Briefs
Quick and to the Point copper mining over the decades and the in-situ type of extraction the Florence Copper project will use “is another example of perfecting it.” Newly applied to copper but with a history of use with other minerals, the technique is lowimpact and does not create tailings and gaping holes. —RaeAnne Marsh Florence Copper florencecopperproject.com
Part of a trend nationwide, a project currently under construction at Scottsdale Road and Lincoln Drive in Scottsdale is set to bring the economic stimulus of 264 luxury apartments to a developed urban area where amenities and infrastructure are already in place. The anticipated advantage to the city is retail activity — such as shopping and dining out — that will benefit local businesses as well as generate sales tax monies for the city, explains Michael Lieb of Michael A. Lieb, Ltd., who brokered the deal involving Phoenix-based Alliance Residential Company, a top national developer of luxury properties, and is still involved with the site’s retail development. Lieb, with 20 years’ experience in urban development throughout Greater Phoenix, credits the PUD (planned unit development)
Scottsdale passed in 2009 as the driving force in such redevelopment projects by allowing higher density as part of mixed-use at some intersections outside the downtown area. The outdated office complex that had occupied the 5.32 acres was “not the best use of the hightraffic corner,” he observes. “It was an ideal opportunity for economic stimulation.” Construction has already begun on the fourstory apartments with underground parking, which will be offered as rental units. For the project’s 22,000 square feet of retail, Lieb says he is “taking it slow to ensure it has the right mix of high-end and has enough parking.” He anticipates both residential and retail coming online in early 2014. —RaeAnne Marsh Alliance Residential Company allresco.com
Mining Project a 25-year Boon to Jobs and Business
The $40 to $50 million that Florence Copper plans to invest over the next 18 to 24 months on mineral extraction in Central Arizona will bring to nearly $100 million its expenditure on Phase I of the Florence Copper project. Phase II, planned to be $250 million, will begin the latter part of next year and will more than double Phase I’s investment. Noting this investment includes both direct-hire employment and contracting for services, Florence Copper President and CEO Michael McPhie says, “It’s quite exciting to work in a jurisdiction where there’s such a wide variety and depth of experience.” Florence Copper is part of Curis Resources,
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which is based in Vancouver, Canada, and active on four continents. The life of the Florence Copper project — from the permitting process now being completed to construction, slated to begin before the end of this year, to development, mining and, ultimately, closing — is expected to be 25 or more years and will support nearly 700 jobs. “We engage a significant amount of Arizona businesses into our operations,” McPhie says. Calling Arizona one of the top jurisdictions in the world for exploration and mining, with an incredible supply chain of companies and organizations that participate in the industry, McPhie says Arizona has been a pioneer in
Mobile apps have become a hugely popular way for businesses to attract, engage and retain customers, but testing the apps for usability can be an equally huge process and expense. Offering an alternative to the traditional lengthy and costly testing that has been recognized as “best practices” but often prohibitive for any but the major companies, UserTesting recently added mobile testing to its menu of services. The process parallels that of UserTesting’s problem-solving service for websites. Unlike the traditional method — 10 people hired for as many weeks and monitored as they interact with the website, their actions then analyzed — UserTesting creates a video recording, with audio, of the users’ step-by-step interaction. For the basic service, UserTesting provides the recordings to the client, who can then analyze the interaction to learn why the site or app is not delivering satisfactorily — such as the search engine not giving people the results they want or the business using terminology its target audience doesn’t understand. In addition to the self-service product, UserTesting also offers an enterprise product that includes its professional analysis. UserTesting maintains a network of testers whom it screens for ability to speak thoughts out loud as they use the site or app, and uses an algorithm to randomly assign and distribute the work. Testers are rated by the customer, which incentivizes them to be honest, explains company spokesperson Chris Hicken. Customers provide UserTesting the plan for what they want people to do on their site, a list of specific tasks and the intended demographic. Once UserTesting sets up the test, customers get their results in one hour. —RaeAnne Marsh UserTesting.com usertesting.com
inbusine ssmag.com
Photo courtesy of Office of Rich Barber Architecture, L.L.C. for Alliance Residential
Scottsdale Corner Joins Urban Redevelopment Trend
On-demand Mobile App Testing