City Weighs 100-Acre Sale to Liberty Property Trust

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

The Tempe City Council is scheduled on Feb. 7 to consider a proposal by Liberty Property Trust to acquire and develop up to 100 acres of city-owned land, the Phoenix Business Journal  reported.

 Under the proposed agreement, Liberty would buy 81 parcels of city-owned land at the intersection of Priest Dr. and Rio Salado Parkway near Tempe Town Lake in phases. A 21-acre public works yard located on the northeast corner of the site would be relocated if the Malvern, Pa.-based REIT exercises an option to buy the parcel.

In all, Liberty would develop more than 800,000 square feet of office, flex or industrial buildings. Liberty would start construction during the first half of 2013 and build out the site over the next nine to 12 years, the city said in a statement late last month. The firm was selected in Feb. 2012 from candidates responding to a request for qualifications.

“Now more than ever, job creation is a top priority, and developments like these will get us to an ever better place as a community,” Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell commented in a statement. The deal would generate an estimated $11.9 million to help fund city projects, such as a new dam at Tempe Town Lake that must be completed by Dec. 2015.

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North Scottsdale Mixed-Use Project Launches Construction With $62M M-F Complex

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

Dallas-based TDI Real Estate Holdings LLC broke ground earlier this month on Jefferson at One Scottsdale, a multi-family community that will be the first component of an 80-acre mixed-use development.

Phase one is scheduled for completion in 2014 and will consist of 388 units: 178 one-bedroom apartments, 186 two-bedroom units and 24 three-bedroom apartments.

Project plans also call for a 10,800-square-foot clubhouse, lounge, media room, two resort-size swimming areas with spa, 294 garage spaces and 182 carport spaces. Texas Capital Bank and The PrivateBank provided the construction loan, and Behringer Harvard furnished the mezzanine piece.

When complete, the 750-unit complex will form the residential portion of One Scottsdale, an 80-acre mixed-use project that DMB Associates Inc. and Macerich are planning for the north Scottsdale corporate corridor. In addition to its multi-family component, One Scottsdale will include up to 1.8 million square feet of retail, restaurant and Class A office space and about 400 boutique resort hotel rooms.

Because the multi-family sector has rebounded faster than other commercial real estate categories, DMB and Macerich are launching the residential component first, noted the Phoenix Business Journal.

Rendering of Jefferson at One Scottsdale, via Multi-Housing News

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ASU Plans Groundbreaking on 130 KSF Project in Tempe

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

Arizona State University plans to break ground Jan. 24 on Block 12, a 130,000-square-foot mixed-use project on its campus in Tempe. Developers target June 2014 as the completion date.

The five-story building will be the new home for the Del E. Webb School of Construction and will house classroom and administrative space. Also planned for the complex are a Grab and Go market, café, bookstore and study space.

According to a detailed presentation by the university architect’s office, Block 12 is slated for LEED Silver certification or higher and will incorporate such features as LED lighting, integrated photovoltaic/solar-thermal technologies and a ventilated façade to reduce exterior surface temperatures.

In addition to Block 12 , ASU’s current projects in Tempe include expansion of McCord Hall, a 129,000-square-foot, four-story building at the W.P. Carey School of Business, notes the Ahwatukee Foothills News.

The business school has doubled in size to more than 10,000 students over the past decade, making expansion an urgent need. “To be blunt, we should have built this 12 years ago,” said Robert Mittelstaedt, the school’s dean.

Photo rendering of ASU’s Block 12, by Architekton / Gensler Architects, courtesy of ASU

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Stockbridge Capital/Alliance Residential JV Pays $50M for 629-Unit M-F Complex

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

A joint venture of San Francisco-based Stockbridge Capital Group and Alliance Residential Co. of Phoenix has acquired The Canyons, a 629-unit apartment community in Northwest Phoenix, for $50 million. Continental Realty Advisors, the seller, purchased the property for $45.5 million in 2010, Business Real Estate Weekly reported.

“We see Northwest Phoenix as an area of focus of this continued growth for the next several years,” said Matthew McCormick, vice president of acquisitions for Stockbridge. According to BREW, this is Alliance’s first acquisition of an existing project in the Phoenix market in almost six years. The buyer is looking to purchase other local multi-family assets and land for apartment development.

At the time of the sale the property was 88% leased. Transwestern’s Phoenix office arranged the transaction.

The Canyons was built in two phases in 2004 and 2005. It offers Class A amenities including a clubhouse, resort-style pools, spas, fitness center, business center, BBQ area and Internet café. Monthly rents range from $571 for a studio to $1010 for a four-bedroom unit, according to Trulia.

Photo courtesy of Stockbridge Capital Group

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Novawest Proposes Landmark 420-Foot-Tall Tower for Downtown Phoenix

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

Novawest L.L.C. is planning a distinctive addition to the Downtown Phoenix skyline: a 420-foot pin-like tower that would be the tallest building in Arizona.

Bjarke Ingels Group, a Copenhagen-based architectural firm, is providing the design for a 39-story structure with a reinforced concrete core topped by an open-air spiral sphere. The tower would include 70,000 of retail units, restaurant outlets and flexible exhibition space, noted World Architecture News.

Reminiscent of both a pin and Frank Lloyd Wright’s landmark design for the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan, the structure would offer a 360-degree view. “The motion at the Pin is turned inside-out, allowing visitors to contemplate the surrounding city and landscape of Phoenix,” explained Bjarke Ingels, the design firm’s founding partner.

Novawest wants to build the structure near the Arizona Science Center, Phoenix Convention Center and US Airways Center, reports the Phoenix Business Journal.

Novawest plans to break ground on the $60 million tower in August 2013 so that the project can be completed before the 2015 Super Bowl, which will be played nearby at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. 

Major hurdles lie ahead, however; Novawest must secure financing and win city approval. Moreover, the firm will have to negotiate a lease for the city-owned site of the proposed project, adds AZCentral.com.

Rendering: Bjarke Ingels Group via Archello

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