Phoenix, Arizona – Desert Commercial Advisors has announced that Alex Feria has joined the multifamily division at SVN in Phoenix. Associate advisor Feria will be working with senior investment advisors and CCIM’s, Chip Kloppenburg and Carrick Sears who recently closed the $17 million deal of Amber Gardens in downtown Tempe.  Feria just completed a 3-month internship and will be on board full-time at the nationally recognized SVN Phoenix brokerage.

Feria was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina while his father was stationed there for military training in the army.  After his move to Arizona, Feria went to high school here in the valley and is finishing up his college degree at Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ.  He will finish his studies at the W.P. Carey School of Business with his Business Communications degree and minor in Real Estate. His entrepreneurial leadership was developed early on in life when he started his first promotional business during his senior year in high school.  He moved on to manage a successful entertainment and event company for five years.  That entrepreneurial background coupled with his previous role in executive management makes his a valuable asset in the commercial real estate industry. His minor in real estate from ASU will also be instrumental moving forward.

He is currently a member of NAIOP Developing Leaders and will be specializing in multifamily investment properties.  His resourcefulness, critical and outside the box thinking will be an advantage to his clients in finding the right investment properties across the valley. Feria prides himself being knowledgeable of specific demographics focused around student housing developments. He will serve as the contact at SVN for investors who are searching for student housing developments around primary and secondary collegiate markets in the state of Arizona. After only three days on board, he already listed a 4-plex property for sale located on the SEC of Priest Dr. & 5^th St. in Tempe. Alex is also fluent in reading and writing in both English and Spanish so he will be able to help create more opportunities for Latino investors as well.

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Voters split on SF real estate measures “San Francisco voters weighed in on five real-estate-related measures Tuesday, with returns split between propositions that had the backing of state and local real estate groups and those championed by affordable-housing proponents and progressive supervisors. Three of the measures were aimed at changing how the city decides where affordable housing should be built, who gets to build it and what the maximum income levels should be for those hoping to live there.” (SF Gate)

Opinion: The next 4 years are going to be more difficult for investors, and it has nothing to do with Trump “America voted for change on Tuesday. Whether you celebrate that result or dread it, don’t react by making significant changes to your investment portfolio. Yes, the immediate aftermath of the election is greater market volatility, but that was obvious hours before the election results were clear, as futures started moving because the stock market’s power brokers had to adjust for previously pricing in a different election result. Then, as Americans started contemplating the lasting effects of the vote, came the texts, posts, Tweets and comments. The people who joked that they would leave the country if the election turned out as it had were not hiring movers but were considering packing up their investment portfolios, worried about the future of their retirement savings.” (MarketWatch)

The Long View: The great REIT merger wave of 2016 that never came to pass “It’s M&A season in the business world. In October alone, around $500 billion worth of mergers were announced globally, including AT&T’s blockbuster deal to buy Time Warner for $85.4 billion. Companies in industries spanning from telecom to pharmaceuticals to food and beverage are hot for mergers these days. But that same frenzy isn’t being seen at real estate investment trusts. As of Nov. 8, there were $9.2 billion worth of REIT mergers in the U.S. and Canada in 2016, according to data from SNL – on track for the lowest annual merger volume since 2012. There have been some notable mergers this year – take the ones between Parkway and Cousins Properties and between Apple Hospitality REIT and Apple REIT Ten – but M&A activity is well below what’s being seen in other industries. At first glance, that’s puzzling: some observers have been predicting a REIT merger wave for two years and many of the factors fueling acquisitions elsewhere, such as cheap debt and bullish stock markets, also apply to REITs. Yet, the opposite is happening, and here’s why: Even though they’re listed on stock markets, REITs behave very differently from most other public companies.” (The Real Deal)

WATCH: Developers are sizing up Rikers Island “[VIDEO] Criminal justice advocates have been campaigning to shut down Rikers Island for decades, but they may be about to gain an unlikely ally: the real estate industry. The 413-acre island offers a rare opportunity in a city where land is a scarcity. Though a number of development ideas have already been floated (including converting it into an extra runway for LaGuardia Airport), the full range of possibilities will be explored by a committee headed by MaryAnne Gilmartin, CEO of Forest City Ratner. The committee’s report will be made public in spring 2017.” (The Real Deal)

Global Holdings Grabs Manhattan Trophy Tower for $565M “Global Holdings Management Group, run by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer, has closed on its $565 million purchase of 1250 Broadway, a 39-story, LEED Gold–certified office tower in Manhattan. Global Holdings acquired the 645,977-square-foot building from Jamestown and Murray Hill Properties, with the aid of a $410 million loan from HSBC Bank. Jamestown and Murray Hill Properties had purchased the office tower from SL Green Realty in 2008 for $310 million. SL Green had owned the tower since 1999, when it paid $93 million for it. In 2011, the owners completed a renovation of the tower to attract more technology tenants.” (Commercial Property Executive)

Economy Watch: Election Throws Certainty About Economy Out the Window “There was one overriding theme about the U.S. economy as the night of Nov. 8 dragged on: uncertainty. As the prospects of a Trump victory increased, so did various measurements of uncertainty about the economy, since most investors and prognosticators had anticipated a Clinton win. Now the country is headed into genuinely uncharted waters. For instance, before the election, short-term rate markets had priced in a near certainty that the Fed would boost interest rates next month. With a Trump victory looking likely, Fed Funds futures are now pricing in less than a 50 percent chance of a December hike.” (Commercial Property Executive)

$145M Loan Earmarked For Chicago Apartments “A joint venture between JDL Development and iStar Inc., has received $145 million in structured debt for the recapitalization and stabilization of 1000 South Clark, a 469-unit luxury apartment building in Chicago’s South Loop. Mesa West Capital originated the five-year, non-recourse financing, which included $30 million in mezzanine debt that was sold to an institutional investor at closing.” (MultiHousing News)

Report: Toys ‘R’ Us goes smaller, more interactive “Toys “R” Us is looking to shake up its store experience. The retailer has opened a new “experience-driven” prototype in Santa Ana, California, near South Coast Plaza, The Orange County Register reported. At 25,000 sq. ft., the new Toys “R” Us is smaller than the chain’s traditional stores. It also has more interactive features, according to the report, with a Lego department that resembles a petite version of the Downtown Disney Lego store.” (Chain Store Age)

On a building spree, developer Jamison plans new Ktown housing structure “Yet another Koreatown parking lot may soon be topped with housing. This time it’s a lot behind an office building on Wilshire and Ardmore. Plans filed with the city yesterday call for the addition of five stories to the two-level lot, making seven stories total. The project will total 117,795 additional square feet and 123 residential units—all market rate. According to Urbanize LA, the project is being developed by Jamison Services, a company that’s been quite busy in the area lately. One of the largest office landlords in California, Jamison has recently set its sights on developing a number of its Koreatown and Downtown properties.” (Los Angeles Curbed)

Luxury resi deals on hold until after the election, brokers say “Miami-Dade’s luxury market saw its weakest month since 2011 in October, according to EWM Realty International data. While the election has likely impacted luxury sales, they’ve been on steady decline for months, EWM President Ron Shuffield told TRD. October saw 102 luxury properties (defined as $1 million and up) sell in Miami-Dade, the lowest October since 2011 when 65 luxury homes and condos sold. The slowdown, especially in the luxury market, “probably will continue to happen regardless of the election,” Shuffield said. Foreign investors, who have already been on the decline due to weakened foreign currencies, could also be deterred by Trump’s anti-trade, anti-immigration policies, a group of panelists said during a legal summit on Monday. “A victory by Trump would mean more restrictions and more scrutiny of money coming in,” Akerman partner Luis A. Perez said. “If he prevails, Latin Americans would see it as the U.S. rejecting investments and immigration originating from Latin America. That would have a profound impact in Miami.” (The Real Deal Miami)

Continues company’s winning property management track record

PHOENIX, AZ – Lincoln Property Company (LPC) continued its award-winning property management track record at this year’s “The Outstanding Building of the Year” (TOBY), earning a TOBY for its management of Luhrs City Center in downtown Phoenix.

Phoenix’s annual TOBY awards are presented by the Arizona chapter of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA). They represent the industry’s most prestigious honor for excellence in building quality and management, with winners advancing to regional and international BOMA competitions.

LPC was awarded a 2016 TOBY for its management of Luhrs City Center, a National Historic Landmark mixed-use development located at Central and Jefferson – the geographic point of origin for downtown Phoenix.

“LPC and Invesco purchased Luhrs City Center in December and have worked diligently to build on the project’s vintage charm and potential, at a time when tenants are rediscovering downtown Phoenix,” said Lincoln Property Company Executive Vice President David Krumwiede. “It is an honor to be affiliated with the property and to be recognized for our efforts there.”

Built between 1924 and 1929, Luhrs City Center encompasses approximately 157,000 square feet of fully renovated office and retail space featuring red brick interiors and exposed beams. LPC and Invesco are nearing completion on a multi-million-dollar renovation that will further upgrade lobby, common areas and streetscapes at the project.

The Luhrs office project is part of Luhrs City Center, which is a full city block containing office, retail, a six-level parking structure and a new 19-story, 320-room Marriott hotel. Luhrs City Center is in the heart of downtown Phoenix, situated along the existing light rail line as well as the approved light rail extension down Central Avenue. It is home to the award-winning Bitter & Twisted cocktail parlour.

“Our management team has a deep background in office and retail space,” said Megan Watkins, Lincoln Property Company Associate Director of Management Services, who leads LPC’s property management portfolio in the region. “We’re thrilled to be able to apply that knowledge at such a landmark project, bringing a piece of the past into the present for today’s business market.”

The LPC management team at Luhrs City Center includes Assistant Property Manager Jessica Allen, Chief Engineer Tom Williams and Building Engineer Carlos Rodriguez.

In addition to managing projects in its ownership portfolio, LPC provides award-winning third party property management services to approximately 7 million square feet of office industrial and retail space across the region. For more information, call David Krumwiede or Megan Watkins at (602) 912-8888.