nick@nickminer.com  480-612-0384

Daily News for Commercial Real Estate & Business – September 23, 2011

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

Luxury apartments in Goodyear sell for $33 million PrivatePortfolio Group of Seattle purchased the Aldea at Estrella Falls luxury apartment community in Goodyear for $32.8 million. The 328-unit complex is located at 2400 N. Bullard Ave. It was built in 2008 and was 93 percent occupied at the time of the sale. View article…

Lincoln Property buys Phoenix industrial buildings Lincoln Property Co. has acquired two industrial buildings in Phoenix totaling 437,250 square feet. The properties are at 1825-1835 S. 43rd Ave. and 3404 W. Papago St. Neither purchase price was disclosed. The seller in both instances was RGR Development Corp. in Phoenix. View article…

Grayhawk Plaza in Scottsdale adding burger restaurant The operators of Arcadia Tavern and Martini Ranch are opening a venture at Grayhawk Plaza in Scottsdale called Cold Beers and Cheeseburgers. R/E/C Management Inc. plans to open the 2,400-square-foot restaurant by mid-October at 20831 N. Scottsdale Road, Suite 117. Grayhawk Plaza is southeast of Scottsdale Road and Grayhawk Drive, one mile north of Loop 101. View article…

New Gilbert Postino restaurant aims for mid-January opening Postino East anticipates a mid-January opening in downtown Gilbert as construction work advances on the former GrainBelt restaurant site at Gilbert Road and Page Avenue. Valley restaurateur Craig DeMarco, who owns two Postino WineCafe restaurants in Phoenix, said workers are ready to begin interior improvements on Oct. 1, and the restaurant will likely open Jan. 16. View article…

Mega Furniture has grand opening Friday in Gilbert Mega Furniture continues it mega-fast expansion into the Valley’s furniture retail market. The locally owned chain of “low-cost, high-quality” furniture stores is hosting a grand-opening celebration Friday at its new location in Gilbert. The store, the first in the Southeast Valley, is at 4095 S. Gilbert Road, just south of Germann Road. View article…

Data-center developer expands Chandler site A surge in consumer and commercial demand for Web-based applications has prompted a large, national developer of data centers to nearly double the size of its Chandler facility, company representatives said. San Francisco-based Digital Realty Trust Inc. hosted a grand-opening ceremony Wednesday to tout the completion of a 226,000-square-foot expansion to its existing 293,000-square-foot data center at 2121 S. Price Road in Chandler. View article…

Developer leaves Glendale, Scottsdale picking up pieces Scottsdale got SkySong, a fledging office park with a giant playground canopy for $120 million. Glendale got the Phoenix Coyotes, an arena and Westgate City Center for $230 million, a whopping debt that is $50 million more than the city’s original bet to lure NHL hockey across town. The man in the middle of this development power play was Steve Ellman. Just this week, Ellman lost ownership of much of Westgate next to the Jobing. com Arena where the Coyotes are on thin ice for staying in the desert. View article…

Arizona No. 2 in the nation for high sales taxes Arizona has the second highest combined sales tax rate in the nation, at 9.12 percent, according to a new study from the Tax Foundation. The study ranks states on their combined state and local sales taxes. Tennessee led the nation at 9.43 percent, and Arizona was just behind. View article…

Toys “R” Us to hire 440 in Phoenix Toys “R” Us Inc. announced plans to hire more than 40,000 employees nationwide at its stores and distribution centers to handle the holiday rush. In the Phoenix area, the toy giant plans to hire about 440 employees. View article…

Group in talks with Glendale to purchase Phoenix Coyotes Former Arizona lawmaker John Kaites and Chicago sports magnate Jerry Reinsdorf are again looking to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes. Speculation about Reinsdorf’s interest has been tossed around in recent months, but a spokesman for the group on Wednesday confirmed for The Republic that they are in talks with Glendale and the National Hockey League. View article…

Commercial Real Estate Prices Increase for Third Straight Month Commercial real estate prices increased for the third consecutive month, according to Moody’s/REAL Commercial Property Price Indices. Prices are now similar to levels recorded two years ago. For the month of July, the National-All Property Type Aggregate Index posted a 5 percent increase. The index is now 12.6 percent above its post-peak low. However, it is 42.5 percent below its peak. View article…

HOUSING:
Businessweek.com names Scottsdale 4th-best U.S. city
Scottsdale has been named the fourth best city in the nation to live by Businessweek.com, but not because of its lavish resorts or celebrity sightings. Instead, Scottsdale was recognized by the site for more fundamental quality-of-life reasons – superior schools, low unemployment and bevy of parks, in the online ranking of America’s 50 best cities released this week. View article…

Pinal County No. 7 for youngest housing stock nationwide Decades of urban sprawl around Phoenix has led nearby Pinal County to have one of the youngest housing stocks in the nation. On Numbers calculated the relative ages of the housing stocks in all 3,143 counties and independent cities across America, using raw data from the five-year version of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2009 American Community Survey. It found that Pinal County ranked No. 7 for the youth of its housing stock. Roughly 64 percent of home in Pinal County have been built since 1990. View article…

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