Walmart Supercenter a Linchpin of Ongoing Metrocenter Revitalization

PHOENIX, AZ – The next chapter has begun in the grand history of Metrocenter Mall.

Officials with Walmart, the City of Phoenix and Carlyle Development Group – along with area business leaders – were on hand today to conduct a ceremonial groundbreaking for a new Walmart Supercenter. The project represents the single largest capital investment in Metrocenter Mall in decades.

“Metrocenter Mall is a Phoenix icon that has served shoppers in this community for decades,” said Phoenix City Councilwoman Thelda Williams. “Together, this Walmart and City Council’s recent approval of a new development plan for Metrocenter symbolize re-investment and rebirth for this critical community asset.”

Construction begins immediately on the approximately 148,000-square-foot store on the south side of Metrocenter Mall, near I-17 and Dunlap. The Supercenter will take shape on the site of the former Broadway building, which was recently demolished and had been vacant since 2006. The Walmart is slated to open in Spring 2017 and will employ an estimated 250 Walmart associates.

“Those of us at Walmart are excited this project will both help us serve our customers better while playing an important role in the continued revitalization in the Phoenix landmark that is Metrocenter Mall,” said Paula Ginnett, a Walmart Vice President and Regional General Manager. “This site is going to be buzzing with shoppers next year, and that’s a great thing – for the City of Phoenix, area businesses and Metrocenter Mall.”

Metrocenter Mall opened in 1973 as the biggest shopping center in Arizona and one of the largest nationwide. Recent years saw Metrocenter challenged by the establishment of competing regional malls, changing shopping patterns and the Great Recession. Now, Metrocenter Mall owner Carlyle Development Group, the City of Phoenix and community leaders are intent on bringing new life to the area.

In June, the Phoenix City Council unanimously approved a Planned United Development (PUD) application for 130 acres in and around Metrocenter Mall. The new zoning allows for multiple new uses, including office, senior housing, multifamily housing and healthcare. It also provides for increased height and density at the infill site.

“Even in our early planning, the name ‘Walmart’ would come up regularly as a great fit for a mixed-use Metrocenter development,” said Warren Fink, COO of Carlyle Development Group. “With our new zoning, we’re now able to actively pursue that vision through the addition of elements like office, senior housing and medical uses. Walmart is a valued part of that mix, and a welcome addition to the neighborhood at large. We’re very pleased to celebrate their groundbreaking.”

New Supercenter, Same High-Quality Walmart Products and Services

The new Walmart Supercenter will provide shopping convenience and offer quality, value-priced general merchandise that includes apparel, electronics, toys and sporting goods. The store also will feature a full-service pharmacy and complete line of groceries, including organic selections, fresh dairy and meat departments and local favorites.

Walmart will construct the Supercenter with industry-leading technology to maximize energy efficiency, conserve water and minimize waste. Environmentally responsible features will include LED lighting, high-efficiency HVAC units and the use of drought-tolerant landscaping irrigated with a low-flow and drip watering system.

Once open, the Supercenter will employ an estimated 250 associates. A mix of full- and part-time positions will be available throughout the store, including: department managers, customer service, personnel, maintenance, sales associates, stocking positions, cashiers and more.

For more information go to Walmart online: www.corporate.walmart.com; merchandise sales: www.walmart.com

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.

Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 36.02 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 18,595.03. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 9.24 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 2,173.02. The NASDAQ composite rose 53.56 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 5,089.93.

The price of U.S. crude oil rose 29 cents to $44.94 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 51 cents to $47.17 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline fell 1 cent to $1.36 a gallon, heating oil rose 2 cents to $1.41 a gallon and natural gas fell 7 cents to $2.66 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Zara Founder’s Real Estate Assets Top 6 Billion Euros in 2015 “Amancio Ortega, Europe’s richest man and founder of global fashion group and Zara owner Inditex, held more than 6 billion euros ($6.6 billion) in prime real estate assets at the end of 2015, corporate filings showed on Tuesday. The famously-reclusive magnate’s real estate investment arm, Pontegadea Inmobiliaria, booked assets of 6.06 billion euros at the end of 2015, up 8.3 percent from the previous year, making it one of the biggest property companies in Spain.” (Reuters)

California Commercial Real Estate Boom May Be Topping Out “California commercial real estate continues its boom, but as U.S. economic growth slows there are signs of a topping out. That was the conclusion of a report released Wednesday by the UCLA Anderson Forecast, which surveys real estate industry leaders every two years. The latest survey in June ‘provides the first indication of a topping out in office and retail markets,’ said Jerry Nickelsburg, adjunct professor of economics at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.” (Times of San Diego)

This Is What $1,500 in Rent Gets You in America’s Biggest Cities “When it comes to renting a home, whether it’s an apartment or house, there are many things you likely consider, from how much natural light it gets to if pets are allowed. And you probably think about several aspects of the location, like how safe the area is, how close it is to work and what important amenities are nearby. You probably also have an idea of how much room you’d like to get in exchange for that monthly rent check. But what if you could pay the same amount and get more space, would you do it? Only caveat: You may have to move to a new city.” (MarketWatch)

Primark’s U.S. President Discusses Expansion Plans “Martinez, 54, headed Primark’s operations in Spain and Portugal, before moving with his wife and three children to Boston a year ago to oversee the opening of the first U.S. store there. Right now, Primark is embarking on careful U.S. expansion, and it isn’t looking for sites beyond its initial planned rollout of 10 U.S. stores. The only other New Jersey Primark store planned will be at the American Dream shopping and entertainment project in the Meadowlands. Martinez said he likes hearing from other malls.” (NorthJersey.com)

What Landlords Can Write Off on Their Taxes “Putting up with tenants can be a real pain, but that negative consideration is offset by surging real-estate markets and rental rates in many areas — and favorable tax rules. In fact, favorable tax rules are a big reason why so many fortunes have been made in real estate. This column is the first of three on the most important tax issues that landlords, and potential landlords, need to understand.” (MarketWatch)

Manhattan Office Market Stumbles During the First Half of 2016 “The commercial real estate market is showing growing signs of weakness. In the first half of the year, office leasing in midtown Manhattan plummeted by 18.7% to 8.6 million square feet from the same period last year, according to a report from Cushman & Wakefield Tuesday. That led to a borough-wide drop of 11.2% to 13.6 million square feet from the first half of 2015. Meanwhile, sales of raw land for development in Manhattan, frequently an early indicator of the health of the market as a whole, will be in even worse shape.” (Crain’s New York Business)

Meet Kasita: The Micro-Housing Start-Up That’s About to Revolutionize Real Estate “You can tell immediately that Jeff Wilson, the 42-year old founder of Kasita, an Austin-based micro-housing start-up, has been courting venture capital. He has his sales pitch nailed—which is pretty impressive for a former university dean and professor who used to live in a dumpster. When I ask Wilson what fundamental problem his company is solving he tells me without flinching: ‘Kasita is on the verge of disrupting the urban housing market in ways not seen in real estate and development in 150 years.’ Wilson’s confidence may just be spot on. And perfectly timed.” (Forbes)

Target’s Expansion into Cities May Mean More Smaller Stores “Target executives are starting to think small. With 1,790 stores spread across the country and sales growth in each of the last two years at under 2 percent, the discounter is accelerating plans to roll out more petite, urban stores. With 20 smaller stores already open, the Minneapolis-based chain expects to roll out 14 more this year — including one in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, which will open on Wednesday.” (New York Post)

Can Developers Win in the Lending Game? “Over the past year, New York’s real estate industry has seen a real peer-to-peer lending boom. A flurry of development firms have launched mezzanine and other debt platforms since mid-2015, blurring the line between lenders and borrowers. The most recent newcomers to the developer-lender arena include Kushner Companies TRData LogoTINY, RXR Realty, Moinian Group and RFR Realty, which joined earlier incumbents such as SL Green Realty Corp., and observers say more will likely follow.” (The Real Deal)

How Do Whole Foods’ New 365 Grocery Stores Compare to Trader Joe’s? “Yeah, yeah, very funny—Whole Foods Market might have had enough of the ‘whole paycheck’ jokes already, OK? That’s presumably why the chain, widely credited for bringing organics to the mainstream back in the day, is rolling out an offshoot of new, budget-friendly ‘365 by Whole Foods Market’ stores, the second of which opened this week in the Portland, Ore., area.  Depending on your point of view, the new 365 by Whole Foods Market store is kind of like a scaled-down Whole Foods Market, or a Trader Joe’s on steroids. But how does 365 stack up to these others pricewise?” (Today Food)

TUCSON, AZ – Represented by Tom Hunt of Tango Commercial Real Estate, Willis Metal Crafts has purchased 15,200-square-feet of land with 5,000-square-feet of improvements formerly occupied by Scott Supply Services at 3214 East 46^th Street in Tucson, Arizona for $200,000 ($40 PSF). The company plans to complete its move there this month.

Founded in November of 2014 by local welder and fabricator Brandon Willis, Willis Metal Crafts outgrew its original digs in Willis’ garage within a year. The new space will afford Willis and his two employees more room to work along with the opportunity to expand. Willis says he plans to immediately hire another employee as soon as he completes the move.

“It’s always fun to meet and work with young entrepreneurs like Brandon,” said Hunt, who showed Willis 30 spaces before the right one clicked. “He has a fire in his belly and isn’t afraid to work hard.”

Born and raised in Tucson, Willis learned his strong work ethic from his single mom and knew early on that a desk job was not for him. After earning his certification in welding technology from Pima Community College and working for another business owner, Willis started his own business at age 25. A self-described perfectionist who takes pride in his work, Willis doesn’t see his business growth slowing any time soon.

Espousing the Trades

Willis hopes his own success story will inspire more young people to turn to the trades as an honest, satisfying and well paid profession.

“You work for the money you make but I think [the trades] are more satisfying because at the end of the day there’s something tangible that you made, you can see it, touch it, feel it, it’s hot, it’s cold, it’s real, it’s not just a number on a screen or a paper you’ve handed to someone.

“I feel like nowadays everybody expects everything to be handed to them, my generation and younger,” explained Willis, now 27. “I think that’s one thing the trades have to offer people just as a kind of a lifestyle. Most people in the trades respect their time a little more because they’re really working for it. It’s one of the only things in this country left that still has a lot of pride associated with it. Most tradesmen are very proud of what they do. It doesn’t matter if they do drywall, or a machinist or a painter. It’s a pride thing. I think a lot of kids nowadays don’t care about that. They want what they want right now and they’ll do anything to get it.”

Willis and Hunt agree that introducing young people to the trades at a young age is important for their own future and the future of the Tucson community. Developing skills gives kids the confidence they need to make their own way through life without a handout or resorting to illegal activities.

“The public school system doesn’t devote enough time or money to the trade programs at all. Tucson High got rid of a lot of them. Not everybody is cut out to sit in an office and do an office job or be an accountant. You know a lot of people can’t do that. I think we should put way more money and time into the trades be it welding, machining…. Without the trades the world would stop,” Willis said.

While 75% of Willis’ work goes to local customers like Creative Machines and Dove Mountain Homes, his company also does work for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and others. “We do anything from aerospace, to government, to public art, to jewelry tools, to automotive components. If anything is made out of metal, we can make it.”

Paul Hooker with Cushman & Wakefield | Picor represented the sellers, Joseph and Shirley C. Scott.

To learn more, Hooker should be contacted at 520.546.2704 while Hunt can be reached at 520.276.9779