Nick Miner, CCIM

Commercial Real Estate & Business News – May 21, 2013

Nick Miner, CCIM — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:26:26 +0000

This is my 12th trip to ICSC’s flagship event in the past 14 years and the thing that strikes me every time is the boundless optimism of retail real estate pros. Even in 2008—when the Las Vegas Convention Center was reduced to a ghost town by the Great Recession and the credit crisis—I remember executives assuring me that the dark days would pass quickly and, in fact, would yield amazing growth opportunities for the sector. This year is no exception. In fact, spirits seem to be soaring higher than ever. Attendance is in the neighborhood of 35,000, up about 10 percent from last year. The aisles and booths are packed. Everyone I’ve spoken to has a schedule overflowing with appointments. And they are not just “meet and greets.” People are here to buy or sell properties or sign leases. It bodes well for the rest of 2013… Read more »

Deep Freeze To Linger For GSA Office Needs

As the deadline arrives today for all federal agencies to submit reduced real estate plans, the continued office space freeze, consolidations and teleworking have combined for a historic event: an almost complete halt to national government office growth… Read more »

Fitch Ratings Says CMBS Delinquencies Lowest in Five Years

Commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) delinquencies in the United States fell in April to their lowest level in five years, according to the latest data from ratings agency Fitch Ratings. Late payments for CMBS declined 19 basis points in April, going down to 7.44 percent from 7.63 percent in March, according to Fitch Ratings. Furthermore, the total amount of new delinquencies reported in April, $747 million, dropped below the $1 billion mark for the first time since February 2009… Read more »

Outlook: All U.S. Real Estate Sectors to Post Gains in 2013 – Yes, Even Retail

Although 2013 isn’t a blockbuster year for real estate performance, landlords across an array of commercial property types are gaining pricing control and increased rental income from their assets… Read more »

Towering Above: Making a Statement in Downtown Scottsdale

A landmark in Downtown Scottsdale since 1972, imagine the view from this 11-story, Class A high-rise, formerly known as the Camelview Office Building at 6900 East Camelback Road. With its new designation of Camelback Tower, this exclusive property, connected to Scottsdale Fashion Square, has recently been reinvigorated, attracting new tenants to make a distinctive statement towering above Scottsdale… Read more »

Commercial Real Estate & Business News – May 17, 2013

Nick Miner, CCIM — Fri, 17 May 2013 22:48:54 +0000

Retail Rent Growth Finally Takes Root Across U.S. Metros

Following a recent string of relentlessly unexciting market trends in retail real estate over the past several quarters comes this distinctly positive news for retail property owners — quoted asking rents have finally turned upward across all retail property types in the U.S. for the first time since 2008… Read more »

Arizona Adding Jobs, but Unemploymnt Rate Holds Steady

Arizona’s job market remains flat. The state’s unemployment rate held steady at 7.9 percent in April for the third straight month. There were 5,200 jobs added by Arizona employers last month, according to the Arizona Department of Administration… Read more »

LA Buyer Snags 110,000-SF Scottsdale 68

Wilshire Capital Partners of Los Angeles purchased the Scottsdale 68 Design District from Fenway Properties for $11 million. The 109,652-square-foot sale ended Fenway’s more than five-year hold of the asset, which was once known as the 68th Street Design Center… Read more »

Recovery In CRE Sales, Pricing Up Year over Year, Despite Sluggish First Quarter

Just like clockwork, after ending 2012 on an upswing, commercial real estate pricing softened in the first three months of 2013, according to the latest findings from the CoStar Commercial Repeat Sale Indices (CCRSI). Despite uneven performance in the first quarter, CRE prices have still increased appreciably from year ago levels… Read more »

Boomers, Gen Y Drive RE Demand

With Baby Boomers and Generation Y-ers the “dominant drivers of real estate demand over the coming decade,” according to Urban Land Institute, their location preferences for working, living and playing are extremely influential in commercial real estate decision-making… Read more »

Commercial Real Estate & Business News – May 16, 2013

Nick Miner, CCIM — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:47:42 +0000

Confidence and the Consumer

Younan Properties Inc. is known for its investments in office properties, but it’s no stranger to retail product. In April, chairman and CEO Zaya Younan expanded the company’s footprint in that arena as it re-entered the Phoenix market through the all-cash purchase of a 137,552-square-foot foreclosed retail center, Scottsdale Promenade… Read more »

Industrial Income Trust Keeps Rolling…Spends $77+ Million For Industrial Project

A company formed by Industrial Income Trust (IIT) in Denver, Colo. (Dwight Merriman, CEO) paid $77+ million ($95.25 per foot) to buy a 808,419-square-foot commerce park located at the northwest corner of Dobson and Broadway roads in Mesa. The seller was Broadway 101 Ventures LLC, a company formed by RREEF Funds in Chicago, Ill. and Lincoln Property Co. in Phoenix… Read more »

Burger Chain Wants to Become a Habit in Phoenix

California hamburger chain The Habit Burger Grill plans to open two additional locations in the Phoenix area this summer. The first will be at 4575 E. Cactus Road, with an anticipated opening in July. Another store in Scottsdale at 16495 N. Scottsdale Road… Read more »

Experts See Pent-Up Investment Demand

Patience was the operative term at the economic forecast panel session at the Counselors of Real Estate’s midyear conference in New York City. All of the panelists predicted a slow, steady recovery.“It’s not all bad news in the investment area,” said panelist David Lynn, executive vice president and chief investment strategist with Cole Real Estate Investments in Phoenix, noting that the commercial real estate market… Read more »

Ryan Companies To Build Technology Center In Tempe For GoDaddy

Ryan Companies US, Inc. is the developer, design builder and property manager, and PHArchitecture is the architect behind a $27M, 2-story, 150,000 SF technology center in Tempe for Web host GoDaddy. The new building is part of expansion that is expected to generate hundreds of quality, new jobs for Arizona-based GoDaddy… Read more »

Commercial Real Estate & Business News – May 15, 2013

Nick Miner, CCIM — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:05:17 +0000

Running to Stand Still: The Office Sector Sees Marginal Improvements

The national office vacancy rate declined by 10 basis points during the first quarter to 17 percent, marking exactly the same pace as the decline recorded in the prior quarter. If demand for office space was more robust, vacancies would be declining at a much faster pace since supply additions are virtually nil (more on this below)… Read more »

‘Walmart on Campus’ to open at ASU’s Tempe campus Wednesday

The country’s second “Walmart on Campus” will open Wednesday at Arizona State University’s Tempe campus. The new location functions as a convenience store and offers ASU students and faculty easier access to Wal-Mart’s “everyday low prices,” according to a press release. Unlike typical Walmart locations, the Walmart on Campus will employ just 10 associates. Located in the Vista del Sol plaza off Apache Boulevard… Read more »

Glimcher, Crescent Communities Announce Plans for Luxury Apartments at Scottsdale Quarter

Glimcher Realty Trust and Crescent Communities announced plans to add a 275-unit, luxury apartment community to Scottsdale Quarter in Scottsdale. Located on the NEC of the property along Greenway-Hayden road, the community will include upscale amenities and modern décor. Development will begin in 4Q 2013. “We are pleased to announce our partnership with Crescent Communities, one of the nation’s premier… Read more »

U.S. REIT Gains Outpace Equity Market

U.S. real estate investment trusts continued their upward trajectory in the first four months of the year, according to the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts’ May 2013 REIT report. The FTSE NAREIT All REITs Index gained 15.4 percent year to date (22.2 percent year over year) and the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index gained 14.9 percent YTD (21.2 percent YOY)… Read more »

East Valley Professional Plaza Sells for $5.94m

Dr. Sylvester Johnson, PhD, an investor based out of Laguna Beach and New York City, has acquired the East Valley Professional Plaza from Ensemble Real Estate Solutions for $5.94m or $313.82 per ft2. Dr Johnson paid cash and secured $3.3m in new debt with Wells Fargo. The East Valley Professional Plaza is an 18,928 ft2 two-story medical office built in 2007 on 2.01 acres… Read more »

Commercial Real Estate & Business News – May 14, 2013

Nick Miner, CCIM — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:06:44 +0000

Big CMBS Play Will Put KeyBank into Top Tier of Servicers

KeyBank Real Estate Capital, the CRE business unit of KeyCorp, Cleveland, has entered into a series of agreements that reportedly will make it the nation’s third-largest named servicer of commercial/multi-family loans, with a commercial mortgage servicing portfolio of about $205 billion… Read more »

Lodging Industry Glass More Than Half Full

In keeping with the cautiously buoyant mood of the larger commercial real estate industry, the lodging sector is optimistic about the opportunities the near-term market offers. While there are some potential bumps in the road), the outlook for hotels of all stripes and in virtually all locales seems pretty promising… Read more »

Retail Sales Post Strong Gains in April

Retailers reaped some benefit from a strengthening economy, as sales at the nation’s stores posted an increase of 0.6 percent in April, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. With an improving employment picture, as well as rising housing and stock prices, consumers felt confident in April to splurge a bit more than they have of late… Read more »

Arizona Biltmore Sold to Arm of Singapore Government

The iconic Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix has been purchased by an arm of the Government of Singapore for an undisclosed amount, officially pulling the troubled property out of a two-year string of bankruptcy proceedings, according to public records… Read more »

Freddie Mac Settles $369M Senior Housing K-Deal

Freddie Mac will be settling $369 million in K Certificates this week, in a transaction it first announced in April. The deal is backed exclusively by senior housing collateral, the first such deal by the GSE. It is Freddie Mac’s seventh K Certificate offering this year… Read more »

Commercial Real Estate & Business News – May 13, 2013

Nick Miner, CCIM — Mon, 13 May 2013 16:45:59 +0000

Market Trend: Phoenix’s Retail Deliveries, Construction and Inventory

During the first quarter 2013, seven buildings totaling 88,451 square feet were completed in the Phoenix retail market. Over the past four quarters, a total of 968,842 square feet of retail space has been built in Phoenix. In addition to the current quarter, 15 buildings with 542,958 square feet were completed in fourth quarter 2012… Read more »

Mesa GM Site Reborn as a Housing Development

Four years after General Motors turned out the lights on its Desert Proving Ground in Mesa, you’d hardly know the place. The iconic white water tower is still there, although the GM logo has been painted over. A few of the old buildings remain, fenced off and crumbling on the east side of Ellsworth Road… Read more »

Ground Shifts for Fannie, Freddie

Since they were seized by the federal government and bailed out with more than $200 billion in taxpayer funds, government-sponsored entities (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been in a kind of limbo. The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac programs continue to be the leading source of permanent financing for the apartment business… Read more »

10 Hottest U.S. Housing Markets of 2013

After a long and painful downturn in the housing market, home prices in many—but not all—regions of the U.S. are showing signs of recovery. According to Zillow, a real estate listing website, home values rose 5.1% across the U.S. between February 2012 and February 2013. Many local housing markets are performing considerably better than the country as a whole… Read more »

Shopping Center Rents Rise 5.5 Percent YOY

U.S. shopping centers posted their fourth consecutive net operating income gain in 1Q13, rising 5.5 percent since 1Q12, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers and the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries. After years of sluggish growth, Midwestern shopping centers posted an 8.6 percent NOI gain year over year, followed by the West with a 7.3 percent YOY increase… Read more »

Commercial Real Estate & Business News – May 10, 2013

Nick Miner, CCIM — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:15:46 +0000

Equity Residential Continues Phoenix Divestiture, Sells Sycamore Creek to Henderson Global Investors

Equity Residential (EQR) has sold their third major multi-family development for the quarter—Scottsdale’s 350-unit Sycamore Creek Apartments—to representatives of Henderson Global Investors for $37.7m or $107,174.28 per unit. This sale marks the sixteenth disposition by EQR since announcing plans to acquire the assets of Archstone Enterprises from Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in the fourth quarter of 2012. Henderson plans several capital improvements for the property, including upgrades of the pool and clubhouse area… Read more »

Conn’s Signs 277,000-SF Lease

Conn Appliances Inc., a division of Conn’s Inc. has signed a 10-year, 277,649 square foot lease in the first phase of Coldwater Depot Logistics Center, an industrial project under development by Trammell Crow Co. and Clarion Partners. Phase 1, which is nearing completion, is comprised of approximately 604,000 square feet of space… Read more »

Spain-Based Abengoa to Build $110M Plant in Glendale

Spain-based Abengoa announced it will build a $110 million facility in Glendale that will cook household trash at extreme temperatures, forming a gas that can be burned to make electricity. Abengoa said it will build and run the plant for Vieste LLC, a Chicago company that has been negotiating with the city to build the facility at the landfill west of Loop 101 between Northern and Glendale avenues… Read more »

Marketplace One Realizes 47.5% Annualized Rate of Return on Sale of Surprise Acreage

Harvard Investments paid $14.35m for 359.91 acres of roughly graded residential land within the Desert Oasis and Sunrise Ranch subdivisions in Surprise. The sales price represents a $39,871 Per Acre Price and a $0.91 Per Square Foot Price. Harvard paid cash for the property and annexed 1.27 adjacent acres pursuant to an outstanding agreement prior to the acquisition… Read more »

Amenzone Primal Fitness Expands to Fountain Hills, Plans Six More Locations

Roughly seven months after launching into franchising, Scottsdale-based Amenzone Primal Fitness has opened its second location this month and has six additional centers in the works… Read more »

Commercial Real Estate & Business News – May 9, 2013

Nick Miner, CCIM — Thu, 09 May 2013 18:43:07 +0000

Village at Surprise has New OwnerA little more than two years after acquiring the 27,205-square-foot Village at Surprise, Pacific West Land, operating under the entity name PWDAF Bell and Litchfield LLC, sold the property to Kierland Village Center LLC. The Bainbridge Island, WA-based seller walked away from the deal with a little more than $6 million in its bank account. Built in 2004, the Village at Surprise is leased to… Read more »

Vestar Secures $63.5 Million Loan For Refinancing Of Queen Creek Marketplace

Vestar has secured a seven-year permanent loan totaling $63.5 million for the refinancing of Queen Creek Marketplace, a 686,000-square-foot power center located at the Southwestcorner of Ellsworth Loop Road and Rittenhouse Road in Queen Creek, Ariz.. The loan was provided by Bank of America in Phoenix. Developed in 2008… Read more »

Mesa’s Main Street Businesses Ready For Light-Rail Construction

For months, business owners along Mesa’s Main Street in the city’s downtown have watched as light-rail construction crews slowly crept toward their area. The wait is now over. After months of planning, the crews will start work east of Country Club Drive Wednesday for the extension of METRO ‘s light rail system… Read more »

Multifamily GSE Lending Reform: Potentially Disruptive and Inherently Valueless

Without some form of government guarantees, the multifamily lending businesses of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have little inherent value, so conclude Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in reports prepared for their conservator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and released this week… Read more »

Commercial Properties Face Some Tough Medicine

As loans hit their expiration dates, maturity defaults dominate the trends shaping distressed markets this year. In the past few years, concerns have mounted over maturing commercial real estate loans, particularly as the loans made at the height of the market began to reach maturity. Borrowers have scrambled to seek loan modifications and workouts, and this trend is likely to continue for years to come… Read more »

Commercial Real Estate & Business News – May 8, 2013

Nick Miner, CCIM — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:00:36 +0000

Here are the news articles you might find interesting today for commercial real estate and business:

Sold: Sale/Lease Back Single Tenant Property – Rockies Diner I exclusively represented the buyer in a sale/lease back opportunity. This was a great opportunity for both the buyer and the seller. Seller was able to free up capital and buyer was able to get a return on their investment. View article…

Bellagio apartments in Scottsdale sell for $26 million A Vancouver, Wash.-based multifamily investor recently handed over $25.75 million to acquire the 202-unit Bellagio apartment complex in north Scottsdale, according to a statement this week from Xceligent Inc. View article…

JDM Partners Picks Up ~100k SF Office Building in South Tempe Jerry Colangelo, David Eaton, and Mel Shultz of JDM Partners have picked up an 102,435 square foot office building in Tempe for $14.32M or $139.80 per square foot. JDM Partners paid iStar Financial–the seller–$5.27M in cash and reportedly financed the remainder, though no new debt was located. The two-story office building at 8320 S Hardy Dr, conveyed as Lot 3 of the Warner Crossing subdivision in South Tempe. View article…

GoDaddy Global Technology Center Breaks Ground in Tempe Governor Jan Brewer today was proud to stand with GoDaddy, the Web’s top platform for small businesses, as executives with the Arizona-based company announced plans for a significant expansion in Tempe. The expansion is expected to generate 300 quality, new jobs for the fast-growing provider of Web domain names, Web hosting and SSL. Joining the Governor for the announcement at Arizona State University Research Park was GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving and Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell, as well as officials with Ryan Companies, the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) and the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC). View article…

Tierra Partners Acquires Westwind Terrace for $7.1M Tierra Partners VII LLC acquired the Westwind Terrace at Superstition Springs office building located at 6402 E. Superstition Springs Blvd. in Mesa, AZ from Westwind Holdings LLC for $7.1 million, or about $131 per square foot. View article…

Tempe Apartment Site Sold for $6M Oliver McMillan purchased the 3.7-acre apartment site located at 260 E. Rio Salado Parkway in Tempe, AZ from a subsidiary of Sunbelt Holdings for $5.85 million, or about $1.58 million per acre. Oliver McMillan acquired preliminary approvals before the close of escrow. The proposed 264-unit apartment building will total 327,182 square feet of living space. It will be four-stories with a fifth-story loft. Including two levels of underground parking will bring the project to 524,815 square feet. View article…

Heatherwood Plaza Sells in Glendale Westwood Financial Corporation acquired a portion of the Heatherwood Plaza from American National Insurance Co. for $3.6 million. The transaction included a free-standing outparcel building at the plaza plus a portion of the main strip attached to the Fry’s building at the location, including the vacant former Dollar Tree space at the plaza. View article…

Grand Canyon University looking to expand in Mesa or Gilbert Gilbert and Mesa are the two East Valley communities that made the short list for Grand Canyon University’s expansion plans. GCU President and CEO Brian Mueller told analysts in an earnings conference call today that he is making progress with Gilbert and Mesa, both of which have “very attractive sites.” View article…

Conn’s Signs 277,000-SF Lease Conn Appliances Inc., a division of Conn’s Inc. has signed a 10-year, 277,649 square foot lease in the first phase of Coldwater Depot Logistics Center, an industrial project under development by Trammell Crow Co. and Clarion Partners. Phase 1, which is nearing completion, is comprised of approximately 604,000 square feet of space. View article…

Sold: Sale/Lease Back Single Tenant Property – Rockies Diner

Nick Miner, CCIM — Tue, 07 May 2013 17:18:41 +0000

Exclusively represented the buyer in a sale/lease back opportunity. This was a great opportunity for both the buyer and the seller. Seller was able to free up capital and buyer was able to get a return on their investment.

Sales Price: $585,000Going-in
Cap Rate: 10.26%

For more information, click here…