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Daily News for Commercial Real Estate & Business – January 5, 2012

Here are the news articles you might find interesting today for commercial real estate and business:

To view this weeks Costar Watchlist, click here. (I am quoted on page 5!)

Benedictine University may expand into downtown Mesa Mesa Mayor Scott Smith announced today the East Valley city was working on deal with Chicago-based Benedictine University to bring a branch campus to downtown Mesa along the Metro light rail. Mesa and the private Catholic university have signed a preliminary deal to work out a lease for Benedictine to put a facility on Main Street. View article…

Plan to put parking garage on Scottsdale condo site hits snag The owner of one of downtown Scottsdale’s biggest eyesores, a partially demolished building near Scottsdale and Camelback roads, is determined to redevelop both it and a nearby parcel that’s the site of an abandoned condominium project. The problem is that the owner wants to build a parking garage on the condominium site to support the redeveloped building, which could feature a street-level restaurant called Delux Scottsdale. That isn’t allowed under the city’s zoning ordinance. View article…

Federal agency will move near downtown Phoenix The federal agency that handles citizenship and green-card applications will move into a newly remodeled office complex in one of Phoenix’s first Latino neighborhoods. The U.S. General Services Administration has signed a 10-year lease for $1.7 million in annual rent on behalf of the federal Citizenship and Immigration Services agency to move into the renovated building at 1330 S. 16th St., owned by a limited-liability company in Phoenix. The GSA handles contracts for services, office space and other needs for various federal departments and agencies. View article…

Dunkin’ Donuts plans to double its number of locations Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. announced Wednesday it plans to more than double its current number of U.S. Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants over the next 20 years. Dunkin’ Donuts has roughly 7,000 U.S. restaurants, including about 44 in the Phoenix area. View article…

Phoenix hotel occupancy to dip in 2012 Hotel occupancy levels in the Phoenix area are expected to dip slightly in 2012, according to TravelClick’s December 2011 North American Hospitality Review. The review, which is based on hotel bookings for fourth-quarter 2011 through third-quarter 2012, shows an occupancy drop of 0.7 percent for Phoenix. Nationwide, committed occupancy levels are up 3 percent. View article…

Phoenix industrial, office markets show growth in 2011 New data from Colliers International show the Phoenix-area office and industrial markets both experienced positive net absorption in the fourth quarter of 2011 and for the year. During that period, net absorption in the industrial market totaled nearly 3 million square feet, bringing the total for the year to nearly 6.7 million. View article…

Dollar General to open 625 stores in 2012 The economic stress has seen the rise of value-oriented retailers in Arizona and nationwide. Dollar General Corp. (NYSE:DG) announced today that it plans to open 625 stores across the country and create more than 6,000 jobs in 2012. The chain has multiple locations in the Phoenix area and other parts of Arizona. View article…

CMBS Delinquency Rates Trending Upward: Report The delinquency rate among commercial mortgage backed securities (CMBS) rose in eight of 12 months in 2011, according to a report released Wednesday by Trepp. Most recently, the rate rose seven basis points to 9.58 percent for the month of December. This rate is up from six months ago and one year ago when the rate was 9.37 percent and 9.2 percent, respectively. View article…

SAMPLE OPPORTUNITIES:
Bella Vista Retail Center – 10.5% Cap Rate!
Investment, multi-tenant retail center. For a brochure, click here…

5051 & 5057 E Thomas Road – Former Dentist Office and Former Real Estate Office For Sale. For a brochure, click here…

Kokopelli Springs in St. David, AZ – Investment, 56 unit mobile home park. For a brochure, click here…

7320 N Dreamy Draw – Freestanding Office Building in Squaw Peak Corridor-great owner/user opportunity. For a brochure, click here…

Feel free to contact me regarding any of these stories, the current market, distressed commercial real estate opportunities or your property.