Here are the news stories you might find interesting today regarding commercial real estate and business:

SolarCity opens new office as it expands local efforts

SolarCity has moved into expanded facilities in Phoenix as the system installer prepares to step up work..  The company plans to hire 20 to 30 workers in the next few months and could double its current base of about 60 employees by the end of the year.  The office, at 1725 W. Williams in Phoenix, was designed to coordinate the 10 to 15 installation jobs the Foster City, Calif.-based SolarCity has in the region each day.  View article…

Lenny’s Burger opens 1st E.V. location in Mesa

Lenny’s Burger, a Valley-based chain, has opened its first East Valley location on the southeast corner of Stapley Drive and Southern Avenue in Mesa.  Lenny’s sells several varieties of burgers, including a teriyaki mushroom burger ($3.29) and a Mexican burger ($3.39), as well as sandwiches, hot dogs, Polish sausages and chili.  View article…

Kiser Harriss moves California warehouse to AZ

Kiser Harriss, a pool chemical company has relocated its Southern California warehouse to a building on Phoenix’s west side.  The company signed a three-year lease for 70,200 square feet at 4441 W. Polk St. in the Papago Industrial Park.  View article…

910 Live music venue in Tempe is now open

A new party spot and concert venue has arrived in Tempe, but it’s not on Mill Avenue or in Tempe Marketplace.  It’s not even next to any other bars or restaurants.  910 Live has opened in the vacant spot that housed Boston’s in the ’90s, a location that has been empty for years. The venue contains almost 10,000 square feet of space, with an indoor section and massive outdoor patio that provides something different from the typical bar or lounge.  View article…

Hines’ first Camelback/24th building goes gold

The Hines building at 24th and Camelback has been certified LEED gold for existing buildings.  LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, the primary benchmark for determining the energy efficiency and sustainability of a given building or neighbhorhood. Houston-based Hines spent $100,000 to achieve gold for its building on the southwest corner of 24th and Camelback. It was completed in 2000.  View article…

Association of tribes opposes land measure

The nation’s largest association of Indian tribes is opposing an Arizona bill that would allow Glendale to block the development of a resort and casino on planned tribal land.  House Bill 2297 could derail the Tohono O’odham Nation’s plan to develop land near Glendale’s sports district, where the tribe seeks to take 135 acres into the reservation system under a settlement to replace tribal land near Gila Bend that was damaged decades ago by a federal dam.  View article…

FAA OKs higher jet weights at Scottsdale Airport

High-end business jets now can fuel up at Scottsdale Airport and take off for Europe or Asia, but none has taken advantage of the opportunity in the month since the Federal Aviation Administration approved higher weight limits.  Nearly four months after the Scottsdale City Council approved the change, the FAA agreed Feb. 4 to allow jets to take off from Scottsdale at a maximum weight of 100,000 pounds. The airport’s previous limit was 75,000 pounds, a restriction imposed decades ago but which business and aviation interests said stifles today’s international travel.  View article…

Retailers expect to see more green this St. Patrick’s Day

Retailers are likely to see more green this St. Patrick’s Day, according to a recent survey from the National Retail Federation.  According to its 2010 St. Patrick’s Day Consumer Intentions & Actions Survey, those celebrating the Irish holiday will spend an average of $33.05 this year, up from $32.80 last year.  View article…

Arizona hotel, resort deals drawing visitors

After nearly a year and half of double-digit declines in occupancy rates at Phoenix-area hotels and resorts, freebies and good deals appear to be drawing more visitors.  Rates have been on the rise in metro Phoenix so far this year, according to Smith Travel Research, an independent lodging industry research company.  Hoteliers are competing to lure spring training fans, sunbathers and golfers in a still-sluggish economy, and value is key.  View article…

Personal bankruptcies up 45 percent in AZ

Bankruptcy filings continue to climb this year across Arizona and the Valley while most consumers filed for Chapter 7, which doesn’t require any repayment of debt.  Some 5,207 Arizonans filed for bankruptcy during the first two months of the year, 45.1 percent above the 3,589 that filed during the same period in 2009, according to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Arizona. In the Valley, 3,950 filed, up 51.6 percent from 2,605.  View article…

For Pension Funds, Crisis Spawns Search for a New Metric

In the span of only 12 months, U.S. pension funds, one of the largest institutional investors in commercial real estate, have adopted an entirely new mindset — a balance sheet mentality if you will — when it comes to how they measure the success and failure of their investments in the future.  Only a year ago, the first annual “U.S. Pension Risk Behavior Index Study” conducted by MetLife found that pension fund managers were narrowly focused on only a few key asset-related barometers — including asset allocation and return on investment — as the primary guides for their success. Those are the same metrics they’ve been using for the past 20 years or so.  View article…

Why Supply-Constrained Markets Hold So Many Advantages

Structural constraints on the delivery of new supply in a given market reduce an owner’s competition for tenants, which may lead to higher occupancy, higher rent levels, stronger rent growth and higher capital values over time.   How supply responds to increasing demand varies across metro areas. If supply cannot be added to meet additional tenant demand, then rents will rise accordingly. The amount of new supply that can be added directly affects the corresponding change in rents.  View article…

TEMPE SPECIFIC:

PERMITS FINALLED

01/19/10 – ADDITION/ALTERATION at 3159 S. McClintock Dr. for Ross @ Bashas’ Valley Plaza Declared Valuation: $250,000 Plan Check No.: PC08-0796

01/21/10 – TENANT IMPROVEMENT at 1345 W. Elliot Rd. for The Dump Showroom Declared Valuation: $1,500,000 Plan Check No.: PC09-0823

01/26/10 – ADDITION/ALTERATION at 7414 S. Harl Ave. for Coca-Cola Enterprises Declared Valuation: $2,500,000 Plan Check No.: PC08-0652

01/29/10 – NEW 408 UNIT MULTI-FAMILY/RETAIL DEVELOPMENT at 1811 E. Apache Blvd. for Arete – Tempe Transit Declared Valuation: $39,514,000 Plan Check No.: PC08-0222

Feel free to contact me regarding any of these stories, the current market, distressed commercial real estate opportunities or your property.   

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