Strategy to Invest in Value-Add, Multi-Family Assets Located in Southwestern U.S.

PHOENIX, AZ – Sterling Real Estate Holdings, a joint venture formed between Barker Pacific Group (BPG) and Pacific Real Estate Partners has acquired Maya Linda Apartments, a 360-unit apartment complex located on a new light rail station in the emerging “19 North” submarket of Phoenix.

“We’re thrilled to complete the acquisition of Maya Linda Apartments,” said Michael Barker, Principal at Sterling Real Estate Holdings and BPG’s CEO and Managing Director. “It’s in a great location in the heart of Phoenix and, despite its age, the building has been well maintained.”

Built in 1981, the 213,288 square foot apartment community offers studio, one and two-bedroom units. Existing community amenities include a fitness center, two swimming pools and a business center. The complex is currently 94% occupied.

“We feel Maya Linda Apartments presents a great opportunity to implement a repositioning and renovation strategy,” said David Zeff, Principal at Sterling Real Estate Holdings and president of Pacific Real Estate Partners. “Over the next few years, plans for the property include increasing curb appeal, re-branding, common area renovations and unit interior upgrades.”

The property was not actively marketed for sale and has been owned and managed by the same owner for the last 11 years. The asset was acquired all cash with a private equity partner.  Agency financing will be arranged post-closing from Walker & Dunlop.

The acquisition of Maya Linda Apartments is part of Sterling’s focus on investing in value-add, Class B and Class C multi-family assets located in Southwestern U.S. markets, including San Antonio, Austin, Phoenix, and Reno. To date, the joint venture has acquired three properties in Phoenix and San Antonio totaling 729 units.

Sterling is actively pursuing additional opportunities in Arizona, Texas and Nevada. For more information, please visit https://sterlingrealestateholdings.com/.

Phoenix, AZ – CBRE Group, Inc. plans to move its Phoenix office from its current location in Tower III to Tower IV of the iconic Esplanade complex in the Camelback Corridor.

The new office is part of CBRE’s global “Workplace360” initiative, the company’s leading-edge approach to workplace strategy designed to promote flexibility, mobility and productivity through technology-enabled, 100 percent free-address and paperless offices. At 75,000-square-feet., the Phoenix office, which will house 470 employees, will be the largest of the company’s 34 Workplace360 offices globally.

CBRE plans to occupy floors four, five and six in Esplanade IV, consolidating operations to promote better collaboration across the firm’s multiple lines of business and departments. CBRE will also have dedicated space in the building’s lobby on the first floor.

“While we are not moving far in terms of distance, our new office will be a world away from traditional office space and critical to our mission of building advantage for our clients,” said Craig Henig, senior managing director, southwest region and Arizona market leader. “Through leading-edge technology, strategic use of space and enhanced mobility, CBRE is creating an office that will enable us to create exceptional outcomes for both our internal and external clients.”

The new Phoenix office will focus on client and employee experience with an emphasis on how the space supports the way employees work today.

“Phoenix’s new space will have a strong focus on employee collaboration and productivity, as well as hospitality elements for both internal and external clients,” said Cicily Scharlach with CBRE Workplace Strategy. “We have already begun engaging employees by forming committees focused on delivering an environment that supports the way they work in terms of flexibility and mobility, and the experience they want to have when they come to the office every day.”

Grounded in research that shows employees spend approximately 50 percent of their time at their desk, CBRE’s Workplace360 initiative provides a flexible way of working and a system of places, technologies and behaviors that allow for choice based on a person’s changing needs throughout the day. The new space will include a free-address system, meaning unassigned workstations and a large percentage of the overall footprint dedicated to collaborative workspaces and meeting rooms. Employees will be able to choose where they want to work throughout the day—whether at a desk, in a huddle room, or in the social café area. A focus on technology and a paperless environment further enables employee mobility.

“CBRE is committed to being a world-class company and the leader in workplace strategies. Our Workplace Strategy team includes some of the brightest minds in the industry when it comes to understanding how a work environment impacts culture, productivity and talent retention,” said Mr. Henig. “In our Phoenix office we are practicing what we preach and creating a space that embraces the way people work today—including a strong emphasis on employee choice and flexibility.”

CBRE’s in-house Workplace Strategy team is leading the implementation of the new space along with CBRE’s in-house Project Management team led by Susan LaGanke, which is overseeing the construction process. CBRE expects to move into its new office in January 2018.

CBRE’s Chuck Nixon, Tom Adelson and Brad Anderson negotiated the transaction on behalf of CBRE with the landlord, LBA Realty.

“The Esplanade, under LBA’s ownership, is undergoing exciting new renovations that will also have a significant role in enhancing CBRE’s employee experience,” said Henig. “We’re looking forward to the Phoenix office’s transition to the Workplace360 model and we appreciate having a great partner in LBA.”

PHOENIX, AZ – Vestis Group is pleased to announce the addition of Matt Morrell, President, to Vestis Group’s retail brokerage group in Phoenix. In this role, Matt, most recently at De Rito Partners, Inc., will specialize in representing Phoenix retail owners and landlords, occupiers of Phoenix retail real estate, as well as retail developments in Phoenix, Arizona.

“We are very excited to have Matt join the Vestis Group team in Phoenix,” said Natan Jacobs, Principal and Designated Broker, of Vestis Group. “Not only does Matt have significant experience across retail leasing, tenant representation, investment sales and retail development, but his connections, contagious energy and experience with Vestis Group’s resources and capabilities will yield tremendous results.”

Prior to joining Vestis Group, Matt served as President of De Rito Partners Inc. overseeing 20 retail brokers and 180 listings. Prior to that, Matt served as Executive Vice President of De Rito Partners Inc. where he oversaw the leasing and marketing of 45 company-owned commercial real estate assets, totaling over 2 million square-feet of retail space.

Matt was recognized as a Top Retail Leasing Broker with the Costar Power Broker Award in 2010. For over 13-years, Matt Morrell has represented national, regional and local tenants with their expansion plans in Arizona.

Matt graduated from Arizona State University with a Business and Communications degree and is a native of Arizona. Matt currently holds an Arizona Department of Real Estate Salesperson’s License and has been a member of the International Council of Shopping centers for over 10 years.

Vestis Group is the broker of choice for individuals and institutions investing in multifamily residential and commercial real estate throughout Metropolitan Phoenix. Our advisors assist clients in the acquisition and disposition of multifamily investment and retail investment assets, including, apartments, bulk condo packages, duplex/triplex/fourplex properties, single-family rental portfolios (SFR Portfolios), income producing single-family investment properties, neighborhood strip centers, retail power centers, retail strip centers, neighborhood grocery, retail PAD and retail shopping centers. In the field of housing, Vestis Group’s principals have developed, built, rehabilitated, constructed, improved, managed, and sold thousands of apartments units, condos, single-family homes and home sites.