
In the News—Week of August 15, 2022
Deal of the Week
The ownership group of a licensed cannabis operation in Pennsylvania completed a sale/leaseback transaction with a Chicago-based real estate investment firm. The 100,000 square-foot cultivation facility in Pennsylvania traded for $30 million. The transaction was closed in our Scottsdale, Arizona office by Joel Montemayor, Assistant Vice President and Escrow Officer, and Chadwick Campbell, Senior Counsel and head of our cannabis real estate transactions group, which has closed over $375 million in transactions nationally.
National
Rents in California going up – especially in desirable suburbs
California rents are rocketing upward, and the biggest increases are in the suburbs, the Los Angeles Times reports. Figures from Rent show that Palo Alto near Stanford has the third highest rents in the country, behind Boston and Jersey City, N.J. Glendale, California, and Santa Monica are fourth and fifth. San Diego is ninth, and Newport Beach is 10th. Los Angeles is 12th and San Francisco is 13th. “At one point in the middle of the pandemic, Oakland overtook San Francisco in average rent prices,” Jon Leckie, a data journalist for Rent, tells the Times. “That shows that people said, ‘Let’s get out of the city center into something that’s not too far away.’ You could still go to the office, but you’re far enough away that you get away from the city center and don’t have to deal with crowds of people.”
Energy & Efficiency
Golden State puts aside money to pay for fossil fuel power plants
The state of California is against fossil fuels. But the Golden State is more opposed to the lights going out, Politico reports. The state government has millions earmarked to buy power from fossil fuel plants. Some of those plants were supposed to close next year. Critics say the approach could keep the plants alive for a decade or more. The lawmakers who backed the policy and the governor’s office say such measures are needed to avoid blackouts.
Texas
Trammell Crow subsidiary, Japanese firm building high-end apartments
Trammell Crow’s subsidiary High Street Residential and Japan’s Daiwa House Group are building a high-end apartment project in the suburb of Kingwood, The Real Deal reports. Houston already topped the nation in luxury apartment construction in the past decade, figures from Yardi Matrix show. Even with the onset of a recession, the Houston market is expected to rank third in the nation for apartment demand trailing only Dallas and Austin metro areas.
Texas
Fort Worth apartments gain on single-family homes
The makeup of residences in Fort Worth is changing, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. Multifamily permits are up 50% in the past five years, outnumbering single-family home starts. Officials say Fort Worth needs all kinds of housing. The city ranked third in the United States in population growth last year. Fort Worth is beginning a slowing in the housing market; inventory is the highest has been since 2020.
Arizona
Ahwatukee golf course up for sale; owner promises it links will stay
Wilson Gee is selling the Foothills Golf Course and Clubhouse, asking $5 million, The Ahwatukee Foothills News reports. Wilson is also asking homeowners near the course to have faith this sale won’t result in a barren strip of desert in the middle of their subdivision. That’s what happened when Gee sold the Club West Golf Course in 2019. The four men who bought the property are in court fighting over whether they can use the land to build new houses. The Foothills Golf Club includes 166 acres, the course, which was designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Moorish, and the clubhouse, which features a 160-seat theater.
Mexico
Mexico City-based fintech company offers digital services for real estate
A Mexico City-based fintech company is offering digital financial services to the real estate market of Latin America and recently attracted $26.5 million in pre-seed financing, Tech Crunch reports. Arrenda received $1.5 million in equity and $25 million in debt financing. Arrenda’s technology enables landlords as much as a year of funds from future leases in one day.