In the News—Week of October 19, 2020
Energy & Environment
Utah ranked as the top state for energy efficiency in survey
Utah came in first place for energy efficiency in a survey by Wallet Hub. South Carolina finished last. Wallet Hub did not rank Hawaii and Alaska. The website ranked each state for auto efficiency and home efficiency. New York was second to Utah. Massachusetts, Minnesota, Rhode Island followed with Vermont, Colorado, Oregon, California and Wisconsin rounding out the top 10. Arizona ranked 26th and Texas 37th.
Texas
Tiny homes pay off big for investors during the COVID-19 pandemic
A father and son team in Waco have found a winning idea in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Houston Chronicle reports. Kenneth Wheeler and his son, Amos, turn shipping containers into tiny homes. The structures are about the size of a hotel room. The pair rent the tiny homes, kind of like hotel rooms. But in a time of social distancing, tiny home rental is going great guns even as hotels struggle.
Sugar Land Town Square getting a major overhaul for mid-2021
Sugar Land Town Square, a 1.4-million-square-foot mixed-use development, is getting a major transformation, Connect Texas reports. Lionstone Investments, which owns the square, expects the project to be completed by the middle of next year, which it says will enhance the site’s communal spaces. “For many years, Sugar Land Town Square has served as a hub for community engagement. We are investing aggressively in its future at a time when many other projects are scaling back,” Lionstone COO Tom Paterson says. “This redesign will create dynamic and flexible spaces for a diversity of uses and users to interact safely.”
Burnett Plaza, tallest building in Fort Worth, is put up for sale
The 40-story Burnett Plaza building in Fort Worth is up for sale, The Dallas Morning News reports. The building, which has more than 1 million square feet and is 84% leased, is being marketed by JLL. An adjacent 1.38-acre development site is being offered in the deal. “Burnett Plaza is Fort Worth’s tallest building, making the property a truly iconic tower with a prestigious address,” JLL says in its sales pitch.
Arizona
SkySong in Scottsdale home to dramatic public art piece
SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center, has installed a public art piece called “Sunburst,” AZRE reports. The sculpture consists of three-ring steel framework with color-changing glass panels. The piece is suspended with cables about 20 feet off the ground. What is it? Well artists Shane Allbritton and Norman Lee describe it: “We took inspiration from the spherical astrolabe, an astronomical computer used throughout history for navigation and predicting the positions of the sun and stars. ‘Sunburst’ reinterprets the rings of an astrolabe as sunburst diagrams, a type of data visualization used in diverse fields to show meaningful relationships in complex data.”
Mexico
Four Seasons announces resort in Costalegre on Pacific Coast
Four Seasons has announced it will open a 155-room resort in Costalegre on Mexico’s Pacific Coast, Vallarta Lifestyles reports. The resort, scheduled to open by the end of 2021, will be set 650 feet above the ocean on a protected eco-reserve and will feature three cascading infinity pools. Costalegre is about three-and-a-half hours south of Puerto Vallarta between La Manzanilla and Barra de Navidad.
