In the News—Week of February 13, 2023
Deal of the Week
FSO Capital Partners, a real estate private equity firm based in Phoenix, has carried its remarkable momentum from last year into 2023. It recently sold a 52-unit multifamily property in Green Valley, Arizona for $8,000,000 to a California-based buyer. Sheila Hunter, Vice President and Senior Commercial Escrow Officer, in our Scottsdale office, closed this successful transaction.
National
In wake of tech layoffs, Apple expands real estate footprint in Silicon Valley
Apple has leased a 150,000-square-foot office building at West Maude Avenue and North Pastoria Avenue in Sunnyvale as the tech giant expands its commercial real estate footprint in Silicon Valley, The Mercury News reports. The move comes even as tech companies are shedding workers. Apple occupies two office buildings nearby and owns or leases office space in Santa Clara. The company, which is headquartered in Cupertino, owns land in North San Jose.
National
White Castle will help relocate diner from the 1930s for restoration
A metal framed diner in Kansas that is shaped like a castle can be yours for free, NBC Chicago reports. The building was prefabricated in the 1930s and served as a burger stand in Wichita. It has been sitting on a rural property for years and needs some work. The structure needs to be moved and the owners are willing to give it away to someone who will restore the building. The White Castle burger chain is willing to help out new owners who will restore it or turn it into a museum. White Castle launched in 1921 and spawned imitators. “As the ones to start it all 102 years ago, our family business would like to do our part to preserve this history and source of good memories,” Jamie Richardson, vice president at White Castle and fourth-generation family member, says.
National
116-year-old Seattle business closing because of problems with homeless
Emmanuel’s Rug and Upholstery Cleaners SODO in Seattle has managed to last through bad times in the past, but now the owner of the 116-year-old family business has had enough, KOMO-TV reports. Thea Sand, the fifth-generation owner, says she is closing shop because of health and safety issues from homeless encampments that have set up near her business. “We’ve just kind of had it with what’s happening in Seattle with our euphemistically termed by the city council ‘unhomed neighbors’,” Sand says.
Arizona
Developers break ground on industrial property in Goodyear
Lincoln Property Company’s Southwest division, LPC Desert West, and Scottsdale-based Harvard Investments have broken ground on the first phase of Goodyear AirPark, repots dcvelocity.com. This phase will consist of six buildings with a total of 1.6 million square feet. When the entire development, on 565 acres next to the Phoenix-Goodyear Airport, is complete it will have 7 million square feet of industrial space and as many as 20 buildings.
Arizona
Thompson Thrift begins work on commerce center in Queen Creek
Thompson Thrift has started construction on the first phase of the Germann Commerce Center in Queen Creek, a suburb southeast of Phoenix, PR Newswire reports. The first phase will consist of approximately 400,000 square feet. “Queen Creek is one of the fastest-growing cities in Arizona and has emerged as a preeminent industrial submarket,” says Ashlee Boyd, managing partner for Thompson Thrift Commercial. “We value the relationship our company has established with the city of Queen Creek over the years, and we are excited to bring another great project to this dynamic community.”
Energy and Efficiency
Colorado offers assistance to make cannabis industry more energy efficient
Colorado is offering free technical assistance and access to financing for cultivators as part of a program to increase energy efficiency in the cannabis industry, MJ Biz Daily reports. Resource Innovations will provide facility audits “to identify impactful efficiency improvements, such as installing LED fixtures or upgrading HVAC systems” in cannabis facilities. Cultivators who just want financing can apply for it as well. “Colorado was the first state to legalize cannabis and now will be the first state to help licensed cultivation operators make their operation more energy efficient,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis says.
