Here are the news articles you might find interesting:
To view this month’s Apartment Finance Today, click here. It highlights the 13 most creative deals completed in 2009.
Fresh & Easy set to add 3 markets
Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market is planning three of its small groceries in the Northeast Valley but has not set dates for opening them.
Cooper-Warner project putting squeeze on businesses
Thanksgiving should have been a busy time at the Super Suppers franchise near Warner and Cooper roads.
Scottsdale’s King’s House gets new owners, still family-run
Scottsdale’s oldest religious-goods supply store has changed hands, but King’s House remains a family-owned business.
200 more Gilbert houses finished in November
| Gilbert added more than 200 new homes to its inventory in November, up from about 180 in October, town officials said. |
NutraCea downsizes offices as part of Chapter 11 reorganization
| NutraCea Inc. is downsizing its headquarters as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. |
Contractors group warns of more job losses
| The Associated General Contractors of America predicts another 430,000 construction jobs will be lost in 2010. That would be on top of the nearly 20 percent unemployment rate currently being experienced in the construction industry. |
Via Roma closes as downtown Phoenix takes another hit
| The region’s rough economy is no more evident than at the corner of Central Avenue and Monroe Street in downtown Phoenix. |
Fast-casual Mexican chains outpace fast-food rivals
| As American consumers’ love of Mexican food endures, many of the nation’s top limited-service chains are enjoying sales and unit growth, with fast-casual brands supplying the majority of the action. |
Fitch: Distressed CMBS Hotel Loan Maturities to Peak by 2012
Although hotel property values have dropped as much as 50% from their peak in 2007, ratings agency Fitch forecasts that over the next 12-18 months there will be an increase in distressed asset sales, leading up to the largest concentration of CMBS hotel maturities in 2011 and 2012.
Future commuter-rail system is envisioned for the Valley
| Planners favor a 105-mile system that could feature 33 stations and cost roughly $1.5 billion. |
Recovery Rates on Distressed Assets Vary
Throughout 2009, a new large opportunity fund seemed to close on a weekly basis, with investors salivating at the prospects of wholesale discounts. But the tsunami everyone anticipated has been more of a drizzle, mainly due to the willingness of lenders to modify loans.
REGISTER ASAP! THERE IS A LIMITED NUMBER OF TICKETS AVAIALBLE FOR THIS EVENT! Just a reminder: I am a panelist for the CCIM/IREM Economic Forecast on January 12, 2010. It is at the Phoenix Country Club and starts at 8AM. I will be on the Retail Panel with Daniel Pollack and Kevin Schuck. Our moderator is David Malin from Vestar. If you are in town, please come support me at the event. The website to register is www.iremccimforecast.com.
Feel free to contact me regarding any of these stories, the current market, distressed commercial real estate opportunities or your property.