Author: BEX Staff

Budget, Policy & Stimulus News Opposition Mounts to New SBA PPP Questionnaire The Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Loan forgiveness questionnaire has been revised to increase resistance from business and industry organizations. The questionnaire focuses on businesses’ good faith certifications as part of applying for loans of $2M or more. Opponents say the documentation requirements are excessive and there was insufficient opportunity for comment on the changes. (Source) Economic News Ground Leases a Path for Equity Relief Investment management firm Kawa Capital Management suggests ground leases can be a viable way for property owners to enhance liquidity and for investors…

Home Matters® to Arizona, which is planning a $100M fund over two years to finance affordable housing projects in Arizona, announced its first award recipients that will receive a total of $1.2M. “Home Matters to Arizona is honored to fund these projects across Arizona, which will serve people experiencing homelessness, individuals living with mental illness, domestic violence survivors and low-income families and be located near resources that improve social determinants of health throughout Arizona,” said Lorry Bottrill, CEO, Mercy Care and Home Matters Arizona Governance Fund chair. Home Matters Arizona Fund is prioritizing and funding promising projects throughout the state that are positioned to…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 8.0 percent in October 2020, from September 2020, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. The national rate decreased to 6.9 percent from 7.9 percent in September. In October 2019, the state had a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.5 percent, and the national was at 3.6 percent. The state had a net gain of 43,100 non-farm jobs over the month. “Historically (2010-2019), Nonfarm employment has averaged a gain of 27,500 jobs in October,” the report states. Professional & Business Services had the…

Giving Back 1. Six volunteers from ABI Multifamily on November 14th joined Habitat for Humanity to work on a home renovation project for a deserving Mesa family. Awards & Accolades 2. AZ Business Magazine named Sherman Cawley, President and Founder of Cawley Architects, one of the Business Leaders to Watch in 2021. A native Arizonan, Cawley has practiced architecture in Phoenix for 40 years, primarily in the design-build commercial arena. After founding Cawley Architects in 1994 and collaborating with the Valley’s foremost builders, Cawley Architects quickly became one of the premier design-build architectural firms in Arizona. Boards & Commissions 3.…

Sales Transactions 1. An undisclosed buyer represented by Martin Cohan of Marcus and Millichap, Steve Gebing  and Cliff David of IPA, purchased Riata, a 300-unit Class A multifamily community in Chandler for an undisclosed amount. CBRE’s Tyler Anderson, Sean Cunningham, Asher Gunter, Matt Pesch, and Mark McFate of Phoenix Multifamily Institutional Properties represented the seller, Embrey Partners. 2. Inland Real Estate Group purchased Christopher Todd Communities at Stadium, a 313-unit single-family rental community at 9999 W. Missouri Avenue, Glendale, for $82.95M from Christopher Todd Communities. Trevor Koskovich, president of investment sales for NorthMarq, brokered the transaction. 3. KKR purchased a…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX  Updated plans for a new mixed-use development to be located at the SEC of Val Vista Drive and Mercy Road were reviewed at the Town of Gilbert’s Planning Commission meeting on October 7th.  Before the developer, Diversified Partners, purchased the vacant property from The Victoria Lund Foundation back in August 2020, The Mercy Val Vista Center was envisioned as a nine-building mixed-use development on five lots including 99.3KSF of commercial, retail, restaurant, medical offices and a six-story, 107-room hotel. (AZBEX, 03-06-2020)  According to the current documents submitted to the town, Diversified Partners is looking to reconfigure the entire development, now called Mercy Medical Center, which will include consolidating the…

Economic News  Good News in Affordable Housing  A recent report from MRI Software offers some hope for the affordable housing sector. Rent payments last month reached past 80 percent year-over-year for the first time since June. Payments rose to 82 percent, while public housing collections dropped slightly to 94 percent, compared to 98 percent in September. Another cause for optimism is the fact affordable housing occupancy is tightening. (Source)  COVID Accelerating Retail Impacts  E-commerce made up roughly nine percent of retail sales in 2017, a total of $342.5B. The trend was projected to grow one percent per year. The impacts of the pandemic crisis have dramatically…

The Rio Nuevo Board unanimously approved the next steps in its Tucson Convention Center revitalization project. These will advance more than $4.5M in continued information technology upgrades and meeting room additions. Outside lighting will also be upgraded to conform with Tucson’s Dark Sky Ordinance. (Source) 

Groundbreakings  1. Westcore broke ground this month on a 720KSF, three-building industrial campus at 199th Avenue and Fairway Drive, Avondale. Westcore teamed with The Opus Group to serve as its development manager, as well as the design-build general contractor, and expects to complete the campus during the second quarter of next year.  2. It took two sessions to officially break ground for an Exceptional Healthcare facility at the northwest corner of John Wayne Parkway and Honeycutt Avenue. The $20M private facility with a 24-hour emergency department is expected to be complete by late 2021. The prime contractor is BMH Builders of Dallas.  3. America Development &…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX  A limited service hotel is being planned for a vacant 2.9-acre site north of Baseline Road and east of Mesa Drive.  Gilmore Planning & Landscape Architecture, on behalf of developer, BG Edge, LLC, submitted plans to the City of Mesa and is requesting design review approval for the 122-room hotel called Woodspring Suites. The City of Mesa heard the request at its November 10th Design Review Board meeting.  The site intended for the hotel is located on the southern end of a larger 5.5-acre property. The northern portion of the property is expected to house other commercial projects that will include three PAD sites. …