CEO Peter Rawlinson blamed the "extraordinary supply chain and logistics challenges" in the second quarter of 2022. However, the executive added that Lucid identified the primary bottlenecks, and was taking "appropriate measures" to fix its manufacturing problem.

It would appear that the solutions have already been implemented, seeing as a report claims that the AMP-1 facility in Casa Grande, Arizona, is now making 40 to 50 cars per day.

According to Wccftech, which cites an “internal source” and also points to a discussion on the Lucid Owners Forum, Lucid Group's production cadence has more than tripled from an earlier run rate of just 5 to 15 cars daily after major changes to its logistics operations and top management. This means that Lucid can produce around 1,000 EVs every month, assuming 20 working days in a month.

According to the same source, Lucid's current production run rate is expected to increase further to between 50 and 60 cars per day shortly. This means that the EV startup may be able to meet its own revised production guidance of between 6,000 and 7,000 vehicles in the entire 2022.

The report claims some of the major hurdles that Lucid Group faced in ramping up production included logistics constraints as well as the fact that the production line was divided into disparate cliques instead of working in a cohesive manner.

To tackle these issues, Lucid moved a significant proportion of its logistics operations in-house and made significant managerial restructuring, with at least six key manufacturing executives leaving the company in recent days. We contacted Lucid to verify if the numbers in the report are accurate and learn more about the changes that made the Air production ramp-up possible; we'll update this space when we hear back from them.

The AMP-1 facility currently has a production capacity of 34,000 units per year, and Lucid is adding a second assembly line for the production of the Gravity SUV, expected to launch in 2024. That would boost the plant's annual production capacity to 90,000 vehicles.