Commercial Real Estate & Business News 5-14-2025

The U.S. data center market has entered 2025 with remarkable momentum despite a cyclical pause in national absorption, Avison Young reported. Driven by sustained demand from AI and cloud users, the market continues to experience record-low vacancy rates. The trend persists even as supply struggles to keep pace with the growing needs of the industry. On a regional basis, Texas markets, particularly Dallas/Fort Worth, have surged ahead…»

In January, tech sector stocks tumbled when a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, DeepSeek, unveiled a large language model that operates at a much lower cost than U.S. versions while maintaining similar capabilities. DeepSeek reports that it spent just $5.6 million to train its AI, compared to the more than $100 million committed by OpenAI for GPT-4. While some critics question the veracity of DeepSeek’s claims, the intensifying demand to…»

Fox Restaurant Concepts announced May 13 it will be expanding its The Henry restaurant brand to the north Scottsdale area. The Phoenix-based company that was founded by Sam Fox and is now owned by the Cheesecake Factory has plans to build a new 7,000-square-foot restaurant space on the southwest corner of Scottsdale Road and the Loop 101 in a space once occupied by a Denny’s. The demolition of the Denny’s started last week…»

Glendale residents have just over a week to decide whether they’ll accept or reject two propositions that will approve zoning for a $1.2 billion resort. The special election for the VAI Resort near State Farm Stadium will be by mail-in ballots only. Opponents say the city doesn’t need additional development. Supporters argue that a yes vote will create much needed jobs. Garrick Taylor is with the “Yes for Glendale” campaign. “And those are for…»

Phoenix is on the verge of enacting zoning regulations to limit where data centers can be located. Why it matters: Data centers use large amounts of energy and space and can bring negative effects like noise pollution to surrounding communities, per an analysis by city staff. State of play: The city wants to direct data centers away from mixed-use, walkable and transit-oriented communities. They create few jobs, take up land that could be used…»