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Daily News for Commercial Real Estate & Business – November 1, 2010

NEW VALLEY GROCER WINCO FOODS MOVING FAST . . . SNAPS UP THREE PROPERTIES FOR STORES WinCo Foods, a Boise, Idaho-based grocery chain, is on a fast track to gain entry into the Phoenix market. The employee-owned company has purchased former Costco locations in Mesa and Glendale and a former Wal-Mart in Phoenix. In three separate cash sales, WinCo Foods and its affiliates paid just under $16.9 million to buy the three Valley retail properties. View article…

MARK-TAYLOR AND KITCHELL TO DEVELOP APARTMENT COMPLEX IN TEMPE A venture formed by Mark-Taylor Residential in Scottsdale (Jeff Mark, Scott Taylor, Joe Lewandowski, principals) and Kitchell Development Co. in Phoenix (Jim Swanson, pres.) plans to develop a 229-unit apartment complex located west of the southwest corner of Rural and Baseline roads in Tempe. Rural Baseline Apartments LLC, the venture formed by Mark-Taylor and Kitchell, paid $4.55 million to acquire the site for the development. View article…

Restoring Mill Ave. key to downtown Tempe’s resurgence The public’s image of downtown Tempe for years was bolstered by television news programs using Town Lake or the leafy Mill Avenue as a backdrop. View article…

American Sports Centers nears its debut in Avondale A $7.8 million indoor sports center in Avondale is almost ready to open as workers apply the finishing touches. American Sports Centers – Avondale, a large, can’t-miss building painted with checkered blocks of bright color shades – red, green and yellow – will be a boon to the city, said Dan Davis, Avondale economic development director. View article…

Waterfront’s plan for 150-foot tower passes hurdle The Scottsdale Planning Commission has recommended the City Council approve amended development standards at the Scottsdale Waterfront to allow for a building that would rival the city’s tallest structures. View article…

Scottsdale Hospice of the Valley resale shop expands The White Dove Thrift Shoppe in Scottsdale has expanded, doubling the space for the non-profit resale store. Hospice of the Valley took over operation of the store at 8461 E. McDonald Drive in December 2007 from the Scottsdale Healthcare Auxiliary. View article…

Airpark outpacing rest of commercial market in leasing More than a quarter of Scottsdale’s office space is vacant, and there are any number of see-through buildings with no cubicles, desks or workers. But building owners in the Scottsdale Airpark are filling more office space than they’re losing so far this year, and that’s giving observers hope as they navigate through the wreckage. View article…

Payday-loan law creates store vacancies in Glendale, Peoria Street corners in Glendale and Peoria are marked by a handful of additional vacant stores since Arizona voters cracked down on payday lending. Several of the national chains that offered easy money at high interest rates to cash-strapped customers have closed. Check ‘n Go shuttered 100 locations across the state. View article…

Feds to fund study of Phoenix, LA and Vegas bullet train Arizona now has a stake in the game for high-speed rail linked to the rest of the country. The federal government announced Thursday that it will spend $500,000 to begin studying the practicality of linking Phoenix, Las Vegas and Los Angeles by high-speed rail. View article…

Job relocation hits record low The percentage of unemployed managers and executives relocating to take a new position fell to a record low in the third quarter of 2010, according to new research from Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. View article…

Prices paid for restaurant businesses slip BizBuySell.com, an online marketplace for businesses, offered a look at third-quarter trends for restaurants listed for sale on its site, including a drop in the median prices paid compared with the second quarter. View article…

Commentary: Commercial Real Estate Index Shows Promising Signs Commercial real estate property values showed general signs of stabilization and improvement in the third quarter of 2010, according to the latest data from Integra Realty Resources. View article…

Recovery in Building Is Forecast for 2011 The nation’s construction industry, virtually on life support during the economic downturn, will begin a slow recovery next year, according to a forecast set to be released Friday. Next year, the value of new projects that start construction is expected to climb to $445.5 billion, an 8% rise from this year when that figure hit a post-recession low, according to the closely watched McGraw-Hill Construction forecast. View article…

One Credit Union Closed Federal and state regulators closed one credit union on Friday, Oct. 29 This closure raises the total number of failed institutions to 161 so far in 2010. View article…

If you want a copy of the latest foreclosure spreadsheet, email me and I will send it to you.

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