Hines Planning $150 Million Mixed-Use Project Near Chandler Fashion Center

Hines Interests Limited Partnership in Houston, Tex. (Gerald Hines, principal) is planning to develop a $150 million residential, office, retail and hotel complex next to the Chandler Fashion Center regional mall. Hines has filed a zoning application in Chandler for the upscale mixed-use project. If approved, Chandler Viridian will be developed on a 25.6-acre site being assembled along the west side of the 101 Loop (Price Road Freeway) and just north of the 202 Loop (San Tan Freeway)… Read more »

De Rito Land Development Planning 600,000 Sq. Ft. Of Retail Space In Four Centers

Very few retail buildings have been built in the Phoenix area over the past few years, but that trend may be changing as 600,000 sq. ft. of space is planned in four shopping centers in the Southeast Valley alone. De Rito Land Development LLC in Phoenix (Jerry Friedman, Doug Himmelberger, Marty De Rito, principals) is under contract to acquire properties in Chandler, Gilbert, Queen Creek and Pinal County to develop the centers. De Rito Land Development is buying 82 acres of retail sites in four deals totaling around $21.5 million. The parcels range in size from 15 to 27 acres. All of the projects have 2015 targeted construction starts… Read more »

Office Market Continues to Gain Momentum

First quarter office sector studies show that in most of the nation’s office markets, rather than just in the top cities, landlords are gaining the upper hand. About 70 percent of U.S. office markets reported occupancy gains during the first quarter… Read more »

Just What the Doctor Ordered: New ‘Medtail’ Tenants Filling Vacant Shopping Center Space

Changing Medical Economics Prompting Caregivers to Offer Services Where Patients Shop. With the era of retail medicine fast approaching, health care providers and medical specialists are increasingly opening facilities in shopping centers, which offer an attractive combination of affordable space, good patient access and ample parking… Read more »

Family Dollar to Close 370 Stores

Family Dollar has more than 40 stores in the Phoenix area, but isn’t specifying which stores in Arizona or elsewhere will close… Read more »

Adjacent Tempe Multifamily Assets Sold for $27.35m

Two Tempe apartment complexes sold yesterday for a combined $27.35m or $62,018 per unit. Steve Wasserman of Gelt, Inc. acquired the properties from Bank of America Community Development with a combination of $6,837,500 in cash and $20,512,500 in new debt with New York Community bank… Read more »

Growing Demand for Apartments Pushes Up Rents

These are good times for U.S. landlords. For many tenants, not so much. With demand for apartments surging, rents are projected to rise for a fifth straight year. Even a rise in apartment construction is unlikely to provide much relief anytime soon… Read more »

Big Box Golf Retailer Plans Third Store

A third PGA Tour Superstore in the Valley is scheduled to open this fall at the Scottsdale 101 shopping center. The Atlanta-based golf retailer announced Tuesday it will open three stores this year, one each in Phoenix, Orlando and Southlake, Texas, a Dallas suburb… Read more »

Sam Fox bringing Culinary Dropout to Another Yard-like Project in Downtown Tempe

Restaurant mogul Sam Fox is laying the groundwork for another Yard-like concept at an old, empty industrial warehouse in downtown Tempe. It is there — specifically, the southeast corner of Farmer Avenue and 1st Street — that Fox plans to open a fourth Culinary Dropout gastropub equipped with a large patio for live music and playing cornhole, horse shoes and karaoke… Read more »

In Competitive Analysis Study, Sunbelt Metros Dominate As Low-Cost Cities to Do Business

Atlanta Most ‘Cost-Friendly’ Business Location Among Large U.S. Cities; Cincinnati, Orlando, Charlotte, San Antonio, Tampa, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Phoenix Also Highly Competitive. Orlando, FL, Charlotte, NC, and San Antonio rounded out the top five large-market metros in the survey. Other top 10 cities included Tampa, FL, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Phoenix… Read more »

Canadian Investment Funds Continue to Target Southwest U.S. Apts.

Canadian funds and REITs continue to be among the most active buyers of multifamily properties in U.S. Sunbelt states. One the latest deals comes from Starlight U.S. Multi-Family Core Fund, a newly created fund sponsored and managed by Starlight Investments Ltd in Toronto… Read more »

Lenders Follow Investors to Smaller Markets

Debt and equity financing available for deals in tertiary markets is far from free flowing. Yet there is a growing pool of lenders willing to do those deals. “The market is opening up. It is not as open as financing in the core markets, but it is better than it was three years ago,” says Andrew Kirsh of the real estate practice for Sklar Kirsh LLP. “There are a lot of options for a borrower and an operator.” Capital sources pulled back from tertiary markets in the wake of the economic downturn. There was a good deal of concern in the lending community that the economy would not bounce back nearly as quickly in the markets that didn’t have a broad employment base and foreseeable growth… Read more »

Sky-High Prices for Land Force Developers to Get Creative

Developable sites in the strongest apartment markets are now trading for prices that can be twice the price they traded for during the last housing boom. Some buyers may simply be hoping that the strong apartment market becomes even stronger with a fuller economic recovery… Read more »

Bioscience Roadmap Gets an Extension through 2025

The updated Roadmap will continue to focus on developing Arizona’s biomedical research infrastructure but will emphasize turning this research into new therapies, products, diagnostics, jobs, firms, and other benefits to Arizona. Commercialization, entrepreneurship, creating a critical mass of bioscience firms, and the development of talent are prime themes… Read more »

Light Rail Could Be in Chandler’s Future

It won’t happen any time soon, but city leaders want to bring light rail to Chandler. Valley Metro, which operates the light rail system in Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa, already conducted a study at the behest of city officials on the feasibility of the mass transit system in Chandler, and another study is expected to begin next year… Read more »

Quadrangle Village in Tempe Sold for $41.875m

Greg Merage of MIG Capital has acquired the 510-unit Quadrangle Village apartments in Tempe for $41.875m or $82,108 per door. The property, located east of the southeast corner of University Drive and Rural Road, is comprised of sixteen 3-story buildings totaling 375,660 ft2 built 1987 on 14.18 acres. The property is 94% occupied… Read more »

$14M in Joint Venture Equity for Scottsdale Condo Project

HFF announced today that it has arranged $14M in joint venture equity for the development of Envy, a 90-home, mid-rise condominium project in downtown Scottsdale’s Entertainment District. HFF worked on behalf of the borrower, Deco Communities, to secure joint venture equity from an alternative investment manager… Read more »

Liberty Property Trust Signs First Tenant at Liberty Center at Rio Salado

Liberty Property Trust has signed a lease with WageWorks Inc. for 76,162 square feet, marking the first tenant agreement to be signed for the company’s Class A office development, Liberty Center at Rio Salado business park in Tempe. Located at 1850 W. Rio Salado Parkway, Building One is a two-story 155,000 square foot development that is designed to achieve LEED Silver certification, and is slated to come online in October 2014… Read more »

Urgent Care Market Grows as NextCare, FastMed Expand

Urgent care centers continue to grow nationally as the Affordable Care Act expands health coverage to more Americans. Mesa-based NextCare Urgent Care is opening a new urgent care center in the Oklahoma City area, while Clayton, N.C.-based FastMed Urgent Care has acquired Advanced Urgent Care’s eight locations in Arizona… Read more »

Reata Ranch Seeks Final Scottsdale OK for Resort Lodge Community

It was back in the day that visitors loped into Scottsdale to shed their “city slickerings” for a week for the yee-haw of the western dude ranch. It was back when Scottsdale was the West’s Most Western Town. Now that same feeling with the proposed Reata Ranch Resort Residential, E. Rio Verde Rd. between 128th and 136th streets, in far northeast Scottsdale… Read more »

Money Pours into Mezzanine Loans

Debt funds are gathering cash to invest in commercial and multifamily properties, offering mortgages that range from mezzanine loans to senior financing to assets in transition. “They have many arrows in their quiver,” says David Cardwell, of the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC). Debt funds have benefited from the flood of money pouring into real estate. In 2013, 21 real estate debt funds reached a final close, raising a total of $10.7 billion… Read more »

After Two Year Hold, Camelback Arboleda Sold for $24.9m

Westport Capital Partners has closed its second disposition of a major opportunistic investment in the Phoenix market with its sale of the Camelback Arboleda on Thursday for $24.9m. or $139.27 per square foot. The buyer, EBF & Associates—a privately held registered investment advisor specializing in alternative investments—paid cash for the property… Read more »

State-Owned Land Primed for Development in Pinal County

Southeast of Apache Junction, a sprawling expanse of desert wilderness lies waiting to be claimed. Except for cattle and desert-dwelling wildlife, the 275 square miles of state-trust land is virtually uninhabited. Developers have leapfrogged the vast tract and built farther south in Pinal County… Read more »

Momentum Builds for Scottsdale McDowell Road Rebirth

Members of Scottsdale City Council say the local governing board’s No. 1 priority is to help — in any way possible — the cultivation of the revitalization of the McDowell Road Corridor. Scottsdale City Council discussed the topic at length during a two-hour April 1 work session discussion meant to clearly identify council priorities and to show tangible efforts to attain those goals… Read more »

Church and Apartments Set for Final Approval in Scottsdale Airpark

A mix of unique uses is in front of the Scottsdale City Council April 8. Impact Church is proposing to redevelop the 12 acre former Cardinale Way Buick Pontiac GMC dealership site with a 70KSF church, 311 unit, four-story apartment complex and six-level parking structure. The project is the first to be approved in the city’s new Planned Commerce Park zoning district… Read more »