Cushman & Wakefield Negotiates Acquisition on Behalf of Technology Company

PHOENIX, AZ – Cushman & Wakefield, a global leader in commercial real estate services, announced today that IO has acquired 9.08 acres at the northeast corner of 48^th and VanBuren streets near Sky Harbor International Airport for $8.55 million ($21.62 PSF). The company plans to build the country’s largest renewable-powered data center with an estimated investment of more than $500 million.

Founded in 2007, IO provides data center as a service to businesses and governments around the world. The company currently operates a data center at 615 N. 48^th St., adjacent to the newly acquired property. IO operates six data centers worldwide, two of which are located in Arizona. The current Phoenix data center offers more than 120 MW of core power, and the new facility will add another 100 MW. The new facility is in the design phase, and IO plans to complete construction before year-end 2017.

Cushman & Wakefield Executive Director Jim Wilson represented IO in the land purchase. The property was acquired from Longmeadow Properties, LLP of Phoenix.

“The completion of this transaction speaks to each party’s willingness to work through the issues that always arise – to be advised by highly competent legal and real estate counsel and to remain committed to closing the transaction,” said Mr. Wilson.

Anthony Wanger, President and Founder of IO said, “It was a pleasure to work with Jim Wilson and his team at Cushman & Wakefield. They were professional, tireless and effective advocates for IO as we pursued this important real estate transaction.”

The IO data center will provide colocation service to a wide range of businesses throughout the Western U.S. Select IO customers identified on IO’s website include Goldman Sachs, Allianz, Choice Hotels International, CBS Interactive, Meritage Homes and Arizona State University.

Senior Managing Director of Colliers International in Greater Phoenix Recognized for Significant Contributions to the Arizona Commercial Real Estate Market

Phoenix, AZ – Bob Mulhern, senior managing director of Colliers International in Greater Phoenix, will be honored with the Award of Excellence from NAIOP Arizona at its 2016 Best of NAIOP event on March 24 at the Arizona Biltmore.

The NAIOP Award of Excellence recognizes an individual who has made a significant, positive impact on the office and industrial commercial real estate market in Arizona over a period of not less than 15 years, along with direct volunteer contributions to the chapter.

“We are proud to bestow this Award of Excellence on Bob Mulhern for his more than 20 years of contributions to making NAIOP Arizona better through its educational offerings to members and philanthropic footprint in the community,” said Tim Lawless, president of NAIOP Arizona. “Bob’s wise and pragmatic approach during his years of tenure on the Board helped build NAIOP Arizona into one of the strongest chapters in the nation.”

“When considering the people who have positively impacted my real estate career, I realize that most of them have been active members of NAIOP,” said Mulhern. “The organization has fostered an incredible culture of teamwork and goodwill within our industry and I am grateful for the opportunity to be closely associated with NAIOP. It is an honor to receive the 2016 Award of Excellence from NAIOP Arizona.”

A member since 1994, Mulhern served on the NAIOP Arizona Board for 14 years, including president and chairman in 1996. He is currently chair of the education committee. In 1996, Mulhern moved NAIOP to a strategy of big events, beginning with a golf tournament that year, which has grown to be one of the most sought-after tickets on the calendar.

His major contribution to the chapter has been in the area of education, initiating the popular “Market Leaders” quarterly panels in 2011, and the “Lunch and Learn” programs in 2015. He played a key role in co-sponsoring NAIOP’s first Signature Speaker Series two years ago. He has also taught at the MRED graduate school program at Arizona State University the past few years.

“In short, Bob has not only spearheaded, but also expanded, NAIOP’s educational offerings,” Lawless said. “Besides education, Bob has been a leader in gathering groups on behalf of NAIOP to feed the homeless at the Human Services Campus in downtown Phoenix.”

As leader of Colliers in Greater Phoenix since 2009, Mulhern directs the brokerage operations of one of the largest and most successful firms in the Valley. Mulhern is a well-respected industry veteran with more than 30 years of experience and a highly successful track record managing brokerage, development and property management organizations.

Over the years, Mulhern has received six NAIOP Project of the Year Awards, including the 2012 Redevelopment Project of the Year for the Veritas Preparatory campus, in addition to four awards while at Ryan Companies, and one while at Reliance Companies.

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.

Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average advanced 348.58 points, or 2.1%, to 16,865.08. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 46.12 points, or 2.4%, to 1,978.35. The NASDAQ composite index rose 131.65 points, or 2.9%, to 4,689.60.

U.S. crude rose 65 cents, or 1.9%, to $34.40 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the benchmark for international oils, rose 24 cents to $36.81 a barrel in London. In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline fell 2 cents to $1.31 a gallon. Heating oil rose less than 1 cent to $1.10 a gallon. Natural gas, which closed at a 17-year low on Monday, climbed 3 cents to $1.74 per 1,000 cubic feet.

U.S. Construction Spending Jumps to Eight-Year High “U.S. construction spending surged in January to the highest level since 2007, in the latest indication that the economy was regaining momentum after slowing in the fourth quarter. Construction spending increased 1.5 percent to $1.14 trillion, the highest level since October 2007, as both private and public outlays rose, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. That followed an upwardly revised 0.6 percent increase in December, previously reported as a 0.1 percent gain.” (Reuters)

Trump Mortgage Couldn’t Make Crashing Housing Market Great Again “’I think it’s a great time to start a mortgage company,’ Donald Trump told CNBC. It was April 2006. Sales of existing homes had hit a cycle high the previous September and had declined nearly every month after that. Confidence among home builders had peaked 10 months earlier, at the same time as new home sales, and had been on a steady descent ever since.” (MarketWatch)

A Fairfield Developer Looks to Step In When G.E. Departs “Kleban owns several major retail/office plazas in Fairfield’s downtown, including the Fairfield Center building, which houses a Fairfield University bookstore, as well as a Starbucks, a Victoria’s Secret and other national chain stores, and at least 10 shopping centers along the Black Rock Turnpike commercial corridor. The company also owns properties elsewhere in Connecticut and in other states.” (The New York Times)

Outlet Center Growth Signals Malls Aren’t Dead “For traditional retailers and the malls in which they reside, the game of chicken that consumers are playing on price has had major repercussions for their sales and profitability. But for one property owner, this same shopper reticence is instead fueling its growth. As retailers across the U.S. shutter hundreds of locations — sometimes leaving empty malls in their wake — Tanger Factory Outlet Centers continues to break ground on new properties.” (CNBC)

Real Estate’s New “It” Position: Chief of Staff “Hear the words ‘chief of staff,’ and one may conjure up an image of Rahm Emmanuel preparing for a battle with lawmakers, or, for ‘The West Wing’ fans, Leo McGarry giving President Bartlet a pre-SOTU pep talk. But in recent years, the position has also become a popular one at development firms. ‘Typically what I’ve seen from the chief of staff role within the real estate world is, it’s a right-hand person to the CEO or other chief executive,’ said Bob O’Brien, the head of global and U.S. real estate services at PricewaterhouseCoopers.” (The Real Deal)

Developer of Troubled Supertower Files for Bankruptcy to Hold Onto His Building “The developer planning a 950-foot tall condo tower on a site in Sutton Place has pushed the project into bankruptcy protection in order to stop a foreclosure auction that would have likely stripped him of the property and put it in the hands of his lender. On Friday, Joseph Beninati, who operates the real estate firm Bauhouse Group, plunged a limited liability company that they control and that owns the development site on East 58th Street into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The move halted the Feb. 29 auction of the site.” (Crain’s New York Business)

Ex-CEO of Investment Firm Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Ponzi Scheme “A federal judge sentenced the head of a defunct Southern California real estate investment firm to 14 years in prison for running a Ponzi scheme that lost as much as $169 million for hundreds of investors, the U.S. attorney’s office said. U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney on Monday also ordered Michael J. Stewart, a 68-year-old San Clemente resident, to pay 120 victims $9.2 million in restitution. Stewart and his partner John Packard founded Pacific Property Assets in 1999 and bought, renovated and sold apartments in Southern California and Arizona.” (Los Angeles Times)

More Home Buyers Cite High Rent as Reason for Buying “Rents across the nation are too high, which is causing one in four home buyers to want to purchase a home according to Redfin staffer Alex Starace and a Redfin survey of 750 buyers this month. This number is up from November’s results of one in five and one in eight in August. Affordability was the top reason cited for buyers looking to purchase a home, second only to major life events such as marriage or having a child.” (Multifamily Executive)

Cushman & Wakefield Facilitates $299M Sale of N.J. Office Assets “Gramercy Property Trust has closed on the disposition of 70 Hudson St. and 90 Hudson St., two Jersey City, N.J., office properties totaling nearly 858,000 square feet, for a total of $299 million—the largest New Jersey office deal of the year so far. The 409,272-square-foot building at 70 Hudson St. was vacant at the time of sale, following the departure of full-building tenant Barclay’s.” (Commercial Property Executive)

Despite Strong Online Competition, Global Retailers Expanding in 2016 “According to a new survey of more than 150 major international brands released last week by CBRE Group, retailers are expanding their networks of stores internationally this year despite the presumed headwind of online shopping, with a greater percentage eyeing growth in the Americas than last year.  CBRE’s survey found that 25 percent of respondents plan to expand in the U.S. this year, up from 21 percent in last year’s survey.” (World Property Journal)