Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Here are the news stories you might find interesting today regarding commercial real estate and business:
Dollar Tree to open new store in Chandler
Dollar Tree will open a new 7,989-square-foot store March 24 at 1070 E. Ray Road, Chandler. The Chesapeake, Va.-based operator of discount variety stores said the new Chandler store will offer Easter supplies, including baskets, candy, plush toys and party supplies. The store will be open seven days a week. “Dollar Tree continues to grow and is proud to be part of the Chandler community,” said Chelle Davis, a Dollar Tree spokesperson. The store is the company’s third location in Chandler. Others are at 2071 N. Arizona Ave. and 4180 S. Arizona Ave. View article…
NightHawk relocates HQ to Scottsdale
The new Scottsdale headquarters of a leading radiology company is further evidence of the area’s continued emergence as a draw for health-care businesses and the jobs they bring, state and city leaders say. Scottsdale’s mayor and Valley business leaders officially welcomed the corporate headquarters of NightHawk Radiology Holdings Inc. to Scottsdale on Monday. View article…
Loan Resolution Corp. to hire 100
Loan Resolution Corp., a Scottsdale company that specializes in short sales, is planning to hire 100 people. Officials say the company needs to meet demand for the government’s new Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives, or HAFA, program. The new positions range from entry-level to executive, and more details are available at www.LoanResolution.com. The company moved into a 30,000-square-foot office in North Scottsdale last September and the new positions will be added there. View article…
North Phoenix call center to hire 400
First American Home Buyers Protection Corp., a call center at 2411 W. Rose Garden Lane in north Phoenix, plans to hire about 400 employees over the next two years, including 100 over the next three months. It has already hired about 80. After the company announced it would be hiring locally in January, it said it received about 4,000 resumes for 90 sales jobs. View article…
Sour economy claims TDC Interiors
Many Arizonans live in homes touched by John Bebbling. Working with dozens of builders in more than a thousand subdivisions over 36 years, he has provided new homes with paint, window treatments, wallpaper, countertops and wood floors, tile and carpeting. In the housing heyday of 2006 and 2007, he said, Tempe-based TDC Interiors, formerly Tempe Paint and Decorator Center, had sales of $100 million. It was one of the top floor-covering businesses in the nation. View article…
Walmart plans new MoneyCenters in stores
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is planning 500 new in-store MoneyCenters this year, including 14 in the Phoenix area. The world’s largest retailer opened its 1,000th Walmart MoneyCenter in Chalmette, La., Tuesday, and announced plans to add 500 additional stores this year. Those stores provide basic money services like check-cashing, and the Walmart MoneyCard – a reloadable, pre-paid Visa debit card. View article…
Gateway Airport considers 100,000-gallon fuel-storage expansion
Cautioned that it is short on fuel storage capacity, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport is taking steps to keep gas tanks full for a growing number of passenger flights. The airport’s governing board approved a proposal to begin design of 100,000-gallon expansion of Gateway’s fuel farm, a $135,826.85 project. View article…
Fed holds rates at record lows to foster recovery
The Federal Reserve on Tuesday repeated its pledge to hold interest rates at record lows to foster the economic recovery and ease high unemployment. But the Fed’s assessment of the economy was a bit more upbeat. It said the job market is stabilizing. That was an improvement from its January statement, when it said the deterioration in the labor market was abating. View article…
CMBS Delinquencies Hit 9 Percent, and Rising
The CMBS delinquency rate for multifamily loans has reached nearly 9 percent and will likely soon balloon another 400 basis points. In February, the apartment sector’s delinquency rate climbed to an all-time high of 8.97 percent, according to Fitch Ratings. When factoring in the imminent delinquency of Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village, that rate will climb to more than 13 percent. Still, Fitch believes that this year will likely serve as a turning point for the apartment market. The ratings agency expects the vacancy rate across the apartment sector to peak at 8.9 percent this year, while the unemployment rate is forecast to peak at 10.4 percent in mid-year. View article…
Key Economic Indicators Worth Following
According to a recent Wall Street Journal Small Business/SmartMoney article, “Small Business Economic Indicators,” there are a few key economic indicators small business owners can monitor that may help predict the direction of the economy and avoid “cost surprises.” View article…
PricewaterhouseCoopers: Apartment Sector to Lead Rising Property Sales in 2010
As cap rates begin to stabilize, investors are showing more confidence in the commercial real estate market than at any point in the last two years, a new report from New York-based PricewaterhouseCoopers shows. Although transactions are expected to be lower in 2010 than at the peak of the market, the report released today projects marked improvement over 2009, with the apartment sector leading the recovery effort. View article…
Feel free to contact me regarding any of these stories, the current market, distressed commercial real estate opportunities or your property.