The Phoenix Business Journal reported Friday that Tucson Electric Power is changing around its generation portfolio, making a move to dump some coal power and replace it with natural gas and renewables.

The move speaks to growing changes in the utility industry that sees many electric companies moving away from coal for a variety of reasons.

For TEP, the moves are based primarily in costs according to Paul Bonavia, chairman and CEO of TEP and its parent company, UNS Energy Corporation (NYSE:UNS).

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Locally owned Capitol Storage of Tucson dba Tanque Verde Self Storage Units at 6750 E Tanque Verde Rd and Bear Canyon Self Storage Units at 9000 E Tanque Verde Rd sold its two locations on the Eastside of Tucson, Arizona for $5.8 million. Capital Storage has provided storage, truck rentals, boxes and packing and shipping supplies to customers in Tucson since 1986.

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[mepr-show rules=”58038″] The new owner, Optivest Properties, specializes in mini-storage warehouses and is an affiliate of Optivest, Inc. based in Dana Point, CA. This past July, Optivest Properties joined Northwest Self Storage of Oregon and SecurCare Self Storage of Lone Tree, Colorado to form National Storage Affiliates (NSA), the first affiliate-owned and operated self-storage REIT (real estate investment trust).

NSA now has more than $800 million in committed asset value and is owned by its affiliate operators, who will contribute the ownership of their self-storage assets to NSA over the next few years, as current mortgage debt matures. The formation of NSA, a Maryland real estate investment trust, will make it the largest privately-owned company in the self-storage sector, with approximately 220 facilities, 100,000 storage units and 12.5 million rentable square feet of space located in 15 states.

“This REIT structure gives a viable and very flexible exit strategy for our existing clients when it is time to sell their properties,” said Warren Allan, president of Optivest Properties. “The ability to partner with our other core affiliates will not only enhance our operating platform but provide the opportunity for operators to leverage our knowledge & expertise of the industry and operations as a whole.”

Financing for NSA was provided by Wells Fargo, US Bank and a Prudential real estate investors debt fund, and is part of an expandable program to add future properties to the NSA REIT. Clifford Chance is legal counsel and Knightsbridge Realty Capital is providing strategic advisory series for NSA. Optivest Properties will continue to manage all of its NSA properties and is seeking more acquisitions to contribute to the REIT. The size of the NSA will enable Optivest Properties to considerably lower their cost of debt service, vendor and marketing relationships with economies of scale.
Optivest Properties specializes in self-storage property management, acquisition, image branding, asset financing and project consulting. They currently manage 54 locations nationwide with more than 27,000 units and over 4.5 million square feet of mini storage, RV and commercial storefront/warehouse storage space located in California., Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Tennessee, Colorado, and New Hampshire.

For more information, visit www.optivestproperties.com[/mepr-show]

[ismember] Sale date was 8/29/2013. Sale price of 6750 E Tanque Verde was $3.8 million, sale price on 9000 E Tanque Verde was $2 million. Seller paid $25,000 down on each. Bear Canyon Self Storage consists of 55 fully A/C cooled storage units and Tanque Verde Storage has 968 self storage units: 15% 4×9, 13% 3×4, 13% 5×12, and 11% 5×9; the balance consists of 10 various sizes ranging from 4×4 to 11×12.

The Optivest companies are comprised of Optivest Properties, Optivest Inc. wealth management, Optivest Investment Banking and Optivest Foundation. Optivest began in 1987 as a Wealth Management firm and boutique multi-family office for high net-worth families. Optivest Properties launched in 2007, specializing in operating mini-storage facilities across the US, and Optivest Investment Banking launched in January 2013. The greater purpose of these companies is to fund the Optivest Foundation. All three divisions of Optivest contribute 10% of their gross sales to support Christian ministries and non-profit organizations across the globe through the Optivest Foundation. [/ismember]

Southwest Products Corporation (SWP), a leading provider of industrial diesel engines throughout the southwestern U.S., moved into its new headquarters, manufacturing, distribution and service facility at 11690 North 132nd Avenue in Surprise last month and sold its prior two properties totaling 33,729-square-feet in separate transactions for $2.23 million.

The first property at 5143 W Roosevelt Street in Phoenix sold for $1.32 million ($65.30 PSF). The 20,289-square-feet warehouse building was sold to Star Metal Fluids, LLC an Arizona-based company that provides industrial cleaning and lubricating supplies to the metalworking industry.

Mike Ciosek and Eric Bell with the Voit Company of Phoenix represented the buyer and Jeff Conrad with Lee & Associates represented the seller.

The second property at 5159 W Roosevelt Street in Phoenix sold for $907,200 ($67.50 PSF). The 13,440-square-feet manufacturing building was sold to Hughes Fire Equipment, Inc. of Phoenix. Hughes provides fire trucks and other fire equipment apparatus and services to fire departments in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, Alaska and Clark County Nevada.

Tripp Anderson with CBRE of Phoenix represented the buyer in this transaction and Jeff Conrad with Lee & Associates represented the seller.

Conrad, a Principal with Lee & Associates Arizona said, “The activity on the buildings was brisk. Both properties were tied up and put into escrow prior to Southwest Products vacating into the new corporate headquarters. Two factors drove the activity: the functionality, age and features of both buildings and the scarcity of inventory of freestanding buildings for sale in in Southwest Phoenix.”

Southwest Products has consolidated their headquarters into 165,000-square-feet, built-to-suit building on 17 acres. With more than three times the size of their former facility and with improved systems aimed at streamlining processes and accommodating recent production growth. SWP’s sales and executive offices, as well as its project, computer modeling and purchasing teams will all be located at the new building in Surprise.

Southwest Products President Tom Haney said, “I think the most important aspect of this building is that it will allow us to meet our customer demand for quality products from both our truck and power divisions.”

The state-of-the-art warehouse is complete with overhead cranes, a new high-tech sandblasting booth, and two downdraft paint booths. There is ample square footage set aside for warehousing engine lines, parts, and subassemblies. Eighteen heavy duty bridge cranes with lift capabilities ranging from one-half to five tons, as well as seven gantry cranes are in place to help streamline the manufacturing processes.

The expanded facility will operate with more than 60 employees on-site.

Ciosek and Bell at the Voit Company can be reached at (602) 952-8648. Anderson with CBRE is at (602) 735-5555 and Conrad at Lee & Associates should be contacted at (602) 954-3743. Southwest Products can be contacted at (602) 269-3581 or visit www.southwestproducts.com; Star Metal Fluids, LLC can be found at www.metalfluids.com, and Hughes Fire Equipment is at www.hughesfire.com