Here are the news stories you might find interesting today regarding commercial real estate and business:
Federal housing funds, State Farm venture aids Chicanos Por La Causa (Dave & Alan in the office are handling the lease-up of this property – let us know if you need help with your property!) Chicanos Por La Causa, which has evolved in four decades from a Phoenix-based grass-roots advocacy group to a community development corporation, is being buoyed by two recent developments. View article…
WESTERN DIGITAL EXPANDING INTO VALLEY . . . TO OPEN CIRCUIT MANUFACTURING FACILITY Phoenix – Western Digital Technologies Inc. in Lake Forest, Calif. (NYSE:WDC, John Coyne, pres.) plans to open an integrated circuit manufacturing facility in Phoenix. The company paid $20 million ($36.70 per foot) in cash to purchase a 545,00-square-foot manufacturing operation at 1000 and 1100 E. Bell Road in Phoenix. View article…
WEIDNER ON TORRID PACE BUILDING APARTMENT PORTFOLIO . . . BUYS 458 UNITS IN TWO PROJECTS Phoenix/Tucson – Companies formed by Weidner Apartment Homes in Kirkland, Wash. (Dean Weidner, principal) paid a combined $31.85 million to purchase 458 apartment units in two rental communities in Phoenix and Tucson. Phoenix Monterra Apartments LLC, formed by Weidner, paid $16.65 million ($64,535 per unit) to acquire the 258-unit Monterra apartments located at 1333 N. 24th Street in Phoenix. The seller was Aslan Monterra I LLC and Aslan Monterra II LLC in Irvine, Calif. (Tom Rakow, John Schafer, principals). View article…
Switch Consignment furniture store opens in Northeast Phoenix Thomas Dixon knew that the demand for consignment furniture was still high despite the economy, but even he was surprised when he filled up the 10,000 square foot showroom of Switch Consignment in 40 days. View article…
India-based MES opens office in SkySong To target Arizona’s aerospace industry, an engineering subsidiary of one of India’s largest corporations has opened an office in SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center. View article…
Bellagio Palace unveils upscale hookah lounge on May 29 Most hookah lounges in the Valley are small, simply decorated and near colleges. Bellagio Palace is none of those things. The 8,000-sqaure-foot, upscale lounge in the Northwest Valley will feature well-known DJs, a large dance floor, 100 flavors of flavored tobacco for the 18-and-older crowd. View article…
Ahwatukee retailers faring better than most in Valley Retailers in Ahwatukee Foothills are less prone to going out of business, are generating more revenue and are getting the rent paid in higher numbers than retailers in the Valley as a whole, say two longtime retail real estate experts. View article…
Longtime Scottsdale religious supply store relocating after 31 years Scottsdale’s oldest religious supply store is changing locations after 31 years at Second Street and Marshall Way. King’s House will move to a larger building near McDowell and Miller roads, owner Dennis Ziegler said. View article…
Arizona commercial real estate brokers: Some lenders ignore crisis Arizona’s housing market is deep into the process of flushing out its bad mortgage debt. But lenders and borrowers of troubled commercial real-estate loans continue to live a lie. Commercial real-estate brokers have coined a phrase, “extend and pretend,” to describe lenders’ sluggish response to the billions of dollars in bad commercial mortgages on their books. View article…
New homes being sold again in distressed Gilbert area Nearly two years after its initial developer went bankrupt, the sparsely populated Stratland Estates neighborhood is finding new life. View article…
Yodle online advertising company hiring 80 Yodle Inc., a New York City online advertising company, is looking to hire more than 80 employees at its Scottsdale office. View article…
Recovery report: Stimulus helps solar industry add 17,000 jobs Despite a weak economy, U.S. solar power companies increased their revenue by 36 percent and added 17,000 jobs last year. A major reason for these gains was the grants and tax breaks included in the economic stimulus bill, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. View article…
Discovery Triangle plan focuses on urban core Discovery Triangle, metro Phoenix’s urban-redevelopment experiment, lost a city when Scottsdale pulled out last month. But supporters quickly redrew the project’s boundaries and are moving forward with plans to create a regional business, housing and recreation hub to draw new companies and residents as well as supporting those already there. View article…
Five Banks Closed on May 28 Federal and state banking regulators closed five banks on Friday, May 28, raising the number of failed institutions to 86 so far in 2010. View article…
Feel free to contact me regarding any of these stories, the current market, distressed commercial real estate opportunities or your property.