MARANA, ARIZONA — An affiliate of Thompson Thrift Retail Group (TTRG) recently completed the sale of a 2.44 acre parcel within the company’s Cortaro Ranch development located at the NEC of I-10 and Cortaro Farms Blvd in Marana, AZ for $1.6 million ($15 PSF) .

The property was sold to Crimson Canyon Investment, LLC, that intends to build a state-of-the-art, climate-controlled Life Storage facility on the parcel.

Life Storage will join a host of existing users who are already operating within the project, including Carondelet micro-hospital, International House of Pancakes (IHOP), Dutch Bros. Coffee, Serial Grillers, Arby’s ATI Physical Therapy and iTouch Salon. In addition to these users, TTRG is under construction with a second multi-tenant building within the project that will be home to Filberto’s Mexican Restaurant, Great Clips and Freytag Orthodontics.

One frontage PAD remains available for lease or build-to suit and approximately 6 acres of land adjacent to I-10 is also available.

TTRG would like to thank Zachary Pace of Phoenix Commercial Advisors who represented the buyer and Chuck Wells of Kidder Mathews and Brenna Lacey and Jeramy Price of VOLK COMPANY Commercial Real Estate of Tucson who represented the seller.

For more information, Wells can be reached at 602.513.5141, Pace is at 602.957.9800 and Lacey and Price can be contacted at 520.326.3200.

To learn more, see RED Comp #9027.

Glendale Property Purchased for $10M

PHOENIX,  ARIZONA – Zanjero Falls, a three-story, grey shell building, originally developed to be medical/office condominiums has  sold for $10 million.  The vacant property was purchased by a local investor and will be converted into a market competitive multi-family community, further enhancing the Westgate Entertainment District in Glendale, AZ.

Zanjero Falls was built in 2008 in the heart of Glendale’s shopping and entertainment district.  The property was originally built to provide high-end medical/office condominium units for lease or purchase to small business owner/users.   Unfortunately the property was completed as the Great Recession hit in 2008 / 2009.  Since then, the propery has been through a series of different owners, including loan defaults and bankruptcies.  As a result, the interior of the property was never built out and sat idle for more than 10 years. Located at 7410 N. Zanjero Blvd., the 7.5-acre campus contains three buildings with an underground parking facility totaling 231,272 square feet.  The property also offers healing gardens, water features and a large pond with bridge at the main entrance.

Tim Dulany and Alexandra Loye of Colliers in Arizona represented the seller, SZ Real Co, LLC, an Arizona limited liability company headed by a San Francisco-based investor.  Nirvana at Zanjero, LLC, an Arizona limited liability company purchased the property and was represented by Sharat (Shuan) Kanaka  of Paradise Valley, Arizona.

“The seller of this property hired Colliers to bring a new, creative approach to marketing the asset for sale along with a robust national platform to market the property locally and nationally to a large buyer pool.  The property had been marketed several times in the past with other smaller brokerage firms that were unable to find an appropriate buyer for senior housing uses,” says Tim Dulany of Colliers in Arizona.  “We knew this beautiful development had great potential and identified quickly what were the  highest and best uses for the property and who were the likely buyers within those specialty property types.  Boldly, we set the price more than a $1.0 million dollars higher than any prior offer that was made to the sellers for the asset.  Utilizing our experience and connections in the marketplace, we were able to secure multiple offers within two weeks of launching our marketing efforts, which  led to a multiple competitive offers from buyers  that resulted in an above-asking sale price along with an expedited close.  This marks one of the best strategic marketing and success stories for our team during 2021, accomplished in the midst of COVID-19 and a challenging political/economic climate.”

Loye comments, “We have tracked this asset for many years and are excited to finally see it come to life.  The Westgate Entertainment District has serious momentum with several new development projets in the works and we are happy to be a part of this movement.”

Zanjero Falls features a Spanish Colonial architectural style with balconies, arches and towers.  The property is adjacent to the new Desert Diamond Casino, Phoenix Coyote hockey arena, AZ Cardinals’ State Farm stadium and Westgate City Center. The buyer is working on design / architectural plans and city approvals to build approximately 300+ units of 1 Br, 2 Br, and 3 Br apartments.  Estimated completion date for the first phase of construction (which is to build out the existing shell building) is fourth quarter 2022 and second phase (to build new detached buildings) by spring/summer 2023.

TUCSON, ARIZONA – Sylvan Source, a University of Arizona Center for Innovation (UACI) client, was announced as a winner for the world’s largest startup pitch contest, the Unicorn Battle Final Cup. Sylvan Source is part of an elite group of extraordinary international startups from different industries that competed and won the preliminary Unicorn Battles. The very best companies were selected during the preliminary Unicorn Battles® covering North America, Latin America, Silicon Valley, Asia, Middle East, Southeastern Asia & Oceania, Africa, Eastern & Western Europe this Spring. Only 10 extraordinary ventures from different countries pitched live at the UNICORN CUP on July 15, 2021. Sylvan Source was the only top three award-winner from the United States.

The Unicorn battles attract famous venture capitalists and angel-investors seeking to find the best deals for their portfolios. Over the years $296 million was received in funding by past winners. The Unicorn Battles are crucial connection events, bringing together entrepreneurs and investors by showcasing the best and brightest startups across the globe.

Laura Demmons, co-founder and CEO of Sylvan Source has devoted herself to making an impact globally by founding an industrial-municipal water treatment and thermal energy management company. The business seeks to tackle issues that plague the industry such as the cost and energy needed to treat water as well as the size and complexity of the systems. Sylvan Source systems are half the cost to own and operate, and have fewer points of failure, versus the competition.

Sylvan Source was founded in California in late 2010 and incorporated in Delaware, therefore Demmons’ involvement in Arizona’s startup ecosystem was not initially on her radar. However, when she visited her parents in Green Valley, Arizona in 2020, she reached out to Anita Bell, Director at the UACI and a power connector with the Department of Energy, who walked her through the benefits and application process for the University of Arizona Center for Innovation. Upon acceptance, Demmons and her team started to receive a tremendous amount of support from the people and resources in Arizona.

“Demmons said, “Over the past year, the UACI team has provided strong tactical and strategic guidance for our business models, plans and presentations which has made us even more competitive as we present our company and our opportunity to investors and customers alike. We are delighted to be included in the UACI program and look forward to making a positive difference globally and in our local community.”

The University of Arizona Center for Innovation (UACI) is a startup incubator network with outposts across the Southern Arizona region. For nearly two decades, the program has directly served over 160 companies and impacted thousands of entrepreneurs. This is done through providing access to people, programming and places that help entrepreneurs take their companies from idea to market. Startups go through a structured program that takes them through a continuum of education provided by mentors, advisors and community collaborators. UACI also provides access to service providers, industry cluster groups, interns and connections to potential customers and strategic partners. Entrepreneurs utilize various physical spaces that include offices, wet and dry labs, meeting rooms, a prototyping center, collaboration areas and the infrastructure to support these spaces. The UACI is part of Tech Parks Arizona, which brings together university, industry and community, creating “interactive ground” to advance technology innovation.