Here are the news articles you might find interesting today for commercial real estate and business:
Plastics Manufacturer Picks AZ for 153,000-SF Facility Schoeller Arca Systems has signed a 10-year lease for 153,000 square feet of warehouse space in the former Rubbermaid facility at 17300 W. Broadway Rd. The Netherlands-based company, which manufactures sustainable plastic packaging systems, will invest $20 million in the new facility and will create 150 new jobs in the Phoenix area. View article…
Portfolio expands to Scottsdale Portfolio LLC, an asset management and life planning firm based in Albuquerque, has opened a Scottsdale office at 14646 N. Kierland Blvd. Gerry Ciszewski is heading local operations. View article…
Salon opens second location Vivaldi Salon Suites is opening a second location at Park West Mall, 9824 W. Northern Ave., Ste. 1800, in Peoria. The new location joins Vivaldi’s original spot in the Citadelle, 19420 N. 59th Ave., Glendale. View article…
Developer proposes razing part of Riverview to boost district The owners of Mesa Riverview have proposed a dramatic solution for energizing the struggling theater district: They plan to raze part of it. In the first major renovation since stores started opening in 2006, the demolition would create sight lines between the power center to the south and the theater district, helping visitors to realize that the district exists, according to preliminary plans submitted by Kimco Realty to Mesa’s Planning Department on March 30. View article…
Chandler a step closer to science, technology park Plans to develop the former Motorola Inc. site in Chandler are moving forward, and improvements at what is envisioned to be a science and technology park are expected to begin later this year. View article…
Cigna to open mini clinic at Food City Cigna Medical Group is celebrating the opening tomorrow of its first convenience care clinic inside a grocery store. b The facility, inside a Food City supermarket at 9020 W. Thomas Road in Phoenix, will be Cigna’s 11th CareToday clinic in the Valley. The company plans for two more by the end of the year, said Kurt Weimer, president of Cigna Medical Group. View article…
Scottsdale planning panel endorses both Blue Sky options Gray Development Group’s Blue Sky apartment complex proposal received its third unanimous recommendation from the Scottsdale Planning Commission Wednesday, with Vice Chairman Ed Grant saying any city would be “lucky” to have the project. After negotiating with adjacent property owners ST Residential and Triyar Properties, Gray resubmitted its proposal with two different site plans. The complex would be located northeast of Scottsdale and Camelback roads and across from Scottsdale Fashion Square. View article…
Retail developer Vestar hopes to repeat feat of 1990s, acquire distressed properties for a song Vestar Development Co. knows how to survive and thrive in the harshest real-estate climates. The relatively low-profile Phoenix-based shopping-center developer cut its teeth in the savings-and-loan crisis of the early 1990s that sent commercial real-estate values through the floor and wiped out many of its competitors. Through savvy negotiating, Vestar was able to line up a deep-pocketed partner that allowed it to scoop up bargain real estate, forge key relationships with retailers and grow while other companies stood on the sidelines. View article…
Why Investors Like Warren Buffet Are Bullish on Mobile Home Parks The key to understanding mobile home park investing is to look at the raw power of affordable housing and how it relates to today’s consumer. The household income for 20% of all Americans is under $20,000. That’s 60 million people. Based on the government’s suggested ratio of housing costs to total income – about 33% – these families can afford around $500 per month. But the average apartment rent in 2010 was over $1,000 per month. So where can you live for $500 per month? There are only two options: low-rent apartments and mobile home parks. View article…
6 Banks Closed on April 15 Superior Bank, a $3 billion institution based in Birmingham, Ala., was closed on Friday, April 15. It was the largest of six banks to fail this week. Additionally, two credit unions were placed into conservatorship. These latest failures raise to 42 the number of failed institutions so far in 2011. View article…
Feel free to contact me regarding any of these stories, the current market, distressed commercial real estate opportunities or your property.