In the News—Week of July 25, 2022
Deal of the Week
A Tucson, Arizona-based real estate investment firm recently sold a hotel property in Phoenix, Arizona for approximately $66 million to an Oklahoma-based investment group. This transaction was closed by Sheila Hunter, Vice President, Senior Commercial Escrow Officer in our Scottsdale, Arizona office.
National
Macy’s rolling out smaller stores located outside shopping malls
Macy’s has opened five stores under the Market by Macy’s banner, which are 80% smaller than its traditional stores to adapt to consumers’ changing tastes, CNBC reports. The department store chain plans to have eight such stores by the end of 2023. While the stores are being touted as adjusting to a post-COVID world, Macy’s had told investors before the lockdown that it planned to experiment with smaller stores outside of malls.
Energy & Efficiency
Manufacturer says its test shows advantages for photo voltaic windows
Next Energy Technologies says the results of its multiyear test show its transparent photovoltaic coating produces energy savings compared with conventional widows, Renewable Energy Magazine reports. The coating makes windows into energy-producing solar panels. The test showed that the coating could lower the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient to below .20. The photovoltaic window project and the test were part of the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator.
Texas
Cheniere Energy to move headquarters to Texas Tower
A liquefied natural gas company is moving its headquarters to spiffier digs in downtown Houston, the Houston Chronicle reports. Cheniere Energy has leased a 151,490-square-foot office space plus about 16,700 square feet of outdoor space at the Texas Tower. Cheniere Energy has called 700 Milam at Pennzoil Place home. The Texas Tower is a new, 47-story building developed by Houston-based real estate firm Hines and Canadian real estate firm Ivanhoé Cambridge. “Companies are absolutely having to look at differentiated, hyper-amenitized, great locations if they’re going to bring all of their employees back,” said John Mooz senior managing director at Hines. (That theme) keeps coming up. We’ve just signed five leases and all of them have said that.”
Texas
North Texas commercial real estate sales up 54% in the first half of 2022
Dallas-Fort Worth logged $22.9 billion in commercial real estate sales in the first half of 2022, a 54% rise from the first half of 2021, The Dallas Morning News reports. North Texas topped the nation for the first two quarters of the year, figures from consulting firm MSCI show. About half the sales in DFW came from apartments. Los Angeles was the second highest market for commercial real estate sales at $15.5 billion. Houston ranked fourth with $13.9. Phoenix was fifth with $13.3 billion and Austin was 10th with $7.4 billion. Nationally, the sector saw $375.8 billion in sales in the first half of 2022, a 38% rise from the year before.
Arizona
Glendale developer plans to build a 20,000-seat stadium for cricket
A Glendale-based land development group plans to build a 20,000-seat stadium for cricket in the Phoenix suburb of Buckeye, AZ Big Media reports. Mangat Group plans to call the facility MG Cricket Stadium and says it will sit on 30 acres near Interstate 10 on Miller Road, about 40 minutes from downtown Phoenix. “Although cricket has been played for many years in other countries, it’s gaining popularity here in the states with many athletes, professional and amateur,” says Tony Mangat, founder of The Mangat Group. “There are limited places for cricket players and enthusiasts to play, as games have been played on baseball and soccer fields in recent years. Our goal is to create a dedicated place for all cricket enthusiasts to enjoy the sport with accurate accommodations and proper field dimensions.”
Mexico
Building Mayan Train declared a matter of national security
President López Obrador has declared the construction of a section of the Mayan Train to be a national security issue, Mexico Business News reports. The president’s declaration allows work to resume on Section 5 of the government’s largest infrastructure project. The project has been held up by court actions. López Obrador says his decree does not violate any court order and was necessary because it would take too long for the court to sort out. The president added that the project has become controversial because of misinformation.
