We don’t normally report rumors, but since The Arizona Daily Star is reporting Phoenix restaurateur Sam Fox is looking to buy the Grant Road Lumber facility at 2543 E Grant Road in Tucson, we wanted to let you know what we were able to confirm.

Sam Huart and his sons, David and Steve closed the Grant Road Lumber business last August after 66 years since 1948 in business.

Fox aims to transform the former Grant Road Lumber facility. But he said the deal won’t close until September, so he’s reluctant to call it a done deal yet. Fox has begun the city’s approvals though and has applied for a liquor license for Culinary Dropout, the restaurant at the center of the sprawling 19,000-square-foot complex that will include a covered “yard” with couches, fireplaces, corn hole games, foosball tables and other backyard-style activities. A 150-seat dining room called The Coop, where Fox said they will hold private parties, weddings and corporate events, rounds out the project.

It will be his biggest and most ambitious Tucson venture in the 18 years since he launched his restaurant career with the upscale Wildflower on North Oracle Road and Ina in 1998. And it will be his first new concept here in Tucson since opening Blanco Tacos and Zin Burger in 2007 downtown.

The Yard in Tempe at the Farmer Arts District opened in 2014. The Arizona Republic at the time called that the biggest project Fox had ever done. The Tucson concept will cost less than the $11 million Fox spent building the second Yard in Tempe.

Fox is hoping his move to Grant Road will spur a mini-renaissance of the area, which includes two neighboring restaurants: the popular Kingfisher Bar & Grill, which has been a Grant Road mainstay for more than 22 years; and Dante’s Fire Cocktails & Cuisine, which has been around for several years.

“We’re excited about it,” Fox said. “We love the site, we love the history. It’s my hometown and we get a lot of requests to bring a lot of our concepts to Tucson.”

Fox says he has witnessed similar renaissances in Tempe and central Phoenix, where he opened his first Yard in a 55,000-square-foot motorcycle garage and dealership in early 2013.

“We have a vision that that whole area (Grant Road & Tucson Blvd) gets repurposed, and we hope we can be the genesis to jump-start that,” said Fox, who will incorporate the salvaged bricks and boards from the original structures into the new construction. “We like to find old buildings that have soul and character and repurpose them.”

Fox anticipates starting construction in September and opening The Yard in September 2017.

The work is being done by Common Bond Development, a company he has with fellow Tucson native Brian Frakes.

Tucson’s Culinary Dropout will be Fox’s sixth. In addition to three Phoenix-area locations, he has a Culinary Dropout in Las Vegas at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and is opening one this fall in Austin, Texas.

The property was marketed by Dean Cotlow of Cotlow Company in Tucson.

For more information, contact Cotlow at 520.881.8180.

Phoenix, AZ — ABI Multifamily, a dedicated multifamily brokerage and advisory services firm, is pleased to announce the $5.53 million ($30,385 Per Unit) sale of the 182-unit, Alta Vista Village Apartments, located in Phoenix, AZ. Built in several phases from 1959 to 1973, the property features a mix of Studio, 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom units, with a weighted average unit size of approximately 765 square feet.

“This was a complicated transaction with many different parties involved on the buyers’ side. The private capital seller operated Alta Vista Village Apartments as a market rate apartment complex. Through the support of The Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority, the new buyer has now converted the property to being affordable housing and placed it into the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program [more commonly known as LIHTC],” states Alon Shnitzer, Senior Managing Partner at ABI and lead broker for the transaction. “The process to convert a property to affordable housing does take time and sellers need to be patient with it, but it should be noted that this buyer, Walling Affordable Communities, is a very experienced affordable housing developer/operator and knew exactly what to do every step of the way during the escrow.”

Located in the West Phoenix Submarket, Alta Vista Village is approximately ½ mile from Grand Canyon University’s $500M campus redevelopment plan occurring along the Camelback and Missouri Road Corridors between I-17, Black Canyon Freeway and 35th Avenue. The West Phoenix Submarket, with per capita and median incomes 60% less than the Phoenix MSA at $11,949 and $26,982 respectively, is in desperate need of more affordable housing projects. The 85019 zip code, where Alta Vista Village is located, has only one affordable housing apartment property (50+ units or greater) in that entire area. “The Buyer is acutely aware of the tremendous need for more affordable units in the immediate area. This submarket lacks two, and especially, three-bedroom unit types suitable for families. Alta Vista Village Apartments contains 73% two and three-bedroom unit types, which made Alta Vista Village a perfect candidate for conversion to affordable housing. Walling Affordable Communities’ repositioning and upgrade plans for the asset are certainly in line with all the changes occurring in the area and will immediately serve those in need,” states Shnitzer.

Alta Vista Village Apartments sit on nearly 7-acres of land, with over 20 total building structures and a dedicated leasing center. Additional property features include: two swimming pools, on-site laundry facilities, ample covered and open parking, a playground and large gathering areas. Alta Vista Village Apartments was approximately 20% occupied at close of escrow.

The Buyer in this transaction is an experienced affordable housing developer, Walling Affordable Communities LP, based in Mesa, AZ.

The Seller in this transaction is a private capital individual based in Beverly Hills, CA.

The Phoenix based ABI Multifamily brokerage team of Alon Shnitzer, John Kobierowski, Rue Bax, Doug Lazovick and Eddie Chang represented both buyer and seller in this transaction.

For more information, Shnitzer should be contacted at 602.714.1283

The following commercial leases were reported to the Real Estate Daily News for the Tucson Lease Report from May 9 thru 13, 2016.

RETAIL – 8351 E. BROADWAY BLVD., TUCSON
JKay, LLC (DBA Crossfit Factorum) leased 4,000-square-feet at 8351 E. Broadway Suite 111. The tenant was represented by Michael Laatsch with CBRE’s Tucson Office. The landlord was represented by Rob Tomlinson and Stephen Cohen with Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR. [mepr-show rules=”58038″]Tenant Phone: 520.270.0945[/mepr-show]

OFFICE – 5055 E. BROADWAY BLVD., TUCSON
ICropTrak subleased 3,004-square-feet of office space at 5055 E. Broadway Boulevard, Suite C-207, located within New World Plaza. The tenant was represented by Bruce Suppes and David Volk with CBRE’s Tucson Office, and the sub-tenant was represented by Bob Davis with Tango Commercial. [mepr-show rules=”58038″]Tenant Phone: 520.445.8022[/mepr-show]

OFFICE – 3567 E. SUNRISE DR., TUCSON
Viner Finance, Inc. (DBA Oppenheimer & Co., Inc.) leased 2,984-square-feet of office space at 3567 E. Sunrise Drive located within La Paloma Corporate Center. The tenant was represented by Tom Nieman with Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR. The landlord was represented by Jeff Casper and David Montijo, with CBRE’s Tucson Office.

RETAIL – 7475 E. 22^nd STREET, TUCSON
Truly Nolen of America leased 2,680-square-feet of space at 7475 E. 22nd Street located within Plaza 22. The transaction was completed by Michael Laatsch with CBRE’s Tucson Office. [mepr-show rules=”58038″]Tenant Phone: 520.326.4201[/mepr-show]

OFFICE – 6270 E. GRANT RD., TUCSON
Coronado Internal Medicine, PC has leased 2,400-square-feet at 6270 E. Grant Road, from Grant Wilmot Associates, LLC.  Andrew Sternberg of Oxford Realty Advisors represented the Tenant and Melissa Lal of Larsen Baker represented the Landlord in the transaction. [mepr-show rules=”58038″]Tenant Phone: 520.885.2072[/mepr-show]

INDUSTRIAL – 3150 N. FREEWAY INDUSTRIAL LOOP, TUCSON
General Parts leased 2,400-square-feet of industrial space at 3150 N. Freeway Industrial Loop, Suite 100. The tenant was represented by Bill Di Vito and Jesse Blum with CBRE’s Tucson Office. The landlord was represented by Ron Zimmerman with Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR. [mepr-show rules=”58038″]Tenant Phone: 520.622.4560[/mepr-show]

OFFICE – 310 S. WILLIAMS BLVD., TUCSON
IMTS Group leased 1,166-square-feet of office space at 310 S. Williams Suite 265 located within Williams Center. David Montijo and Damian Wilkinson with CBRE’s Tucson Office represented the landlord and the tenant in this transaction. [mepr-show rules=”58038″]Tenant Phone: 520.297.5794[/mepr-show]

OFFICE – 310 S. WILLIAMS BLVD., TUCSON
WiFive LLC leased 484-square-feet of office space at 310 S. Williams Suite 176 located within Williams Center. David Montijo and Damian Wilkinson with CBRE’s Tucson Office handled this transaction. [mepr-show rules=”58038″]Tenant Phone: 855.600.9434[/mepr-show]