Middle Market Digest: This Week in Southwest

The Phoenix market is continuing its strong recovery. This week, the market dominated in sales and dispositions, with investors clearly attracted to the market fundamentals and improving demand. New research from JLL backs up the sentiment, showing that the market has seen steady rent growth and absorption in the office market. As a result, there are new construction starts in both office, multifamily and retail to announce this week. Phoenix wasn't the only performing market this week. San Diego and Los Angeles both saw a number of significant transactions. Here's a look at this week's trends, announcements and deals that you may have missed in Southern California, Utah, Arizona and Nevada.

BY THE NUMBERS

PHOENIX—The Phoenix market continues its winning streak. It is on track to absorb 2 million square feet of absorption in the office market for the fourth year in a row. Additionally, average asking rents are up 5.3% year over year, although 6% below the prior market peak. In the second quarter of the year, absorption was 595,346 square feet, the 16th consecutive quarter of positive net absorption. As a result of the strong performance, construction is ramping up with five new office projects breaking ground totaling 638,090 square feet. The industrial market is also performing well, as it is throughout the region. In the industrial market, nearly 60% of newly completed industrial properties are pre-leased at delivery, with large users taking advantage of new product in the development pipeline. Rental rates also continue to inch higher, driven by manufacturing properties. In the last year alone, manufacturing rates have surged 18.6 percent, to $0.59 per square foot. Growth in this sector has been particularly exceptional in the Southeast Valley, especially in Tempe and Mesa.

(SOURCE: JLL)

NEW & NOTABLE

SAN DIEGO—Newmark Knight Frank has hired Rob Black and Sean McNee as Senior Managing Directors. McNee and Black have experience in national investment for the senior housing and care industry. Black brings 21 years of commercial real estate experience to NKF and McNee brings 17 years to the firm. Both professionals join the firm from Cushman & Wakefield.

LAS VEGAS—Avison Young has hired property management specialist Natalie Allred as a principal and VP of property management in Las Vegas. She will lead the firm's local property management group with a mandate to facilitate continued client satisfaction while integrating with Avison Young's national investor services platform to attract new clients. She will also collaborate with colleagues in Las Vegas on the expansion of local office operations through the recruitment of property management, sales and leasing specialists. In addition, she will liaise with Avison Young's corporate leaders to grow the company's footprint in Southern Nevada. Allred brings more than 25 years of experience in all facets of commercial property and asset management experience to Avison Young.

SAN DIEGO—Sonia Miró has joined Kearny Real Estate as Director of Property Management in the San Diego office. In this new role, she will oversee the firm's growing local portfolio. Miró has more than three decades of experience in the management of commercial office and industrial properties. Prior to joining Kearny, Miró was Regional Director, West Coast Property Management for BioMed Realty.

LOS ANGELES—Tangram Interiors has sired Ricky Wolter as a new sales executive for the Inland Empire territory. Wolter brings 15 years of experience in the commercial furniture industry to Tangram. The hiring is part of a strategic expansion by Tangram in the Inland Empire region. The expansion plan includes a focus on healthcare and educational facilities, based on successful project engagements with customers such as Kaiser Permanente, Riverside Community College and the Corona-Norco Unified School District.

DEALTRACKER

PHOENIX—Newmark has secured $151 million in new permanent financing for the unnamed owner of a 30 property, multi-tenant industrial portfolio totaling more than 4 million square feet and in excess of 1,000 tenants. The portfolio is a mix of light industrial and manufacturing buildings with small to medium size bay depths, all located throughout Arizona. The properties range in size from 52,500 to 260,000 square feet, and approximately 25% of the tenants on month-to-month leases. The terms of the loans were not disclosed. Tim Storey, principal, and Chad Metzger, associate VP, in Newmark's Phoenix production office worked with the borrower to arrange the 15 year, sub 4% rate, non-recourse financing with one of Newmark's correspondent life company lenders, VOYA.

IRVINE, CA—WNC has closed its WNC Institutional Tax Credit Fund 10 California Series 15, L.P., an $85 million institutional low-income housing tax credit fund. The fund will acquire eight properties in both suburban, urban and rural parts of California. Combined, the properties will offer nearly 500 affordable housing units to seniors and families throughout the Golden State. CA 15 is WNC's 20th closed institutional fund focused on the development or rehabilitation of quality affordable housing in California, where demand far exceeds supply.  Upon completion of all eight property acquisitions, WNC will have acquired more than 300 properties within California.

LAS VEGAS—Volaré Apartment Homes, a garden-style 360-unit class-A apartment community in Las Vegas, has traded hands between a joint venture between Fore Property Company, The Strand Corporation and DG Development Corporation and Green Leaf Capital Partners. JLL Executive Vice Presidents John Cunningham and Charles Steele brokered the sale. Volaré is six miles from the Las Vegas Strip, and has a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units.

PHOENIX—Avenue 25, a 254-unit, class-A multifamily community located at 18250 N. 25th Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona, has traded hands for $40.3 million between TruAmerica Multifamily and Millburn & Company. Sean Cunningham, Tyler Anderson, Asher Gunter and Matt Pesch with CBRE's Phoenix office represented the seller in the deal. Avenue 25 is a garden-style community featuring comprehensive amenities including a resort-style pool and spa, pool area cabanas, modern resident clubhouse, fully-appointed fitness center, electric car charging stations and a gated dog park. The community is adjacent to Interstate-17 within the expanding Deer Valley employment corridor, home to approximately 120,000 jobs.

BUILDING BLOCKS

PHOENIX—Silver Fern Companies and Otago Development have begun preconstruction on Gehan Homes in the Cadence community, a homebuilder neighborhoods and The Square. The process includes clearing and mass grading, and building the first roads. Additionally, building pads are being prepared and sewer, storm water and domestic water infrastructure is next on the schedule.

PHOENIX—At Home has acquired 8.54 acres in the San Tan Pavilions shopping center located at the southwest corner of Williams Field Road and San Tan Village Parkway in Gilbert, Arizona, from San Tan AZ, an entity controlled by Intercapital Development for $4.1 million. The 108,000+/- square foot At Home store is projected to open in the 1st quarter of 2018. The store is part of an approximate 33 acre development that is planned to have an additional 170,000 square feet of retail space including big box anchors, shops, pads and restaurants. The project is located in the San Tan Regional Mall trade area a major retail hub for the growing southeast Valley.

The Phoenix market is continuing its strong recovery. This week, the market dominated in sales and dispositions, with investors clearly attracted to the market fundamentals and improving demand. New research from JLL backs up the sentiment, showing that the market has seen steady rent growth and absorption in the office market. As a result, there are new construction starts in both office, multifamily and retail to announce this week. Phoenix wasn't the only performing market this week. San Diego and Los Angeles both saw a number of significant transactions. Here's a look at this week's trends, announcements and deals that you may have missed in Southern California, Utah, Arizona and Nevada.

BY THE NUMBERS

PHOENIX—The Phoenix market continues its winning streak. It is on track to absorb 2 million square feet of absorption in the office market for the fourth year in a row. Additionally, average asking rents are up 5.3% year over year, although 6% below the prior market peak. In the second quarter of the year, absorption was 595,346 square feet, the 16th consecutive quarter of positive net absorption. As a result of the strong performance, construction is ramping up with five new office projects breaking ground totaling 638,090 square feet. The industrial market is also performing well, as it is throughout the region. In the industrial market, nearly 60% of newly completed industrial properties are pre-leased at delivery, with large users taking advantage of new product in the development pipeline. Rental rates also continue to inch higher, driven by manufacturing properties. In the last year alone, manufacturing rates have surged 18.6 percent, to $0.59 per square foot. Growth in this sector has been particularly exceptional in the Southeast Valley, especially in Tempe and Mesa.

(SOURCE: JLL)

NEW & NOTABLE

SAN DIEGO—Newmark Knight Frank has hired Rob Black and Sean McNee as Senior Managing Directors. McNee and Black have experience in national investment for the senior housing and care industry. Black brings 21 years of commercial real estate experience to NKF and McNee brings 17 years to the firm. Both professionals join the firm from Cushman & Wakefield.

LAS VEGAS—Avison Young has hired property management specialist Natalie Allred as a principal and VP of property management in Las Vegas. She will lead the firm's local property management group with a mandate to facilitate continued client satisfaction while integrating with Avison Young's national investor services platform to attract new clients. She will also collaborate with colleagues in Las Vegas on the expansion of local office operations through the recruitment of property management, sales and leasing specialists. In addition, she will liaise with Avison Young's corporate leaders to grow the company's footprint in Southern Nevada. Allred brings more than 25 years of experience in all facets of commercial property and asset management experience to Avison Young.

SAN DIEGO—Sonia Miró has joined Kearny Real Estate as Director of Property Management in the San Diego office. In this new role, she will oversee the firm's growing local portfolio. Miró has more than three decades of experience in the management of commercial office and industrial properties. Prior to joining Kearny, Miró was Regional Director, West Coast Property Management for BioMed Realty.

LOS ANGELES—Tangram Interiors has sired Ricky Wolter as a new sales executive for the Inland Empire territory. Wolter brings 15 years of experience in the commercial furniture industry to Tangram. The hiring is part of a strategic expansion by Tangram in the Inland Empire region. The expansion plan includes a focus on healthcare and educational facilities, based on successful project engagements with customers such as Kaiser Permanente, Riverside Community College and the Corona-Norco Unified School District.

DEALTRACKER

PHOENIX—Newmark has secured $151 million in new permanent financing for the unnamed owner of a 30 property, multi-tenant industrial portfolio totaling more than 4 million square feet and in excess of 1,000 tenants. The portfolio is a mix of light industrial and manufacturing buildings with small to medium size bay depths, all located throughout Arizona. The properties range in size from 52,500 to 260,000 square feet, and approximately 25% of the tenants on month-to-month leases. The terms of the loans were not disclosed. Tim Storey, principal, and Chad Metzger, associate VP, in Newmark's Phoenix production office worked with the borrower to arrange the 15 year, sub 4% rate, non-recourse financing with one of Newmark's correspondent life company lenders, VOYA.

IRVINE, CA—WNC has closed its WNC Institutional Tax Credit Fund 10 California Series 15, L.P., an $85 million institutional low-income housing tax credit fund. The fund will acquire eight properties in both suburban, urban and rural parts of California. Combined, the properties will offer nearly 500 affordable housing units to seniors and families throughout the Golden State. CA 15 is WNC's 20th closed institutional fund focused on the development or rehabilitation of quality affordable housing in California, where demand far exceeds supply.  Upon completion of all eight property acquisitions, WNC will have acquired more than 300 properties within California.

LAS VEGAS—Volaré Apartment Homes, a garden-style 360-unit class-A apartment community in Las Vegas, has traded hands between a joint venture between Fore Property Company, The Strand Corporation and DG Development Corporation and Green Leaf Capital Partners. JLL Executive Vice Presidents John Cunningham and Charles Steele brokered the sale. Volaré is six miles from the Las Vegas Strip, and has a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units.

PHOENIX—Avenue 25, a 254-unit, class-A multifamily community located at 18250 N. 25th Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona, has traded hands for $40.3 million between TruAmerica Multifamily and Millburn & Company. Sean Cunningham, Tyler Anderson, Asher Gunter and Matt Pesch with CBRE's Phoenix office represented the seller in the deal. Avenue 25 is a garden-style community featuring comprehensive amenities including a resort-style pool and spa, pool area cabanas, modern resident clubhouse, fully-appointed fitness center, electric car charging stations and a gated dog park. The community is adjacent to Interstate-17 within the expanding Deer Valley employment corridor, home to approximately 120,000 jobs.

BUILDING BLOCKS

PHOENIX—Silver Fern Companies and Otago Development have begun preconstruction on Gehan Homes in the Cadence community, a homebuilder neighborhoods and The Square. The process includes clearing and mass grading, and building the first roads. Additionally, building pads are being prepared and sewer, storm water and domestic water infrastructure is next on the schedule.

PHOENIX—At Home has acquired 8.54 acres in the San Tan Pavilions shopping center located at the southwest corner of Williams Field Road and San Tan Village Parkway in Gilbert, Arizona, from San Tan AZ, an entity controlled by Intercapital Development for $4.1 million. The 108,000+/- square foot At Home store is projected to open in the 1st quarter of 2018. The store is part of an approximate 33 acre development that is planned to have an additional 170,000 square feet of retail space including big box anchors, shops, pads and restaurants. The project is located in the San Tan Regional Mall trade area a major retail hub for the growing southeast Valley.