Plaza CEO: Why New Construction Can't Compete (Yet)
The Plaza Cos has ridden the wave of growth emerging from the Great Recession, with its emphasis on healthcare and biotech development projects. But Plaza CEO Sharon Harper tells us there are still bumps along the road for Phoenix.
“There are certain sectors of the economy in Arizona that are doing very, very well,” Sharon tells us, naming healthcare, tech, and the financial sectors. That's led to growth in startups and even in high ed. “I will also say that the economy is generally quite weak in other areas,” she says. Construction, for instance: “There isn't enough being built in our region to stabilize and vitalize the industry. It is hard for construction to compete with existing vacant space in the market. It's by no means vibrant.”
Certainly, Plaza's pipeline has picked up again. The first tenants will move into Skysong III later this month now that it's fully leased. That's leading Plaza to beginning work on Skysong IV, a 140k SF office building that the company is targeting to start development by year's end (assuming it can grab 20% of that space in pre-lease), Sharon says. It also has a 150k SF MOB project on the Banner Estrella Hospital campus (in a JV with Duke Realty). And finally, Sharon tells us that Paradise Retirement Hawaii has tapped Plaza for a high-rise retirement care tower on the Big Island (here).
