Phoenix, AZ – Designated Broker, Perry Laufenberg continues to build SVN’s Phoenix office, Desert Commercial Advisors by adding five new brokers to the roster.  “I have my sights set on growing our office by adding motivated and driven industry professional to our team of brokers,” Laufenberg said as explaining that SVN is rapidly expanding domestically and internationally.

Desert Commercial Advisors is proud to announce that three more retail brokers are joining the retail division under the direction of Director of Retail Sales & Leasing, Mary Nollenberger and Rommie Mojahed.

Nicole Iglehart graduated from the University of Arizona with a B.S. in Finance and minor in Communications. She was a member of the investments Club and Pi Beta Phi sorority during her tenure as an Undergrad.  Prior to joining SVN, she strengthened her business acumen and technical finance background through internships at prestigious firms including RBC Wealth Management and MKM Partners.  Iglehart has always had a passion for commercial real estate and will be very exciting to watch her success develop quickly.

Eddie Gonzalez was born and raised in Phoenix and graduated from the well-known St. Mary’s Catholic High School in Central Phoenix.  He takes pride in putting customers first and his passion for customer service. This very characteristic is one of  the SVN’s main core covenants, which is putting clients first and by being proactive within the entire brokerage community.

Jonathan Eckerd joins SVN with a vast knowledge in leadership, operations and combat. Eckerd is a retired United States Army veteran and a Purple Heart recipient. He led over 250 combat operations during his 8 years with the military. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in Supply Chain Management and supports many organizations, such as the Wounded Warrior Program, Military Order of the Purple Heart and Project C.U.R.E.  Jonathan will be focusing on the retail and industrial market.  His strategic approach and entrepreneurial leadership will be a driving force in the commercial real estate industry.

Vicente Cantua comes with a vast knowledge in the hospitality industry and is a third generation Real Estate practitioner. His grandfather and uncle both practiced industrial real estate throughout the state of Arizona and Mexico. Vicente is from Tucson, Arizona where he excelled in multiple sports and academics.  He served on the Student Government all four years in high school and had the highest GPA out of 300 students, making him the Valedictorian of his senior graduating class. He proceeded to the University of Arizona on a full academic scholarship and founding father of Sigma Pi.  The brains and Braun combination will definitely catapult him directly in the success circle simply because he is a committed scholar and will only settle for nothing but success. He will be working closely with Vice President and SVN co-partner, Danny Lee in the multifamily division.

Senior Investment Advisor and seasoned SVN advisor, Patrick Baker also joins our SVN office.  Baker will be focusing on the development and investments in the northern parts of Arizona. He specializes in full-service representation from retail, office to multifamily and land.  Patrick has more than 38 years of experience in the real estate, development and the financial commercial industry with a career volume of more than $200 million is closed transactions.  His real estate experience has covered many states because he is licensed in Arizona, California, North Carolina, Hawaii and Washington. We are happy that he will bring such knowledge and experience to clients who are looking for investments in the northern part of Arizona.

Real Estate Daily News Buzz is designed to give news snippets to readers that our (yet to be award winning) editors thought you could use to start your day. They come from various business perspectives, real estate, government, the Fed, local news, and the stock markets to save you time. Here you will find the headlines and what the news buzz of the day will be.

U.S. stocks finished mostly higher Tuesday in another cautious day of trading. Energy companies climbed in tandem with the price of oil, but technology companies fell.

On Tuesday, he Dow Jones industrial average gained 13.08 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 17,990.32. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index ticked up 3.91 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 2,091.70. The NASDAQ composite index lost 7.50 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 4,888.28.

For the week, the Dow is down 13.43 points, or 0.1 per cent. The S&P 500 is up 0.12 points, or 0.01 per cent. The NASDAQ is down 17.94 points, or 0.4 per cent.

For the year, the Dow is up 565.29 points, or 3.2 per cent. The S&P 500 is up 47.76 points, or 2.3 per cent. The NASDAQ is down 119.13 points, or 2.4 per cent.

Intel Corp. has reported 560 worker layoffs at the semiconductor company’s Chandler operations. The job cuts will happen at two Intel campuses in Chandler, according to written notifications from the company. Intel will layoff 248 workers from its Dobson Road location and another 312 from its Chandler Boulevard campus. Workers are being notified of the cuts this week. They will be terminated on May 31. Intel is Chandler’s largest employer and one of the anchors of Arizona’s technology sector. Intel (NYSE: INTC) began notifying impacted workers this week. Even after this week’s layoffs, a spokeswoman said the chipmaker has a Chandler workforce of more than 11,000.

Lone Star Raises New $5.9 Bln Real Estate Private Equity Fund “Lone Star Funds, a real estate-focused private equity firm, said on Tuesday it has raised $5.9 billion for a new fund that will invest in the debt and equity of commercial property assets in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. Investors in Lone Star Real Estate Fund V include corporate and public pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, university endowments, foundations and wealthy individuals, Lone Star said in a statement.” (Reuters)

Former Sony Building to be Flipped for a $300M Profit “Barely three years since buying Midtown Manhattan’s former Sony Building, wily investor Joseph Chetrit is poised to sell it for at least a $300 million profit, The Post has learned. Chetrit and his partners are in contract with Saudi Arabia’s Olayan Group to sell the ‘Chippendale’ tower at 550 Madison Ave. for between $1.4 billion and $1.5 billion, sources said. The real estate investor bought the building in early 2013 for $1.1 billion — putting his annual return at 27 percent, at a minimum.” (New York Post)

In Wealthy Pocket of Connecticut, an Innovative Approach to Affordable Housing “In Fairfield County, by many measures the most economically stratified county in perhaps the most economically stratified state in the country, New Canaan has recently become something of an affordable housing leader. Not that the town had much choice in the matter. A 1990 state law meant to reverse decades of housing discrimination requires all of Connecticut’s 169 municipalities to guarantee that at least 10 percent of their housing units are affordable.” (The New York Times)

Fertitta Brothers Set to Take Home the Jackpot in Red Rock IPO “In the casino business, the saying goes that the house always wins. In Red Rock Resorts Inc.’s upcoming initial public offering, the Fertitta brothers certainly stand to come out on top. Frank, 54, and Lorenzo, 47, are chief executive officer and director, respectively, of Las Vegas-based Red Rock, a casino operator scheduled to price its IPO on April 26. At the high end of its marketed range, Red Rock could raise $572.25 million, making it the largest IPO so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg that excludes REITs, special purpose companies, and closed-end and country funds.” (Bloomberg)

GE Opens First Phase of South Carolina Manufacturing Plant “GE has opened Advanced Manufacturing Works, a 125,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art industrial plant in Greenville, S.C., to will serve as GE Power’s first advanced manufacturing facility. To date, GE has invested $73 million in the facility with plans to invest an additional $327 million across the GE Power Greenville campus over the next several years to drive innovation and the faster development of best-in-class technologies that deliver more value for customers across the globe.” (Commercial Property Executive)

Is Genting Looking to Flip Former Miami Herald Property? “Unable to build the luxury Miami casino and resort envisioned five years ago when they dropped $236 million for 14 acres in Biscayne Bay, gaming giant Genting Group may indeed be actively seeking to flip the property. Rumored for years, the company’s interest in selling the former site of the Miami Herald’s headquarters was confirmed recently on condition of anonymity by a developer who said he was shown the property.” (Miami Herald)

MSG Move Would be a $5B Nightmare Dressed Like a Daydream: Transit Group “A recent report by the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management that suggests relocating the arena to a nearby location would cost upwards of $5 billion, take a particularly long time and become an urban planner’s worst nightmare. The findings are part of the think tank’s study of a recently proposed overhaul of Pennsylvania Station and its extension to the James A. Farley Post Office opposite Eighth Avenue.” (Commercial Observer)

Neiman Marcus Holds Tight to Top Standing in Luxury Retailing “It’s been a bumpy few months for Dallas-based luxury retailer Neiman Marcus. Longtime leaders in the company have left, following a layoff in October. Sales have declined in two consecutive quarters, including the key Christmas season. An initial public offering of stock that would raise cash has been on hold for months. And rumors swirl that the company could be sold again. Hasn’t Neiman’s been here before?” (The Dallas Morning News)

Bob Evans Closes 27 Locations “Bob Evans Farms Inc. said on Monday that it is closing 27 poorly performing locations in a move expected to increase the chain’s operating income by $1 million a year. All but six of the restaurants are on property the company owns, and were closed over the weekend. But the six leased locations will be closed some time in the company’s current fiscal year. The closures follow a comprehensive evaluation of the struggling New Albany, Ohio-based chain’s unit-level portfolio.” (Nation’s Restaurant News)

Boyd to Buy Las Vegas Hotel-Casino for $380M “Boyd Gaming Corp. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ALST Casino Holdco LLC, the holding company of Aliante Casino Hotel and Spa, in North Las Vegas, for total net cash consideration of $380 million, Boyd announced late last week. The upscale, resort-style casino and hotel is on the 215 Beltway within the Aliante master-planned community.” (Commercial Property Executive)

CHANDLER, AZ – The Southeast Regional Association of REALTORS@ (SEVRAR), the largest realty association in Arizona, has purchased a new 3.1-acre site for their office headquarters at Chandler Airport Center in Chandler. The parcel sold for $1,152,290 or $8.50 per SF. The site was purchased for a builtto-suit office and conference facility. The project is expected to be completed in early 2018. 

With over 12,000 members, the goal of SEVRAR is to support communities in which their members live, work and play and to promote and protect the quality of life enjoyed throughout the Southeast Valley. The new location will allow SEVRAR to serve its members from a more central location as the Valley continues to grow South and East. 

Chandler Airport Center, near Loop 202 and Cooper Rd, is home to over 600,000 SF of office and industrial space with more under construction and proposed for future development. The adjacent Chandler Municipal Airport is the fi fth-busiest in the state with more than 220,000 takeoff s and landings in fi scal year 2014, according to Federal Aviation Administration data.  

Lee & Associates Principals, Andrew Cheney, Craig Coppola and Associate Gregg Kafka, represented SEVRAR while Andy Ogan, Principal, represented the seller, CAC 16, LLC.  

For more information contact Andrew Cheney, CCIM, SIOR at   602.954-3769; Craig Coppola, CCIM, CRE, SIOR at 602.954-3762; Andy Ogan can be reached at 602.474.9565; and   Gregg Kafka, CCIM is at 602.954-3777.