Here are the news stories you might find interesting today regarding commercial real estate and business:
Developer awarded $47 million in lawsuit A jury in Maricopa County Superior Court has returned a verdict of $47 million in favor of an Arizona child-care-center developer who sued an Australian company for breach of contract. View article…
K. HOVNANIAN CONTINUES BUYING RAMPAGE . . . PAYS $5.3 MILLION FOR 180 LOTS IN GLENDALE Glendale – K. Hovnanian Great Western Homes LLC in Phoenix (Lou Smith, group pres., John Michell, division pres.) plans to build 180 residences in the Provence community in Glendale. The builder paid $5.3 million ($29,444 per lot) to buy 180 finished home sites in the gated community. The seller was the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.) as receiver for Community Bank of Nevada. View article…
WASHINGTON-BASED INVESTOR MAKES SECOND APARTMENT BUY . . . PICKS UP 304 UNITS IN TUCSON Tucson – A company formed by Weidner Apartment Homes in Kirkland, Wash. (Dean Weidner, principal) paid $22.5 million ($74,013 per unit) to acquire the 304-unit Retreat at Speedway apartments located at 7401 E. Speedway Boulevard in Tucson. The property was sold through a receiver, Jules Sherwood of TriGild in San Diego, Calif. The beneficiaries from the proceeds of the sale is Swedbank, et al. The special servicer was TriMont Real Estate Advisors in Atlanta, Ga. View article…
North Phoenix park-and-ride being built A $2.5 million park-and-ride under construction in north Phoenix is scheduled to open to carpoolers in October and buses by January, Phoenix officials said. The Happy Valley Road/I-17 Park-and-Ride, 24725 N. 29th Ave., is west of Interstate 17 and the Shops at Norterra. Federal stimulus funds financed the 7.7-acre project, which will have 512 parking spaces. View article…
Small parcel of state land goes on auction block next week The Arizona State Land Department will test the market Tuesday with an auction of commercial land northeast of Loop 101 and Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard. An appraisal set the value of the 4.7-acre site at $2.15 million, or $451,681 per acre. View article…
Sala Thai survives downturn, expanding restaurant Sala Thai opened in northeast Phoenix five years ago. It survived the initial challenges of opening a restaurant when the recession hit. The little place on 32nd Street north of Shea Boulevard got through that so well, it is expanding. View article…
The Duce Opens Downtown Development news this week brings an interesting story of rebirth in the warehouse district south of Jackson Street. Steve and Andi Rosenstein occupied the historic 1928 brick warehouse after purchasing it in 2007 and this week began holding Suns watch parties to highlight the opening of their newest venture, The Duce. View article…
Sparkplug expands Valley presence with MetroBridge purchase Sparkplug Communications grew its Phoenix network on Friday through the acquisition of MetroBridge Networks assets in the Valley. View article…
Downtown Cigna clinic preps for May 24 opening Cigna Healthcare of Arizona officials are hoping to open the company’s ninth CareToday mini clinic in downtown Phoenix by Monday. View article…
Aviation company from India lands at SkySong India-based aviation firm Mahindra Engineering Services has opened a new facility at SkySong. The company is partnering with the Arizona State University innovation center in Scottsdale to achieve entry into the state’s aerospace community. View article…
Cash-strapped landlords let evictions lag Fewer tenants are being evicted from apartments across the Valley, but the decline is more about the dismal state of landlord finances than tenants paying their rent on time. In the latest fallout from the recession and housing crisis, growing numbers of apartment-complex owners are in serious financial trouble or foreclosure. View article…
South Scottsdale may get boost from new Arizona law Depressed areas in Arizona cities and towns could get an economic boost from a new law that will allow private-property owners to tax themselves to finance redevelopment. Scottsdale, which spearheaded the legislation, likely will be the first city to use the tool as a way to revitalize the southern part of the city. Gov. Jan Brewer recently signed House Bill 2003 into law, allowing businesses to pay for public infrastructure improvements through bonds backed by self-imposed property taxes. View article…
Housing recovery threatened by homeowners’ ‘strategic defaults’ Homeowners walking away from mortgages because they owe more than their homes are worth will make it more difficult for all borrowers to obtain loans. And a tougher lending climate could stifle sales and delay recovery of the battered Phoenix-area housing market. View article…
Phoenix home sales show promising trends April figures for existing-home sales in metro Phoenix reveal several promising shifts for those searching for signs of a housing-market recovery. The overall number of home sales in the region continued to hover near record levels last month. View article…
Report: Arizona’s solar economy could expand with federal help Arizona’s solar economy could add an additional 7,000 jobs over the next six years, providing the federal government extends two key provisions bolstering the industry, a report released this week said. View article…
Feel free to contact me regarding any of these stories, the current market, distressed commercial real estate opportunities or your property.