As we approach the fourth quarter of 2016, the Phoenix retail market is experiencing its lowest vacancy rates since 2008. Vacancy has dropped to just under 9 percent, a slight improvement from the start of 2015, while rental rates have climbed 0.8 percent to $14.53 per square foot. Positive economic indicators such as population growth, a favorable job market, and new-home construction are all contributing toward a healthy retail market in Phoenix. Consumer confidence continues to rise and demand for retail space has become stronger than previous years. Vacant spaces in core locations are being absorbed by national, regional and local retailers as well. Anchor space activity continues to be geared around value-oriented retailers, fitness users, family entertainment concepts and alternative uses. Quick-serve restaurants are the most active tenants in the market. These concepts include Panera Bread, Starbucks, Café Rio, Pieology, MOD Pizza and Jimmy John’s. In addition, new health-conscious restaurants are starting to look at Phoenix for store openings in 2017, such as Ahi Poki, Eat Fit Go, Grabba Green and Nekter. Supermarkets are driving new development in core trade areas of Phoenix, as well as in high-growth markets. Fry’s Food & Drug has started construction on seven new …
GLENDALE AND CHANDLER, ARIZ. — Meridian Capital Group has arranged $116.4 million to refinance four multifamily properties in Arizona. The four properties were financed in two separate loans. The first loan was for Tela Verde and Tuscany Palms in Glendale. The assets contain a total of 778 units. The properties in the second loan include Alante at the Islands and Laguna Village in Chandler. These assets contain a total of 780 units. Meridian originally financed these four properties as part of a seven-property portfolio acquisition loan on behalf of PB Bell Companies in July 2014. The firm sold the other three properties while repositioning the four assets included in this refinancing. Meridian’s Seth Grossman, Sarah Kuebler and Ryan Gandell arranged the two fixed-rate, non-recourse financing packages.
FLAGSTAFF, ARIZ. — Exchange Services has acquired The Lodge, a 252-unit luxury apartment community in Flagstaff, for $43.6 million. The community is located on Lake Mary Road just south of the I-17/I-40 freeway interchange. The Lodge was built in 2004. Exchange Services acted as an intermediary for SK5-ELA LLC (Keller Investment Properties LLC). David Fogler and Steven Nicoluzakis of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Clear Sky Lodge LP, in this transaction. The company is a partnership between Clear Sky Capital and Narland Properties.
The Phoenix industrial market is thriving, despite more than 5.6 million square feet of new construction set to deliver this year. There is enough demand in this market to keep the average vacancy rate at a near eight-year low of 9.7 percent, while absorption is on pace to exceed 6 million square feet for the third year in a row. Tenants have more choices than ever thanks to all this new inventory. Many are making a flight to quality, upgrading to next-generation space featuring wide column spacing and clear heights of up to 36 feet. This is particularly valuable in the West Valley, where large, efficiency-focused, third-party logistics firms and e-commerce companies must maximize how they manage vast amounts of product. Some of these needs are so specific that corporations have opted to custom build, as is the case with the recently completed 400,000-square-foot REI distribution center and the 384,377-square-foot IRIS USA facility, both situated in Surprise. These projects rank as the Valley’s two largest owner-builder completions of the year and have propelled the Northwest submarket — the third smallest industrial submarket in metro Phoenix — into the “hot” category. Meanwhile, owners and builders have gotten more creative in centralized …
CHANDLER, ARIZ. — Aukum Management has purchased the 288-unit Cantera apartments in Chandler for $46 million. The community is located at 2475 W. Pecos Road. Cantera was built adjacent to the Price Road Corridor, the area’s largest high-tech employment hub, in 2002. About 200 units will undergo a renovation. CBRE’s Tyler Anderson, Sean Cunningham, Asher Gunter and Matt Pesch executed the transaction. The seller was Rockwood Capital.
TEMPE, ARIZ. — Canada-based Western Wealth Capital has acquired Amber Gardens, a 164-unit multifamily community located less than one mile away from the Arizona State University campus in Tempe, for $17 million. The property — built in 1985 — features a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units. Amenities include two pools, a spa, 24-hour fitness center, clubhouse and laundry facilities. United Development Group was the seller in the transaction. Carrick Sears and Chip Kloppenburg of SVN Desert Commercial Advisors represented the buyer.
PRESCOTT, ARIZ. — Bascom Arizona Ventures has acquired the Prescott Lakes Senior Community, a 123-unit luxury independent living community for $18 million or $146,341 per unit. Built in 2003, the community is located within the Prescott Lakes master-planned community in Prescott, about 100 miles north of Phoenix. Bascom plans interior and exterior renovations to the community, including an in-pool lounge, new entrances and a remodeled clubhouse. Brian Halpern and Alex Kane of Jones Lang LaSalle Americas Inc. arranged the debt financing for the buyer. John Cunningham from JLL represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. Bascom Arizona Ventures is an affiliate of private equity firm The Bascom Group LLC.
GOODYEAR, ARIZ. — REI will build its new distribution center in Goodyear to be net zero energy as it pursues LEED-Platinum — the highest level in the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) rating system. Situated in the Arizona desert, the facility is intended to be one of the world’s most sustainable distribution centers. REI is driving sustainability and efficiency at its new distribution center in several new ways: • The facility’s 2.2 megawatt solar system produces renewable energy on-site, enough to power the entire facility annually. The system is expected to provide REI with 20 years of free energy and pay for itself in five years. • REI and its partners have designed an omnichannel one-touch fulfillment system, enabling one person to process items eight times faster than the typical distribution center. • The distribution center will help restore the nearby Verde River, enhancing water flows and recreation access. • The distribution center features a non-evaporative cooling system fully powered by renewable energy, saving millions of gallons of water every year. Butler Design Group designed the facility in collaboration with Rocky Mountain Institute. The developer is Merit Partners Inc., and the builder is The Renaissance Companies. DMW&Hand KNAPP led technology design, …
The Greater Phoenix multifamily market continues to thrive in a high-demand environment, driven by strong tenant volume and investor interest. As the local economy expands, employers are adding workers at a steady pace while demand for housing is on the rise. Apartments remain the preferred choice for many, pushing multifamily vacancy rates low even as new units are added to inventory. We fully anticipate these conditions to continue in the year ahead. Multifamily vacancy in the Greater Phoenix market ended the second quarter of 2016 at 5.9 percent, 20 basis points lower than one year earlier. Vacancy typically ticks higher in the second quarter, as some part-time residents escape the summer heat wave. This trend occurred again this year. Despite the recent seasonal rise, vacancy has been below 6 percent for the past four quarters, and the rate will undoubtedly tick lower in the second half of this year. The low-vacancy conditions are fueling robust rent growth. Asking rents have spiked by more than 8 percent in the past year, while the pace of gains is accelerating. Asking rents rose more than 5 percent in the first half of 2016, with additional increases anticipated in the months ahead. More than …
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. — Lee & Associates has arranged the $72.5 million sale of Sonora Village shopping center in Scottsdale. Jan Fincham and Pat Dempsey of Lee & Associates facilitated the transaction for the buyer, Sonora Village LLC, and the seller, Sonora Village Investors LLC. The 269,369-square-foot shopping center is home to tenants including Best Buy, Staples, Party City, Pearle Vision, Aaron’s, Mattress Firm and Wildflower Bakery.