In the News—Week of August 10, 2026
Deal of the Week
Thomas Title & Escrow is proud to highlight the successful closing of a $3.61 million commercial refinance for a multifamily property located in Tempe, Arizona. This transaction required careful coordination across multiple teams and involved several title and lender. The transaction also involved multiple tax parcels associated with the property and required an extended lender policy. Congratulations to our Business development team, and Escrow Officer, for their hard work and coordination in bringing this transaction to a successful close. Their attention to detail and collaboration helped ensure a smooth closing from title and escrow through lender requirements and final disbursement.
National
Potential tenants don’t want to wait for Hudson Square project to finish
Despite booming demand across Hudson Square, Taconic Partners and leasing agent JLL have yet to land a tenant for One Grand, the New York Post reports. One Grand is a planned 430,000-square-foot development at Grand and Varick streets. The surrounding subdistrict’s leasing volume soared from under 500,000 square feet in 2024 to more than 1.5 million so far this year. The neighborhood’s momentum is evident in major deals like Disney’s headquarters at 7 Hudson Square, Anthropic’s lease for all of 330 Hudson St., Google’s purchase of St. John’s Terminal and PayPal’s 261,000-square-foot lease at 345 Hudson St./555 Greenwich St. According to JLL’s Kristen Morgan, the holdup on One Grand comes down to timing: tenants want move-in-ready space immediately, while the ground-up project will take 36 months to build.
National
Bally’s halts work on part of casino project in fight with Chicago over video terminals
Bally’s Chicago is pausing construction on nearly all non-gaming amenities at its River West casino complex after issuing a reset notice to its general contractor over a dispute with city officials, WGN reports, citing the Chicago Tribune. Bally’s contends that Chicago’s legalization of video game terminals citywide as part of the 2026 budget violates its 2022 host agreement. Bally’s wants the city to halt video game terminals rollout everywhere except its own casino properties. The standoff has sidelined roughly 1,500 union workers, though the casino itself remains on track for an early 2027 opening. As leverage, Bally’s plans to withhold a $4 million annual payment due to the city in September until the dispute is resolved — a fraction of the estimated $200 million in annual local tax revenue the city expects the casino to generate for police and firefighter pensions. The company continues to operate its temporary casino at Medinah Temple, whose license expires Sept. 9, while a pending state bill that has not yet passed could extend that timeline through September 2027 if needed.
National
Blackstone sells industrial properties in 10 states worth more than $1 billion
Blackstone has sold a 5.9 million-square-foot industrial portfolio spanning 38 warehouse properties for more than $1 billion in an off-market deal, Hoodline reports. Blackstone is transferring the assets to a joint venture led by PCCP and Stonemont Financial Group. The portfolio spans 14 markets across 10 states, including major logistics hubs such as Denver, Dallas, Atlanta, Charlotte, El Paso, and includes more than 70 tenants. The buyers paid more than $169 per square foot in the transaction.
National
UCLA buys CRE portfolio for area that borders its campus in Westwood
UCLA has become one of the largest commercial landlords in the Westwood area of Los Angeles after paying $49.8 million for a 16-property portfolio, Realty Today reports. The properties include 181,855 square feet of retail, office and open space just south of UCLA’s campus. The seller was Anderson Real Estate, the family company tied to the late John E. Anderson. UCLA’s business school is named after Anderson, whose family donated more than $140 million to the university. UC Investments, which manages the system’s roughly $190 billion portfolio, has not announced any redevelopment plans. The acquisition gives the university direct control over leasing and tenant mix in a district that has struggled with retail vacancy near 40% in recent years amid the closures of chains like Sur La Table and Victoria’s Secret. The purchase follows a broader pattern of UCLA real estate acquisitions, including the $700 million Westside Pavilion mall conversion into a research park and the $55 million South Bay property now being redeveloped into a sports medicine institute.
Arizona
Rents for homes continue to soften in state, rest of U.S.
Arizona’s single-family rental market slowdown, which began in 2025, has continued into 2026, AZ Big Media reports. Figures from Rentometer’s mid-year analysis show most Arizona cities recorded flat or declining median rents for three-bedroom homes, in line with a trend across the nation. The statewide median asking rent is now at $2,150. Among major cities in Arizona, Scottsdale was the highest at $3,500 (flat), followed by Tempe at $2,500 (+0.2%), Chandler at $2,385 (+0.4%), Gilbert at $2,295 (+0.2%), Mesa at $2,265 (+0.9%), Phoenix at $2,200 (+2.2%), Glendale at $2,125 (+1.2%), and Tucson at $1,897 (+0.1%). Analysts attribute the cooling trend to increased housing supply, apartment concessions, growing build-to-rent development, and more homeowners opting to rent properties rather than sell.
Arizona
CapRock Partners pays $37.4 million for industrial facility near Loop 303
CapRock Partners, a privately owned industrial real estate investor and developer, has acquired Summit at Surprise for $37.4 million, AZ Big Media reports. Summit is a newly completed 244,847-square-foot Class A industrial with property consisting of two freestanding buildings — a 79,200-square-foot Building A and a 165,647-square-foot Building B. Summit is near Loop 303, Loop 101 and Northern Parkway, and was roughly 15% leased at the time of purchase. CapRock’s Phoenix-area portfolio is approximately 7 million square feet of industrial space.
