In the News—Week of October 10, 2023
Deal of the Week
An international real estate developer, investor, and manager in the multifamily space purchased a 4.6-acre parcel in North Phoenix from a California-based developer. Simultaneously with the purchase, the buyer closed a construction loan for the development of a 5-story luxury multifamily asset with 348 units, within a mixed-used master plan. The $158 million transaction was closed by Bryan Selna, Vice President and Senior Escrow Officer in our Scottsdale office.
National
Medical device-makers help offset slowdown in demand for lab space
The commercial real estate market for life science space has an edge — they have a strong medical-device industry, Axios reports. Figures from JLL show Boston, Minneapolis-St. Paul and San Francisco are among the metro areas that have done well because they are hubs for making medical devices. Overall, the biotech sector is in a bit of a slump, with demand for lab space down. “Small users, who have a critical need for bench space as opposed to mid-to-late-stage companies who can make do with their current situations, are the vast majority of users seeking space,” JLL says in its report.
National
Plenty of office space available in Silicon Valley after tech layoffs
Office vacancies in Silicon Valley have exceeded levels of the Great Recession, the San Francisco Standard reports. Figures from Colliers showed a 19.8% vacancy rate in the third quarter, and the difference in office space being vacated versus leased was 1.8 million square feet. It was 1.5 million square feet in 2009. “Office demand decreased as occupiers navigated developing trends in remote work and return-to-office, while the technology sector has not returned to its pre-COVID hiring trends after mass global layoffs,” Colliers says in its report.
National
Design announced for revamp of Portland’s iconic Lloyd Center
For more than 70 years, Lloyd Center in Portland, Oregon has been known for its ice skating rink. Lately, the shopping center also has become known for vacant storefronts and a trickle of shoppers. The last department store closed in 2021, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports. Seattle-based Urban Renaissance Group and New York-based KKR Real Estate Finance Trust own the site. They plan to revitalize the center, which includes opening up the mall. Currently, the stores face inward. The idea is to connect them to the street grid.
National
MLB Rays, city, county have plans for ballpark, mixed-use development
MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays have been looking for a new home almost since they started playing in their current home, Tropicana Field, in 1998. Now the baseball team, the City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County have agreed to a new ballpark and an accompanying mixed-use project. The new park will soon be on the site of Tropicana Field, where the Rays will play through 2027. Hines is developing the accompanying project, which will include office, medical, retail space, 750 hotel rooms, and a museum. The baseball team will put up more than half of the $1.3 billion price tag of the new field, with the city and county chipping in $600 million each. The investment in the project is projected to $6.5 million over 20 years.
Arizona
Project to bring development to canal concept in Phoenix
The Phoenix metro area has more miles of canals than Venice and Amsterdam combined. But until about 20 years ago, the canals were treated much like alleys — a part of the infrastructure that was best given little visibility. In the early 2000s, a project in Scottsdale called the Waterfront used an irrigation canal as a water feature for shops and restaurants. Now Phoenix is getting in on the act, AZ Big Media reports. The city gave the OK for Forty600, a mixed-use development on Central Avenue near Camelback Road. Longtime residents will know the location as the site of Hinkley’s Lighting Factory. The project calls for a seven-floor apartment complex with 155 units with commercial space on the ground floor and a patio facing the Grand Canal. “Hopefully it is proof of concept for future developments along the canal. Canal-oriented development is possible in the City of Phoenix, and we can create our own really robust and really vibrant canal escape,” says Benjamin Tate, the zoning attorney for the developer, RAS Development.
Arizona
ASU, Desert Ridge shopping center to launch cool pavement project
Vestar, which owns and manages numerous shopping centers in Arizona and the rest of the West, is joining Arizona State University to launch a Cool-Pavement project, AZ Big Media reports. The project will be the first of its kind, the business publication says. It will be launched at Desert Ridge Marketplace in north Phoenix. The project will use CoolSeal, a water-based asphalt coating, for parking lots. It is believed that it will reduce temperatures. ASU’s Southwest Integrated Field Laboratory will take temperatures at different times of the day and analyze the results.
