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First came Origami Owl. Then came Latium USA. Now an interiors company is headed to a building off of I-10 and South 7th Street, the capstone on a recovering industrial market. Will spec soon follow?  Creative Touch Interiors inked a 37k SF deal at 1002 E University Dr, EastGroup Properties' 73k SF distribution center called East University. Jackie, along with colleagues John Grady and Jim Wilson, brokered for the landlord, while CBRE's Pat Feeney and Chris Gadrix repped CTI. Now, for the first time since the recession, some industrial areas in Phoenix are seeing vacancies dip below 10%. (If you hadn't noticed, it's not as easy to stretch your legs.) “When that happens in Phoenix, we start to see speculative building,” she says.  And that, so far, has held true. According to Colliers, net absorption among Phoenix's industrial properties included 3.6M SF of spec deals. And this year could see another spec deal: Trammell Crow readying another 600k SF building in Gilbert, Jackie says. In addition to the CTI lease, her team also help broker Origami Owl's 150k SF lease in 10 Chandler Business Park (pictured) and Latium USA's consolidation into DCP Industrial's 1640 S 39th Ave. |
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WinCo's Big Phoenix Plans |
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 As Idaho-based WinCo Foods expands into Texas and furthers its presence in Southern California, Southern Nevada, and Arizona, it's well underway on its 963k SF distribution center and offices at 7502 West Durango St, which VP Michael Read tells us should deliver in May. Also under development are two new stores—its second in Gilbert (95k SF) and one in Surprise (which contrary to the name was actually well-planned), which is being built in its new 85k SF floorplate. Once those two deliver by March 2015, we may even see further expansion of the employee-owned, discount grocery chain here, Michael says. |
 So far, WinCo has four stores in the greater Phoenix area, over 90 stores in eight states, and four other distribution centers. The grocer brings a unique bulk foods department that allows customers to buy only the amount they want of approximately 750 items, including snacks, cereals, flours, pastas, spices, and even dog treats and birdseed. Michael says it plans to open between six and nine stores a year nationwide (and all will have plenty of room for the 48 flavors of bulk coffee, including creme brulee and red velvet cake). Overly caffeinated real estate industry, rejoice! |
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Mark's Mashup [Editor's note: The "Mark" in the title of this occasional feature is our roving publisher, Mark Bisnow.] Yes, Shirley Temple died this week, but just as part of the old Hollywood thereby disappeared, part of the new Hollywood was born. At the corner of Sunset and Gower Monday, where the legendary CBS Studios used to stand, we snapped John Kilroy, one of the West Coast's most active developers, describing his $450M project to create the "most extraordinary, well-designed, collaborative campus in California, maybe America."  It'll be 350k SF of new office construction, plus a 100k SF rehab of two original buildings.  In these 1938 structures, Burns and Allen did their radio and TV shows before a live audience, the I Love Lucy pilot was filmed, and Bing Crosby, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, and Barbra Streisand performed. Since the NBC studios were also nearby, the neighborhood for about three decades was the center of the TV network universe until they dispersed to larger locations elsewhere. But John noted that the tall ceilings and open areas of the pre-air conditioning era are ironically well-suited to today's popular urban-style workplace.  LA had been a laggard in development action post-recession, but now a great deal is going on in numerous submarkets, and not just multifamily but office. And of course creative office, to be specific. Hollywood has seen much decline and neglect over the years, but just like the Lower East Side in NYC, SoMa in San Francisco, and 14th and U in DC, this is exactly the area Gen Y wants to revive. Amazing. |
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Is Phoenix the New Cancun?Travelocity yesterday released its annual spring break travel data, and there's been a 14.7% year-over-year increase in domestic airfare prices. That means budget-wary co-eds might actually be drinking their Coronas with lime here, as Phoenix (which ranked No. 3 for top spring break destinations) comes in at an average $383 per ticket, versus $600 for the No. 6 ranked Cancun. (We're waiting, MTV.) Florida still remains the top destination, with South Florida coming in at No. 1 and the Orlando area No. 2. Other cities that made the list include Fort Meyers, Fla.; Las Vegas; LA; Tampa/St. Petersburg; Maui; and Honolulu. |
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Send Us Your Fish Tales: Both True and True But UnverifiableWant to combine the two things you love? Go fishing, and you can win a ticket to a Bisnow event. We're rewarding people in every market we cover. Send us your biggest catch or your biggest fish story, and we'll pick the best. So if you catch tiny bass but tell big stories, you can still win. Need some fishing tips? Ask Quantum Real Estate Advisors EVP Jordan Kaufman in Chicago (above, on a recent fishing trip in Wyoming). The prize is a ticket to a Bisnow event in your market (or another market if you're looking for an excuse to find new lakes, streams, ponds, and oceans). Send your stories and pics to Sibley Fleming: sibley@bisnow.com. |
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You Have a Secret Admirer!It's us… oh, guess the secret's out. We can't help it. The deals you sign, the financing you secure, the leases you rep, the ground you break, the 1031s you exchange, the buildings you top out, it all drives us wild! We're too shy to tell you how much we love you, so instead we make little jokes and fun headlines hoping you'll notice us. But today we worked up all the courage we have to ask you sheepishly: Will you be our Valentine? |
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