Valley Partnership panel to discuss new Ritz-Carlton, redevelopment of Mountain Shadows resort

 Phoenix, AZ – Valley Partnership has announced the topic for the April 29 breakfast. The program will feature a look at two major hospitality projects under construction in Paradise Valley – a new Ritz-Carlton and redevelopment of the iconic Mountain Shadows resort.

The panel will feature Christopher Klecka, CFO of Five Star Development (Ritz-Carlton); Scott Lyon, Founder and Managing Partner of Westroc Hospitality (Mountain Shadows); and Jeff Mongan, Principal and Senior Vice President of The Athens Group. Moderating the panel will be Joe Blackbourn, President and CEO of Everest Holdings.

The breakfast will also feature guest speaker Sharon Harper, President and CEO of Plaza Companies. Harper is Chair of “Let’s Vote Yes for Arizona Schools,” which is supporting Proposition 123 in the May 17 statewide special election.

“Valley Partnership is pleased to bring these speakers together for our April breakfast,” said Cheryl Lombard, CEO and President of Valley Partnership. “The hospitality and resort industries are a major driver of Arizona’s economy, and our partners will benefit from the informative presentation the panel has planned.

“Additionally, we are honored to have Sharon Harper address members about Proposition 123. As business and community leaders continue the work of building towards a strong economic future, education is a critical keystone issue that needs to be at the forefront of our plans,” Lombard said.

Registration begins at 7 a.m.; program begins at 7:45 a.m. To register, please visit www.valleypartnership.org and click on the “Monthly Breakfast” tab. For more information, please contact Carrie Martin at 602.266.7844 or [email protected].

In the Southeast Valley… There is balanced recovery with small user activity.

• The Southeast Valley has seen a much more balanced recovery including large, mid-sized, and small, local users.

• Over 1.0 million square feet of leases were signed in the first quarter, largely comprised of small deals under 5,000 square feet.

In the Southwest Valley… The market is still going strong with large users.

• After averaging nearly 675,000 square feet of net absorption per quarter in 2015, the Southwest Valley saw a healthy bump in the first quarter of 2016, recording over 830,000 square feet of net absorption.

• There are currently over 13 million square feet of tenants in the market evaluating, touring or negotiating for space in the Southwest Valley.

Who’s occupying what? A bulk of absorption is coming from design-build.

• The number of owner-user sales transactions is down 25.7 percent, and sales volume is also down 28.0 percent, as large users with buying power are finding design-build options more attractive for specialized needs.

• Just under 50 percent of the year-to-date absorption has been a direct result of design-build completions, concentrated in just four buildings. Looking forward, there are nearly 1.1 million square feet of design-builds expected to deliver throughout 2016.

Here’s what JLL Managing Director Anthony Lydon has to say about trends among larger industrial users…

“Our demographics and job growth profile keep large industrial users coming to Phoenix. Corporate site visits and RFPs are up approximately 25 percent from one year ago. Compared to California, we offer the headcount- and energy-centric employer tremendous value. Our business friendlier proposition also provides a competitive alternative to the ‘thousand cuts’ of incremental expenses found in other markets.”

JLL’s full Q1 Phoenix Industrial reports are available at the following links:

Q1 2016 Phoenix Industrial Statistics

Q1 2016 Phoenix Industrial Insight

Phoenix Industrial Development Dashboard

Arizona added 84,300 total nonfarm jobs (3.2%) year-over-year in March, setting a new record for the size of the state’s workforce compared to the pre-recession peak in October 2007.

The private sector in Arizona actually added 86,000 jobs (3.9%) over the past 12 months, while the public sector workforce declined by 1,700 compared to March 2015.

The state’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.4% in March while the national rate rose to 5% for the month. The conventional unemployment rate is based on the number of people currently out of work and actively seeking jobs. This is referred to as the U-3 unemployment rate and is the most cited and quoted measure.

Arizona’s U-6 unemployment rate, which includes the long-term unemployed, discouraged and involuntary part-time workers also declined and is at 9.4%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Arizona workforce is approaching the 3-million-worker milestone, standing at 2.94 million in March.

Month-over-month, the state added 12,200 jobs in March. Of those jobs, 7,300 were in leisure and hospitality, more than all other sectors combined.

Education and health services, construction, and financial activities added a combined 5,900 jobs over the past month. Professional and business services lost 1,400.

This continues the trend which shows that jobs gained since the recession are lower-wage positions compared to the jobs lost in the recession.

Phoenix increased its workforce by 3.7% over 2016, while the Prescott area was up 4.5% over last year. The state workforce increased 3.2%. Tucson increased 3.1%, and Sierra Vista-Douglas metro workforce declined by 1.4%.

The full report is available at https://laborstats.az.gov/