George Oliver eyes October delivery for first tenant spaces, spec suites at $17 million renovation

PHOENIX, Arizona – The first phase of creative office space at George Oliver’s $17 million CASA redevelopment in Phoenix is heading toward an October completion with a host of pre-lease commitments in tow. The project, which totals 181,188 square feet of Class A office space, sits in the heart of Phoenix’s popular Uptown neighborhood.

Located off of the Piestewa Freeway/State Route 51 and Northern Avenue at 7878 N. 16^th Street, CASA is transforming a 1989-built commercial property into next-generation modernized office space. The building mixes rich Spanish architecture with lifestyle amenities designed around a focus on health and wellness to serve its tenants.

Confirmed pre-lease commitments at CASA include Rockwell Automation (26,805-square-feet), The Money Store (7,512-square-feet), Olsson (7,199-square-feet), Phoenix Association of Realtors (3,957-square-feet) and North & Co. and affiliates (leasing eight co-working suites). Local favorite Kaleidoscope Juice has also committed to a lease to operate an on-site café and lounge serving healthy food, coffee and juice.

“CASA is the next generation of office space,” said Curt Kremer, Founder and Managing Partner of Phoenix-based George Oliver. “That begins with flexible, modern workspace and extends into a carefully curated mix of amenities – all with the goal of creating a working community focused on the success and wellness of its tenants.”

Among the unique touches at CASA are transformed lobbies, a 60-guest conference center, a wellness center with yoga room, fitness center, on-site meditation room, elevated walking path, library, car charging stations and dog park. Two centralized courtyards with water features and seating serve as hubs for relaxation and collaboration. CASA also includes a two-story dining experience with dedicated food truck parking, shaded outdoor dining and outdoor games and lounge areas.

In November, George Oliver is also scheduled to complete its self-branded and operated coworking space at CASA, with rents from $800 to $2,900 per month. Its users will benefit from fully furnished suites with access to shared breakrooms, a private coworking lounge and multiple conference rooms. In addition to the coworking, the company will also deliver three spec suites at CASA ranging from 2,250-  to 8,663-square-feet and with fully furnished, move-in-ready options and popular comforts like open break rooms, glass offices, collaborative spaces and timeless custom finishes.

George Oliver purchased the CASA building, previously known as Catalina Terraces, in December 2018. The project sits at the base of the North Mountain Phoenix Preserve, minutes from the Piestewa Freeway/State Route 51 and with more than 13,700 apartments and 200 restaurants/bars within a three mile radius.

Ryan Timpani and Todd Noel of Colliers International are CASA’s exclusive leasing brokers. Arcadia Management manages the property and staffs an on-site tenant concierge. RSG Builders is the general contractor. Western Alliance Bank is the project lender. For more, visit www.uptowncasa.com.

Coffee, açaí bowls, cookies and waxing join current tenant roster

PHOENIX, Arizona – Cushman & Wakefield and Fenix Development, a Los Angeles-based real estate investment and development company, announced today that three additional retail tenants – four concepts – will join Watermark Tempe’s Phase I. The four concepts are DRNK coffee + tea, QWENCH juice bar, Crumbl Cookies, and Sugar Me Wax.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Brent Mallonee is exclusively marketing the retail and restaurant space. He says, “As construction proceeds and summer is ending we’re getting tremendous traction on our lease up at Watermark Tempe.”

DRNK coffee + tea and QWENCH juice bar are two emerging concepts based out of Hollywood, Calif. that will occupy 2,408-square-feet in its first Arizona location. DRNK is an edgy new franchise model offering world class organic lattes, espressos and teas. QWENCH offers a diverse selection of raw squeezed juices, nutrient dense smoothie blends (infused with superfoods), handmade organic Açaí bowls and other healthy snacks.

Crumbl Cookies will occupy 1,353-square-feet of space at the new Tempe development. The first Crumbl opened in Logan, Utah in 2017 and has since expanded to over 31 locations in six different states.

Phoenix-based, Sugar Me Wax is a full body salon that offers sugaring, waxing, skin care and lashes/microblading. Since its inception in 2018, Sugar Me has expanded with eight locations throughout the Valley and the 1,136-square-feet space at Watermark will be its ninth location.

“The vision for Watermark to become Tempe’s new lifestyle destination is quickly being realized. As we continue to expand and diversify the center’s mix, these retailers will provide an amenity-rich environment for our office tenants, residents of Aura apartments and the community. We look forward to the grand opening of all of our retail partners and their success,” said Fenix Development’s Mike Loretz.

Phase I is set to be completed by October 2019, and will include 44,000 SF of high-end restaurant and retail space. DRNK coffee + tea and QWENCH juice bar, Crumbl Cookies, and Sugar Me Wax are the most recent tenants to join Obon Sushi + Bar + Ramen, V’s Barbershop, Dip Nail Bar, and Panini Kabob Grill. Opening dates coming soon.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new Hoyt Advisory Services Study commissioned by the National Apartment Association (NAA) and National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) reveals that the apartment industry and its residents annually contribute $53.8 billion to Phoenix’s economy, $73.2 billion to Arizona’s and more than $3.4 trillion – or $9.3 billion daily – to the national economy.

The new report, available at WeAreApartments.org, provides a detailed breakdown of the economic impact nationally, by state, and in 50 metro areas.

In Phoenix, the apartment industry supports 284,400 jobs. Other financial contributions break down as follows: resident spending contributes $48.6 billion to the local economy, operations add $1.9 billion, new construction contributes $2.5 billion, and renovation and repair add $770 million.

“As demand for apartments continues to grow locally and nationally, the significant contributions to Phoenix’s economy also increase,” said Courtney LeVinus, President and CEO of Arizona Multihousing Association (AMA). “Apartments drive our local economy by adding employment opportunities, as well as revenue from resident spending, new construction, renovation and repair, and operations, all of which are positively impacting Phoenix.

According to Bloomberg, 200 people on average move into Metro Phoenix on a daily basis. LeVinus noted that creates the need for more rental housing, especially workforce and affordable housing.

“Apartments are an ideal solution for many, including students, recent graduates, young professionals, families and empty nesters,” LeVinus said. “The apartment industry will continue to work with our elected and appointed officials at all levels of government to expand the apartment housing supply to meet demand.”

The study also determined that the apartment industry has a major impact on local, state and national tax economies. Locally, tax payments associated with local apartment operations added $360 million and their residents contributed more than $5.5 billion in taxes to the Metro Phoenix economy. These taxes support schools, improvements to local infrastructure and other critical services in Phoenix.

In Arizona, the apartment industry also gives back to its community.  AMA and our members have contributed over $1 million to charities including UMOM New Day Center, SARRC, Our Family Services, Autism Speaks Arizona, Tucson Homeless Connect and the Julie Hurst and Steve Peters Education Fund scholarship.

Highlights from the report include:

• All four sectors of the industry have posted very strong growth, punctuated by the construction industry ramping up to meet the unprecedented demand for apartments this cycle – reaching a height of 346,900 new apartments built in 2017, up from 129,900 in 2011.
• Previous research by Hoyt Advisory Services demonstrated a need to build an average of 328,000 apartments per year at a variety of price points, which would bring continued economic activity. This number of apartment completions has only been surpassed twice since 1989.
• Hoyt research also found that a significant portion of the existing apartment stock will need to be renovated in the coming years, boosting the renovation and repair sector.

“The apartment industry’s contribution is one that has grown in recent years, fueled by increased rental demand overall as population and employment growth continue and renting becomes a preferred tenure choice for millions of Americans,” said Eileen Marrinan, Managing Director of Eigen 10 Advisors, which partnered with Hoyt.

Visit www.WeAreApartments.org and view the data, which is broken down by state and metro area. Visitors can also use the Apartment Community Estimator (ACE), a tool that allows users to enter the number of apartment homes of an existing or proposed community to determine the potential economic impact within a particular state or metro area.  For the purposes of this study, apartments are defined as rental apartments in buildings with five or more units.