Author: BEX Staff

Ascent at the Phoenician, a $350M, 195-unit luxury condo community planned by Replay Destinations, recently moved a step closer to reality with the developer’s purchase of 32 acres near the Phoenician Golf Club.   Replay bought the land from The Phoenician’s owner, Host Hotels & Resorts, for $65M and subsequently sold a 51-lot portion to single-family developer Cullum Homes for $30M.  The first 30 condos Replay intends to build near the golf club’s first fairway are planned at 2.5KSF-3KSF. Replay will also serve as master developer for Cullum Homes’ luxury custom single-family project. (Source) 

While Apartment List’s National Rent Index is down 1.4 percent over the last year, rents in Tucson have increased 4.7 percent since the start of the COVID-19 crisis. Since March, Tucson’s month-over-month rents are up 0.6 percent, and year-over-year increases total 5.9 percent. Phoenix’s year-over-year growth is 3.3 percent since March. (Source) 

Giving Back  1. Friendship Village Tempe, City of Tempe and Ryan Companies announced the completion of the Friendship Evergreen Community Garden at Ehrhardt Park. The new, one-acre community garden will provide the opportunity for Friendship Village residents and the surrounding neighborhood to grow food or plants in a communal setting. Friendship Village Tempe signed a three-year lease with the City for 30KSF within Ehrhardt park to build the garden. Friendship Village funded most of the project and also received donations. Ryan was involved from conception to completion, designing and building the new park attraction.  Awards & Accolades  2. DWL Architects + Planners Inc. recently received four out of six…

Sales Transactions  1. A global real estate investor purchased a 110.7KSF industrial property at 225 S. 51st Street in the Phoenix Sky Harbor submarket for an undisclosed amount. Will Strong of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, CapRock Partners. The buyer represented itself. The property is currently fully leased by Greif, a global leader in industrial packaging products and services.  2. Agave Center OR, LLC, an entity formed by CAMCO purchased the Agave Business Center, a 55.2KSF multi-tenant industrial/flex building at 8945 S. Harl Avenue, Tempe, for $8M. Mike Coover, Eric Wichterman, Will Strong, Greer Oliver and Phil Haenel with Cushman & Wakefield in Phoenix represented the seller, DIG Agave Center, LLC, an entity controlled by Dornin Investment Group.  3.…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX  A new mixed-use development including office and hotel towers is being planned for the site of the historic Tempe train depot that was built in 1924.  E&R Holdings, LLC, a company affiliated with mixed-use developer, RED Development, is requesting a Planned Area Development Overlay, a use permit for tandem parking and a Development Plan Review for the project, known as Tempe Depot.   Tempe Depot will be located on a 2.52-acre site at 300 South Ash Avenue, the site of the current Macayo’s Depot Cantina and historic train depot. The developer is proposing to preserve and rehabilitate the 3.7KSF train depot structure along the…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX  Kaplan Management Company has recently resubmitted their plans for a new multifamily development within the McCormick Ranch Center in Scottsdale.  The site, located at 9375 East Shea Boulevard, is still currently zoned as Commercial Office Planned Community District and Highway Commercial Planned Community District. Kaplan has resubmitted a request to the City of Scottsdale to rezone the +/- 11-acre site to Planned Unit Development Planned Community District, in order to allow for a new luxury multifamily development that would boost the existing surrounding office and retail and promote a live/work/play environment.  Their request for a Non-Major General Plan Amendment from an Office land-use designation…

Budget, Policy & Stimulus News  Litchfield Park Revises Business Assistance Program  Litchfield Park has eased the requirements for businesses and nonprofits seeking COVID-19-related relief grants under its Business Assistance Program. Despite putting $180K in federal CARES Act monies aside in August to provide grants of up to $10K, the initial qualification requirements and deadlines proved too cumbersome for some potential applicants. Nonprofits had also been excluded from the initial program. (Source)  Economic News  2022 Recovery Predicted for Hotels  The hotel sector suffered record performance impacts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but CBRE’s latest Hotel Horizons report predicts the demand for accommodations in the U.S. market will return to pre-crisis levels…

Groundbreakings  1. Sky Plus Hotels, an affiliate of SkyBridge Arizona, announced the development of a new dual brand, 127-room Wingate/Hawthorn Suites hotel at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. The Sky Plus Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Hotel will open sometime in the first quarter of 2022.  2. Tower Capital arranged a $56M construction loan for The Village at Pioneer Park, a new 332-unit single-family rental community at 83rd Avenue and Olive being developed by The Empire Group. The Village at Pioneer Park is scheduled to be complete in 2022.  3. The Gadsden Elementary School District recently broke ground on a 6.1KSF gymnasium for Rio Colorado Elementary School located at 1055 N. Main Street, Yuma. Pilkington Construction is the general contractor, and the project is expected to be done in June 2021.  Progress Reports  4.…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX  Developer, Wood Partners is looking to bring another “Alta” brand multifamily residential development to the City of Chandler.  The city recently heard and approved a request to amend the existing Planned Area Development zoning at the SWC of Chandler and Parklane Boulevards to multifamily with a Mid-Rise Overlay, and approved the preliminary development plan for the proposed 293-unit luxury apartment complex, called Alta Chandler at the Park.  The other project Wood Partners developed, called Alta San Marcos, is located at the SWC of Chandler Boulevard and Dakota Street and was completed in late 2018.  The development will consist of a…

Budget, Policy & Stimulus News  Floodgates Open on PPP Loan Forgiveness  The Small Business Administration is facing a mountain of Paycheck Protection Program loan documents and forgiveness applications as the “floodgates” open on small businesses asking for their loans to be forgiven. The renewed forgiveness push comes after the SBA released a simplified forgiveness form for businesses with loans under $50K. (Source: Phoenix Business Journal)  Economic News  Amendments Allow for Clarification on Existing Leases  For the last six or seven months, lease modifications and amendments have been abundant. While many of the modifications and amendments have been pandemic related and frustrating for the parties, the good news is that like lease…