Commercial
real estate project updateBy
Jan Buchholz Phoenix Business Journal 10.23.09
Editor’s
note: We take a look at some high-profile projects proposed
for the Valley in recent years, and where they stand now.
Main Street
Glendale
One
project that appears to have momentum is
Main Street
Glendale
. This sports-themed district will include thousands of
residential units and the headquarters of USA Basketball, the
national governing body for men’s and women’s basketball,
which is moving from
Colorado Springs
,
Colo.
The site will include training facilities for the
U.S.
Olympic basketball teams.
Developer
HB Equities LLC has been waiting for months for $1.2 billion
in unconventional bond financing that was created through the
tiny La
Paz County Industrial Development Authority. HB
partner Bob Banovac said in June that the financing, primarily
from private equity financiers in
New York
, had been approved and the money would be secured “within
the next couple of weeks.”
As
of early October, however, the company still was waiting for
the money to flow. Banovac again said the money was days from
being wired to his firm.
Sean
Elton, vice president of development for HB, reiterated that
the project is on track, with construction to begin early in
2010.
“We
are committed to a ball bouncing at USAB in 2011, and
remaining construction will be continuous for the following
four-plus years,” Elton said. “The bond closing date is
imminent.”
CityScape
In
downtown
Phoenix
, construction of CityScape is well under way. The 26-story
office building is largely completed, as is much of the
infrastructure and parking that will serve the development,
which covers the area bounded by Jefferson and Washington
streets,
First Avenue
and
Second Street
.
The
first office and retail tenants will take occupancy in March.
Although 70 percent the 600,000-square-foot office tower and
65 percent of the 180,000-square-foot retail space has been
preleased, according to RED Development partner Mike Ebert,
the project has been scaled back.
A
second office tower is on hold, and the block on the east side
of the project — owned by Barron
Collier Co., a family-owned investment company
based in Florida, but with offices here — will not see any
action soon, Ebert said.
Because
that block was to contain mostly residential towers and a
hotel, both in oversupply now, “that part has been pushed
back,” he said.
The
nine-story Kimpton Hotel is still in queue, however. Much of
the infrastructure for the high-end, boutique hotel is being
completed along with the office and retail space. The rest of
the hotel construction will begin in January.
“That
will be open in July 2011. We want to get them in before the
All-Star Game,” Ebert said.
The
Kimpton was to include several floors of privately owned
residences above the hotel, but that has been taken off the
drawing board because of the many vacant condominium units
downtown, Ebert said.
Mesa Proving Grounds
Scottsdale’s
DMB
Associates is waiting for Gaylord
Entertainment to purchase 100 acres at the Mesa
Proving Grounds — where General Motors used to test
vehicle performance — to develop a 1,500-room hotel and
convention center that would be the high-profile anchor of the
sprawling 3,200-acre community.
“We
assume that Gaylord would be the first to go in,” said
Karrin Taylor, executive vice president and chief entitlements
officer for DMB.
Although
Gaylord has signed a letter of intent, it has not moved
forward with the land purchase.
No
one from the Nashville, Tenn.-based entertainment and real
estate conglomerate would go on the record about the
company’s intentions. A representative directed the Business
Journal to the company’s second-quarter earnings report,
which says: “Gaylord Entertainment’s planned resort and
convention hotel in
Mesa
,
Arizona
, is still in the very early stages of planning and specific
details of the property and budget have not yet been
determined. In the current economic environment, Gaylord
remains focused on conserving capital, and the company
anticipates that any expenditure associated with the project
will not have a material financial impact in the near term.”
City
property and sale tax incentives for the DMB project — in
particular, Gaylord’s hotel — are dependent on meeting
specific development benchmarks at certain dates. According to
the development agreement, the hotel must be completed by the
end of 2014.
Mesa
City Manager Chris Brady said he recently met with DMB
representatives and believes Gaylord is positioning itself to
raise the capital to proceed with the project, but it will
take some time for economic conditions to improve.
“They’re
looking closely at the tourism market, and those numbers are
still very soft,” Brady said.
The
Ritz-Carlton
Paradise
Valley
Status:
Unconstructed
Location:
Southwest of
Scottsdale
and Indian Bend roads
Developer:
Five Star Development,
Scottsdale
Scope:
The first Ritz-Carlton development to include single-family
homes. It is slated to cover 105 acres of one of the last
remaining vacant parcels of land in
Paradise
Valley
. The centerpiece is a 225-room resort. About 160
multimillion-dollar single-family homes will surround the
resort.
Architects:
HKS Hill Glazier Studio,
Dallas
; and Peterson Architecture & Associates,
Scottsdale
Contractor:
Summit
Builders
First
proposed: 2006 by Marriott International
Current
estimated timeline: Construction scheduled to start in early
2010, with completion in 2012
Financing:
Did not disclose
Government
incentives: None
Celebrity
City
Status:
Unconstructed
Location:
Northwest corner of 32nd and Van Buren streets,
Phoenix
Developer:
Old World Communities (Berkana 32nd & Van Buren LLC),
Phoenix
Scope:
Affordable for-sale and rental housing, music-related retail,
and hotel connected with Celebrity
Theatre
Architect:
CCBG Architects,
Phoenix
Contractor:
To be determined
First
proposed: August 2007
Current
estimated timeline: Construction could be completed by 2015,
depending on capital markets
For more
information about Lillian Wong & Associates and our services, please visit
my website at LillianWong.net or email me at
Lillian@LillianWong.com.
If
you would like to unsubscribe to this mailing list, please
click on this 'REMOVE'
link and follow the instructions shown on the automated
'Opt-Out Service'.
