Business

Unique water plant enabling Intel’s massive expansion

Intel’s Sept. 24 groundbreaking ceremony for the $20 billion expansion of the Ocotillo campus in Chandler brought out all the top officials.

Chandler’s mayor and most of the city council were there. So were Gov. Doug Ducey and U.S. Rep Greg Stanton’s staff. Intel CEO, Patrick Gelsinger was the star attraction.

But it’s unlikely any of them would have been there until Intel overcame one key issue to doing business in the desert: Water.

It takes a lot of water to run a manufacturing plant. In addition to the potable water needed for a workforce of several thousands, they also need a lot of water for their cooling towers.

“This particular expansion, the additional [water] demand for its size was actually lower than other expansions,” said John Knudson, public works and utilities director for the city. “And the reason for that is because their recycling capability that they’re developing through the W.A.T.R.”

W.A.T.R. (Wastewater and Treatment Recovery) is Intel’s water treatment and recycling facility and company officials say it’s truly groundbreaking. Knudson said without it, the expansion and all those thousands of jobs would likely not be coming to Chandler.

This is the second such facility Intel has built in the U.S., the first being in Oregon. Intel has had a water treatment and recycling facility on the campus before.

What makes W.A.T.R. different?

“A typical industry like Intel will treat their water to what they call industrial pre-treatment standards and then they send that water on to the municipality where it has further treatment, and then can be reused,” said Todd Brady, Intel’s director of public affairs and sustainability. “In this case, we’ve actually invested in a water reclaim system where we can treat that water to standards that we can directly reuse that water again at Intel.”

So, city facilities are no longer needed to treat a lot of water.

“It’s literally millions of gallons of water a day that we can reuse back here at Intel.”

Intel’s W.A.T.R. facility in Hillsboro, Oregon, surpassed one billion gallons of water treated less than a year after it became operational. Brady said the Chandler facility became operational earlier this year. The expanded facilities mean Intel can treat nine million gallons of water each day that it can then reuse.

“Intel is taking extraordinary steps to return nearly all the water it uses during construction of these plants,” Ducey said during the groundbreaking. “This is essential for Arizona’s water future, and it lays out a blueprint for conservation strategies for future construction projects.”

Dominic Greensmith is overseeing construction of the two new fabs for Intel’s expansion. With construction now

Intel employees Steve Rossow, left, and Mara Howell inspect the company’s water recycling facility at its Ronler Acres campus in Hills-

boro, Oregon. (Walden Kirsch/Intel Corporation)

See INTEL on page 29

Investors making bigger impact on housing market

BY PAUL MARYNIAK

Executive Editor

The Phoenix Metro area continues to lead the nation in year-over-year home price increases, according to a national tracker of housing and other economic data.

Meanwhile, the Valley’s leading analyst of the Phoenix Metro housing market last week provided data indicating the larger role investors are playing in the region, reporting that “demand is increasingly dictated by investors and iBuyers rather than traditional buyers – the owner-occupiers that make up the heart of the housing market.”

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20City Home Price Index looked at data for July and said Phoenix led the pack with a 32.4 percent year-over-year increase in home prices in July, with San Diego (27.8 percent) and Seattle (25.5 percent) coming in second and third, respectively.

Overall, the National Composite Index marked its 14th consecutive month of accelerating prices with a record 19.7 percent, the report said.

That’s had an impact on mortgage rates, which the Mortgage Bankers Association of America said “rose across all loan types” in response.

“With home-price appreciation continuing to run hot, increasing more than 19 percent annually in July, applications for larger loan amounts continue to outpace lower-balance loans,” said Joel Kan, an association economist.

Meanwhile, Cromford Report, which follows housing trends in Maricopa and Pinal counties, said that Phoenix led the nation with the largest percentage the increase in home prices from August to September.

The 3.32 percent August-September increase in Phoenix easily beat those in the next two cities – Tampa (2.94 percent) and Las Vegas (2.77 percent).

Cromford also reported that the Chandler submakret last month tipped in favor of sellers, though it ranked well behind the top five sellers markets – Fountain Hills, Avondale, Cave Creek, Scottsdale and Glendale, respectively.

Cromford also shed additional light on the role investors are playing in the regional housing market.

Looking exclusively at iBuyer sales, Cromford reported that purchases by institutions or large companies in the region comprised 26 percent of sales so far this year as opposed to only 10-11 percent in each of the past three years.

And this year, iBuyer sales by companies and institutions have steadily risen the first three quarters, going from 19 percent of all iBuyer sales in the first quarter to 27 percent in the second and trending upward again to 31 percent in the third quarter.

Noting that “iBuyers selling homes to investors is not a new thing” and that “it has been happening for many years,” Cromford said: “However, just as investors are buying more homes in general, they are also buying more homes from iBuyers. iBuyers have been recruiting specialized staff to focus on serving their investor customers.”

But it also said, “Demand is improving but a lot of this is coming from investors and iBuyers so could die away quickly.

“Demand from ordinary home-buyers is subdued, no matter what the media might be telling you,” it added. “If the iBuyers stop their spending spree then demand could fall quickly.”

Cromford also noted that “demand is looking strong and continues to head higher,” it noted “a large part of that demand is coming from investors and iBuyers rather than traditional home buyers.”

It also reported that new homebuyers may also find rough going.

“Developers are finding it tough to increase supply, with major problems in the supply chains for building materials and ongoing labor shortages,” it said. “We are not expecting a huge up-tick in supply from new homes in the near term.”

Bottom line, Cromford said: “We remain in a market heavily tilted in the seller’s favor.”

Amish furniture store holds belated grand opening

SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

A store that lets customers design their own Amish home furniture is holding a month-long belated grand opening of its Chandler store.

Although Steiner’s Amish Furniture opened its 11,000-square-foot design center and showroom on the northeast corner of Chandler Heights and South Alma School roads on March 1, 2020, the pandemic got in the way.

The business was founded in 2000 in an Ohio farmhouse by Brent and Stephanie Steiner after his parents told him they could not fi nd handmade hardwood furniture in Arizona.

So the Steiners moved to Arizona and opened their fi rst furniture store in Sun City.

Now they’ve become the leading store for Amish transitional, mission, Shaker, modern, and mid-century modern furniture.

The store features an unusual process.

At both locations, customers can design their own unique furniture with the wood samples and kiosks.

Designers on staff will help customers customize any product and they design a piece to fi t their unique needs, desires, and tastes, then they can choose from variant wood, hardware, size and stain options. There are hundreds of styles and over 50 specialty fi nishes to choose from.

The building process takes anywhere from eight to 20 weeks. “We try not to rush or bother our craftsmen, because this can take time away from work,” the Steiners say on their website.

All furniture orders are hand-stained and fi nished at Phoenix Finishing, an Amish fi nishing shop in Ohio and an affi liate of Steiner’s.

Many pieces can be built by varying builders and each builder may choose to stain their furniture with diff erent techniques. These varying techniques can cause the furniture to have a different look and feel, even if a customer chooses the same stain color for each piece. Having a central stain shop helps keep each piece coming out looking and feeling the same.

Stains are is sprayed onto it with a PSI gun, which allows for thorough and uniform absorption into the wood and prevents white spots on the surface in the event of dings and dents.

After staining, the piece is wiped down and the process is repeated with fi nish. After the fi nishing process is over, the piece sits for several days to allow the piece to cure.

For people wanting to personalize a gift or home décor, Steiner’s off ers engravement options through P.Graham Dunn. There is a laser center where you can personalize hundreds of gift items and watch the engraving on the spot.

“We have also upgraded our website where you can design and visualize your furniture with wood, stain and sizes on the website and request a quotation for customization,” the company said in a release. During October, Steiners is giving customers a chance to spin its “Wheel of Discounts” and win either up to 15 percent off their purchase, Steiner’s gift cards, Heirloom Cleaning Supplies or P. Graham Dunn custom engraved items.

Information: safaz.net

Brent and Stephanie Steiner founded their furniture store 20 years ago.

(Special to SanTan Sun News)

Banking Perks You Deserve

ATM fee refunds* Free checking with no minimum balance

Free identity theft protection**

John’s Window Cleaning

The Owners Clean Your Windows!

480.201.6471

Power Washing Available

1-Story 2-Story

$175 $195

Inside & Out Up To 30 Panes

fans | lt. Fixtures | Mirrors

Additional Panes 3.00 ea.

Screens Cleaned 3.00 ea.

Mobile Screening

Sun Screen Bug Screen Pet Screen New Screens Re-Screening Patio Doors

SHADE SCREENS / ROLLSHADES / RAIN GUTTERS

�

ARMADILLO LLC �

480-855-6287 • WESTERNBANKS.COM 976 W Chandler Blvd • Chandler •CUSTOM SCREENS •SCREEN DOORS Phifer SmTeR. •ROLL DOWN SHADES •SunSetter8 AWNINGS •REPAIRS/RESCREENS •VANISHING SCREENS HEAVY-DIITYSHADINGFABRIC •SCREEN ROOMS •TITAN• SECURITY DOOR

85° C Bakery & Café is bringing its world famous operation to Chandler early next year.

(Special to SanTan Sun News)

Global café-bakery picks Chandler for 1st state foray

SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

A café-bakery chain with more than 1,000 locations worldwide has picked Chandler for its first foray into Arizona.

After eyeing the market for the past year, 85° C Bakery & Café has selected the growing Chandler Ranch at 1920 W. Chandler Bolvd. Near Dobson Road with the help of NewQuest Properties.

A NewQuest spokesperson said the café signed a long-term lease for 3,555 sf in Chandler Ranch “after witnessing first-hand the strong attendance at 99 Ranch Market’s recent grand opening.”

“85° C Bakery & Café knows the type of redevelopment we’re doing. The 99 Ranch opening was a shining example of the high demand in the Chandler market,” said Naoyuki Kondo, an associate with NewQuest Properties’ Asia-Pacific Retail team. The sweet shop will open in spring 2022.

Another NewQuest tenant in Texas, Somisomi Soft Serve & Taiyaki, also has jumped on board at Chandler Ranch. It will open in early 2022, backfilling 1,470 square feet previously occupied by Tao Healing.

NewQuest’s Asia-Pacific Retail team is focused on assembling a destination mix of Asian, Mexican, Mediterranean and American restaurants and eclectic shopping experiences. Other businesses opening by year’s end include Kura Revolving Sushi Bar, Uncle Lee’s Kitchen, Meet Fresh and Ramen Hood.

“These are new-to-market brands, in many cases, that are well-known to people who’ve relocated or are visiting from California and Texas,” Kondo said.

Heather Nguyen, development partner of the specialized group, is partnering with Kondo on Chandler Ranch’s leasing. They have been targeting new-to-market internationally recognized brands for the 117,565-square-foot redevelopment.

“Chandler Ranch, like our centers in Dallas and Houston, lets consumers explore and experience the best of the best of international cuisines,” Nguyen said. “In the near future, we’re hoping we’ll have leases in hand with several new-to-Arizona retailers as well.”

“Chandler boasts the largest Asian population in Arizona, making it a natural fit demographically for Houston-based NewQuest’s innovative development/redevelopment concept,” she added. 85° C Bakery & Café opened its first store in the U.S. in 2008 in Irvine, Calif. Today, it has 67 shops in five states.

According to the cafe’s website, founder Cheng-Hsueh Wu visited a cafe in a five-star hotel and “realized that the prices were set way too high for people to enjoy on a whim.”

He decided to open “a cafe that provides premium coffee, bread, and cake at affordable prices” and his business has been featured in numerous major TV shows and magazines. “The name 85ºC comes from the idea that the perfect brewing temperature for espresso coffee is 85º Celsius,” it adds. “Each cup of coffee is individually brewed with Guatemalan coffee beans for a smooth, rich taste. … Each store features an in-shop bakery with over 50 varieties of pastries baked fresh hourly. Our gourmet cakes are uniquely crafted by our award-winning master chefs.”

“Chandler boasts the largest Asian population in Arizona, making it a natural fit demographically for Houston-based NewQuest’s innovative development/ redevelopment concept.”

– Heather Nguyen

INTEL from page 27

underway, he said they expect production of semiconductors to start in 2024.

“It’s a tight deadline, but we’ve done this a number of times,” Greensmith said. He said he plans to hire between 3,000-5,000 construction workers.

Greensmith said they should be able to make the deadline despite a nationwide slowdown in construction because of a lack of supplies and workers.

“We planned for that,” he said.

Chandler’s Knudson said the city and Intel have been talking for years to try and overcome problems as the company’s facility grew, and finding a solution for its water needs was one of the biggest issues they faced.

“As opposed to paying us to go out and find more water, which often is unavailable, they chose the correct path, which was to recycle water and return it back to the facility, reducing their overall need.”

Intel’s Brady said it is just one step the company is taking to deal with water. Others include encouraging farmers to switch from flood to drip irrigation, repairing old irrigation systems and urging farmers to switch to plants that require less water.

“We’re investing outside the company to help others use less water and put more water back into things like the Colorado River and other watersheds,” Brady said.

Building and operating a fab plant is a complicated process and Intel laid out some of the steps involved in this graphic.

(Courtesy of Intel)

MENDOZA

Cleaning & Sanitization

General Cleaning, Laundry & More 1 time • weekly bi-weekly • monthly Ask about Windows & Sanitization Services

FREE ESTIMATES

Call Mireya Mendoza Now! 480-259-0935

Maximizing retirement income is important

BY DR. HAROLD WONG

Guest Writer

Most of the fi nancial advice world focuses on accumulating assets and rates of return. Very little time is spent on the eff ect of stock market crashes on one’s retirement assets – or how to maximize your income from whatever retirement assets you have saved.

Ever since the 2008 stock market crash and fi nancial panic, returns from traditional retirement assets have been terribly low. In May 2021, the three largest retail banks in Arizona paid anywhere from 0.02 percent to 0.05 percent on a CD. On Sept. 7, the yield was only 1.33 percent on a 10-year US Treasury Bond and 1.94 percent on a 30year US Treasury Bond.

The average dividend yield for S&P 500 companies for the last 21 years was only 2.02 percent. In conclusion, one can save $1 million and only receive $200 to $20,000 of annual income.

If you can double your Social Security income or increase cash fl ow from your retirement assets by three to fi ve times, you will be much happier and live longer, according to various sources of research.

Case Study #1: I looked at a composite of a nurse, nurse practitioner, and pharmacist who work for the Phoenix VA.

If they waited until age 70 to take their Social Security, they would receive $40,000 a year instead of $20,000 a year if they took SS at age 62. Here’s the million-dollar question: Is it easier to wait eight years until age 70 to take SS or to save an extra $1 million times 2 percent return to receive the same extra $20,000 a year of income?

Case Study #2: A nurse, age 62, deposited $250,000 in a private pension fund and will receive $25,000/year of income starting at age 70, guaranteed for every year she lives. This is a 10 percent rate of cash fl ow vs. as little as $50 of annual bank interest or $5,000 of annual stock dividends.

Note that stock dividends are not guaranteed as they can be cut or eliminated if the company has fi nancial trouble. Also, you must take the risk of owning the stock in order to receive a stock dividend.

Case Study #3: A couple, age 83, attended a seminar 10 years ago in Surprise and met me in my offi ce. They only had $80,000 of fi nancial assets, but both were retired public school teachers from New Jersey.

They had large state pensions plus Social Security income. For the last 30 years, they had taken at least two or three expensive cruises each year. They were not worried about having only $80,000 of fi nancial assets because there were big monthly pension and SS checks arriving each month.

This allowed them to spend all their income without worries.

Question: who is happier? This couple with lots of guaranteed lifetime income; OR a couple who have saved $800,000, but are afraid to spend it because they never know whether there will be a stock market crash, major medical expense, or some other expensive emergency?

A recent study concluded that “Retirees who had $500,000 or more right before retirement had spent down a median of only 11.5 percent of that money 20 years later or by the time they died.”

“A man who ‘hopes he runs out of money’ before he dies explains why you may not need as much cash to retire as you think” by Liz Knueven in May 5, 2021, businessinsider.com.

Free live seminar and lunch: 10:45 a.m. Saturday Oct. 9 at The Old Spaghetti Factory, 3155 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler. The topic is “Double Your Social Security & Other Retirement Income and Pay Less Tax!” Free lunch is 1-2 p.m.

To RSVP for the seminar or a free consultation: 480-706-0177 or harold_wong@hotmail.com. His website is drharoldwong.com.

Dr. Harold Wong earned his Ph.D. in economics at University of California/ Berkeley and has appeared on over 400 TV/radio programs.

got skin? Of Course! We all do.

Katherine Lim Quan, MD Jill McKenzie, MD

VALLEY SKIN CANCER SURGERY 480.214.0388 | vscsaz.com

Rosemary Geary, MD • Julie Silver, PA-C Ryan Falsey, MD, PhD • Yuliya Schoenling, PA-C Michelle Jeffries, DO • Sara Pickett, PA-C Tamara Casillas, FNP-C • Cassandra Shore, PA-C Ruth Irealnd, FNP-C • Wendy Ridenour, PA-C

Medical Dermatology Cosmetic Dermatology Surgical Skin Care Treatment