Mark-Taylor, Kitchell to Develop 590-Unit M-F Project in Tempe

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

Mark-Taylor Inc. and Kitchell Development Co. plan to develop a 590-unit multi-family project in Tempe. Dubbed San Sonora, the entire project will cost between $75 million and $80 million, including land and building costs, reported the Business Real Estate Weekly of Arizona.

The developers plan to break ground on the initial 362 units of the project this summer, with opening projected for May 2014. The second phase, which will add 228 units, is scheduled for completion in March 2015. San Sonora’s units will range in size from about 730 to 1,450 square feet.

Designed by Architectural Design Group, a Mark-Taylor affiliate, the property will be located on a 30-acre site near the southwest corner of Warner Road and Priest Drive.

Mark-Taylor and Kitchell purchased the land in two transactions totaling $11.2 million, according to Cassidy Turley, which represented the developers in the acquisition.

Elsewhere in the area, the joint venture is also developing the San Marquis community in Tempe, a 229-unit property, as well as a 383-unit project in Chandler, according to Business Real Estate Weekly. 

Rendering of the San Marquis: Kitchell Development Co.

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Optima Sonoran Village Leads Downtown Scottsdale’s M-F Development Wave

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

Optima Sonoran Village, a multi-family complex under construction in Downtown Scottsdale, recently marked an important milestone. The project’s 210-unit first phase, dubbed Mesquite, is the first in a new wave of planned Downtown multi-family units to reach completion.

Located southeast of 68th Street and Camelback Road, Mesquite is one of five towers that will comprise the Sonoran Village community.  Developed in four phases, the complex will eventually include 571 additional units, noted the Scottsdale Republic.

The project’s contemporary design, characterized by tinted green glass and colorful exteriors, is intended to bring something fresh and exciting to Scottsdale, said David Hovey Jr., Optima vice president and the complex’s architect.

Apartments range in size from one to three bedrooms with 10 floor plans, all offering outdoor terraces. Monthly rents start at $1,200. Amenities include a 19,000-square-foot fitness center with a basketball court, racquetball, indoor lap pool and a yoga studio. The 10-acre property also includes a zero-edge outdoor pool and dog park.

Among the first firms to develop a condominium project in Downtown Scottsdale, Optima completed Camelview Village in 2006. List prices at that property range from $380,000 to $1,430,000 per unit.

Rendering: Optima, Inc.

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$25M Sports Complex Debuts on ASU West Campus

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

A $25 million fitness center is scheduled for an official ribbon-cutting March 1 on the Arizona State University West campus in Phoenix.

Dubbed Sun Devil Fitness Complex, the 63,800-square-foot facility is the third project to open on the West campus during the current academic year, noted Mistalene Calleroz White, dean of students on the West campus. The complex will join the 365-bed Casa de Oro residence hall and the Verde Dining Pavilion, which opened last August.

The center will offer fitness studios, an outdoor pool, two competition play fields with softball and rugby field overlays, outdoor basketball courts and sand volleyball courts, indoor racquetball courts and a two-court gymnasium. The facility is funded by a student government-endorsed facility fee.

The complex was built by Haydon Building Corp. and designed by Architekton + 360 Architecture, noted the Phoenix Business Journal. American Campus Communities built the residential project and dining hall that opened last year.

Photo courtesy of Arizona State University

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Dignity Breaks Ground on $44M Hospital in Glendale

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

Dignity Health has broken ground on a $44 million hospital that will rise on the hospital network’s West Valley campus near Loop 101 and Glendale Ave.

The new facility, named St. Joseph’s Westgate Medical Center, is scheduled to open in early 2014; the 60,000-square-foot first phase will include an emergency room, 24 inpatient beds, two operating rooms and diagnostic services.

“The campus is designed to be a model for the nation’s changing healthcare environment and will change as medicine and the community evolve,” said Gregg Davis, the new hospital’s president. Dignity Health envisions a full-service medical center on its 35-acre campus that could eventually offer 200 beds and facilities for community physicians and outpatient partners.

St. Joseph’s Westgate Medical Center will join other three hospitals that Dignity Health operates in the Valley: St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Chandler Regional and Mercy Gilbert Medical Centers in the East Valley.

Rendering courtesy of Dignity Health

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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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University of Arizona Launches $100M Cancer Center at Phoenix Biomedical Campus

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

Construction is scheduled to start this month on the University of Arizona Cancer Center, a $100 million clinic at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus, university officials have announced.

Expected to open in early 2015, the 230,000-square-foot facility will offer comprehensive cancer services, including infusion, radiation oncology, diagnostic imaging, endoscopic/interventional radiology, a breast center, specialized clinics and clinical lab space.

Four of the building’s six stories will be built out initially. The fifth floor will be constructed as shell space for future expansion, and the sixth floor will house mechanical equipment.

Funding for the project is being provided by multiple sources, reported AZCentral.com:

- $14 million from the city of Phoenix
-  $66 million in revenue bonds provided by the University of Arizona
-  $20 million in private donations, including $5 million already in hand

“The Arizona Cancer Center is a tremendous next step on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus, and we look forward to continued growth,” said Mayor Greg Stanton. Located on a 28-acre Downtown Phoenix site, the decade-old campus encompasses research, academic and clinical facilities.

Rendering courtesy of the University of Arizona

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