Local Developer Plans 13-Acre Theater Redevelopment A local developer has acquired a 74,000-square-foot movie theater in central Tucson with plans to redevelop the property into 140,000 square feet of new commercial space. Michael R. Wattis Inc. paid Plano, TX-based Century Theaters $2.76 million in cash for Century Park 16, which sits on 12.7 acres at 1055 W. Grant Rd. View article…
Scottsdale Airpark expected to add 30,000 jobs over 20 years Longtime commercial real-estate broker Jim Keeley projects that the Scottsdale Airpark will add 30,000 jobs over the next 20 years. Skeptics should know that Keeley, founding partner of Colliers International in Scottsdale, was pretty close with his 2010 Report in 1981 when he forecast that the Greater Scottsdale Airpark would grow from 3,320 workers at 268 companies to 50,000 employees and 3,000 companies. His annual 2010 Report has tracked Airpark growth over the past 29 years. View article…
Developer pulls plan for north Scottsdale project A showdown over a proposed northern Scottsdale commercial center ended with the applicant abruptly withdrawing the proposal seconds before it was going to be voted down by the City Council. The applicant, R.L. Miller, was seeking a text amendment to the city zoning ordinance that would allow a new commercial use in an area zoned for single-family residences. View article…
Phoenix‘s CityScape getting insurer as tenant UnitedHealthcare of Arizona plans to consolidate its six Phoenix offices and become one of the largest corporate tenants in downtown and southeast Phoenix. The health insurer, the second-largest in the state behind Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona as ranked by total premiums, is about to sign a lease for 107,000 square feet of space at CityScape, a downtown development at First Avenue and Washington Street, and another lease for about 165,000 square feet at the Liberty Cotton Center, 48th Street and Roeser Road near the Tempe border. View article…
Boston Markets get makeover, add jobs Boston Market‘s revamped look and menu has finally reached Phoenix. The Colorado restaurant chain has transformed more than 350 locations following a pilot launch earlier this year. Now Phoenix’s 12 Boston Markets are up to bat with changes that include the addition of 65 employees. View article…
Arizona‘s unemployment rate drops to 9.4% Led by strong retail hiring, the state’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate dropped a tenth of a point last month, to 9.4 percent. View article…
ASU: Commercial prices to rise in ’11 The commercial real estate market in Phoenix finally seems to have leveled off, according to the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. Part of a report showing a continued drop in local home prices, the latest study predicts some positive movement in the commercial sector next year. View article…
Retailers Turn Attention to Lease Auditing To Cut Expenditures There used to be a time, a few years ago, when most retailers paid only the most peremptory attention to lease auditing. A retailer’s accounting department would receive the bill from the landlord, go over the items to make sure there were no obvious mistakes and sign off on the check. View article…
More Increases in CMBS Delinquencies, Particularly Office: Reports Moody’s and Fitch Ratings both reported increases in defaulted Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (CMBS), of 24 and 18 basis points, respectively. Both companies show the office sector with the greatest increases in delinquencies across the five core property types in November. View article…
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