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Daily News for Commercial Real Estate & Business – June 28, 2011

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

Housing for seniors to be built in downtown Phoenix New housing for low-income, disabled and older adults will soon be under construction in downtown Phoenix’s Roosevelt Neighborhood. A Wisconsin company, Gorman & Company, has received a $3 million loan from the Phoenix Housing Department for the affordable housing project on the northeastern corner of Fifth Avenue and McKinley Street. View article…

Mesa’s Opryland-style project may play second fiddle to Denver
Before the Great Recession took a bite out of our hopes and dreams, Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment planted visions of a $1 billion Opryland-style hotel and resort to be built on the former General Motors Proving Ground in East Mesa. View article…

Phoenix Real Estate Development Looking to the Sun At two Del Webb residential communities near Phoenix, Arizona, a roof-integrated solar-electric power system that blends seamlessly into the home and utilizes one of the most efficient and reliable solar technologies available is planned. Some 30 minutes away, the master plan for Forepaugh Industrial Rail Park near the state’s largest city boasts a photovoltaic (PV) solar field, PV-distributed solar on the industrial buildings, and reuse of a brownfield. View article…

Salt River Fields at Talking Stick scores LEED Gold certification Salt River Fields at Talking Stick became the first spring training facility to receive a gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. View article…

Old Town Scottsdale businesses form new association A group of Old Town Scottsdale businesses have formed the Scottsdale Downtown and Entertainment District Association. The group has established a leadership comprised of Les Corieri, co-owner of Axis, Radius, Myst, Mint, Suede, Sand Bar, RnR as its president…View article…

Tempe‘s historic buildings to get plaques in new program The city’s oldest and most historic buildings will get some new sparkle thanks to a new program that honors places on the Tempe Historic Property Register. Customized bronze markers have been awarded to or ordered for about half of the 44 structures on the register through the Tempe Historic Marker Program. View article…

Matthew Hulsizer ends bid to buy Phoenix Coyotes Chicago investment executive Matthew Hulsizer has pulled his bid and no longer wants to buy the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team. Hulsizer is still interested in buying another National Hockey League franchise but is not longer trying to buy the Coyotes, according an official familiar with the situation. View article…

Property Investors Face Losing Their Shirts With Strip Malls The recent strip-mall rally may not have legs. The past two years have seen valuations of “strip” shopping centers soar. The sector was hit harder than most commercial property during the 2008-09 financial crisis, as bankrupt retailers shut and survivors scaled back expansion plans. But after bottoming in 2009, strip-center valuations have jumped 45% and are now just 10% below their 2007 peaks, according to Cedrik LaChance of Green Street Advisors. View article…

ULI Panelists: Too Much Capital, Too Few Assets The shifting dynamics of real estate finance and investment drew a broad spectrum of views from several top executives at an Urban Land Institute conference in Manhattan. A lively exchange moderated by Robert Lieber, executive managing director of Island Capital Group, offered insights into topics ranging from distressed assets and equity investment strategies to development. Too much capital chasing too few assets is compelling some investors to overpay, contended Ethan Penner, president of CBRE Capital Partners. View article…

Personal Income, Spending Come Up Short in May Consumer spending was flat in May, breaking a string of 10 straight months of gains, as households struggled with rising prices and automakers failed to deliver the models Americans wanted. When adjusted for inflation, spending slipped 0.1 percent, the Commerce Department said on Monday, falling for a second straight month. View article…

Henkel cutting Scottsdale workforce Henkel North America plans to cut its Scottsdale workforce next month by about 25 positions, company spokeswoman Natalie Violi said. That will cut the ranks of the German-owned consumer products company to about 575 employees. View article…

DeVry lays off 135 metro Phoenix workers Citing space constraints, adult-education firm DeVry Inc. is closing its Phoenix online operation and laying off 135 employees there. “This action is about moving the online capacity at our Phoenix campus to other locations,” said Ernie Gibble, senior director of global communications, in an e-mail response. View article…

Corn trends, weather patterns drive price hikes
Corn is the commodity king – the primary feed and cost input for cattle, hogs, poultry and dairy cows. Higher corn prices have halted livestock expansion plans and could prompt further producer cutbacks. Commodity prices have surged and plunged several times in recent months, but for the most part supply and demand fundamentals remain bullish for livestock and agricultural commodities. View article…

Analysis: Private Markets Key to Preventing Housing Meltdown Sequel According to an analysis authored by Patric H. Hendershott and Kevin Villani, responsibility for the failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac falls directly on regulators and indirectly on their political overseers. Hendershott is a part-time chair in real estate economics and finance at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Villani is a consultant and former Freddie Mac chief economist. View article…

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