The Westmoreland Company of Huntsville, Alabama assembled 26.5 acres in two transactions at Palo Verde & Corona Roads for $2.58 million to construct a new 210,440-square-foot FedEx Ground Distribution Center. The assigned address of the property is 7050 South Palo Verde Road in Tucson according to public record.

A portion of Business Park of the Desert, 11 acres, sold for $1.182 million ($2.47PSF). Business Park of the Desert is an Industrial Park that was block platted in 2009 and had road and utilities infrastructure in place. It was sold by Business Park of the Desert, LLC (Steve Cohen, principal) of Tucson. Stephen Cohen and Russ Hall, SIOR, GSCS, Industrial Specialists with Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR handled the transaction.

An adjacent 15.5 acres of raw land was also purchased for the project at $1.393 million ($2.06 PSF), this additional acreage is located directly to the west of 7050 S Palo Verde. The seller was Country Club Corona, LLC (Henry Jacome, principal) of Tucson. No brokers were involved.

The Westmoreland Company is one of five developers tasked by FedEx to find expansion distribution sites around the country. Dirt work and construction approvals were done while still in escrow. FedEx was motivated to begin construction before the moratorium on impact fees in Tucson expires.

Rio West of Tucson is General Contractor for the project and completion scheduled for June 2015.

Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA FedEx Ground currently has 560 facilities in the FedEx network. The workforce of FedEx Ground is more than 65,000 employees with an average daily volume of more than 4.5 million packages serviced throughout the U.S. and Canada.

FedEx responded to our request for more information with the following written statement:

“The new facility will replace an existing station in Tucson, allowing us to continue to meet and exceed customer demands in the region. When the new facility opens, some employee positions will move from the existing station, and we will add to the overall area workforce as necessary to support increased demand for service.”

“The site was chosen because of its ease of access to major highways, its proximity to customers’ distribution centers and a strong local community workforce for recruiting employees. The new facility is part of a nationwide network expansion to boost daily package volume capacity and further enhance the speed and service capabilities of the FedEx Ground network. Since 2005, the company has opened 11 new hubs featuring advanced material-handling systems and expanded or relocated more than 500 local facilities.”

“The network enhancements have resulted in accelerating ground service delivery by one day or more in more than two-thirds of the United States. With these changes, FedEx Ground is faster to more overall locations, including more residential locations, than the competition.”

To learn more Cohen can be reached at 520.546.2750 and Hall is at 520.546.2747.

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[mepr-show rules=”58038″]Sale date both sales: 7/16/2014. Buyer took title as Westco Tucson, LLC and Westco Tucson II, LLC, Jada Leo, manager of the Westmoreland Company. Exact sale price on the 11 acres was $1,182,218.40 with $629,289.75 down payment. exact sale price of the 15.5 acres was $1,392,603 with $743,729.54. Property  in Business Park of the Desert split out common area detention basis prior to sale. Assessor showing this additional land area is incorrect according to seller.  Transaction was in escrow for about 1 year.[/mepr-show]

The Fairfield Inn Tucson Airport at 6955 South Tucson Boulevard in Tucson sold in an REO Auction recently for $2.21 million ($26,000 per room). The 85-room, 3-story hotel is 38,127-square-feet and sits on a 1.48 acre parcel near the airport.

The buyer, Rao Yalamanchili of Arcadia, CA rebranded the hotel immediately to Baymont Inn and Suites.

The seller was C-III Asset Management of Irving, TX amd New York.  C-III Asset Management LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of C-III Capital Partners,  a highly rated loan servicer (primary and special) of commercial real estate loans. C-III Asset Management is the named special servicer for over $116 billion and the primary servicer for over $17 billion of commercial real estate loans.

The online auction service used was Real Capital Markets.

The hotel has above average visibility located immediately north of the Tucson International Airport and between Interstate 19 and Interstate 10, both less than 3.7 miles from the Hotel.

The Hotel is located within close proximity to a number of tourist attractions as well as corporate demand. Area demand generators include the University of Arizona, Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Raytheon Missile Systems, Davis Monthan Air Force Base, Fort Huachuca, and Phelps Dodge Mining Company.

Baymont Inn & Suites is part of the Wyndham Hotel Group and parent company Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE: WYN).

A Newport Beach investor, Zona Rio Investments, LLC bought the 210-unit Zona Rio Apartments at 1001 West Saint Mary’s in Tucson for $9.74 million ($46,381 per unit).

Built in 1983, Zona Rio Apartments is a gated community at Saint Mary’s just west of I-10 on the western border of Tucson’s Central Business District. The property has nine, three-story, garden-style buildings totaling approximately 131,846 rentable square feet on approximately 5.49 acres (38.24 units per acre). The property features one- and two-bedroom units in five individual floor plans averaging approximately 628-square-feet.

Unit amenities include air conditioning, dishwashers, disposals, frost-free refrigerators, private balconies or patios, and all units are cable-ready. Select units include ceiling fans,walk-in closets, and outside storage. Additionally there are 45 partially-upgraded units.

Community amenities include a resort-style swimming pool and spa, volleyball court, clubhouse with a kitchen and theater room, 24-hour laundry facility, barbecue area, an X-Fit fitness area and program, and a trail for hiking, biking, and jogging via the adjacent Santa Cruz River Park Trail.

The property is located close to everything downtown, such as the Art District, shopping, City, State, and Pima County offices, as well as the University of Arizona.

Art and Clint Wadlund of Berkadia in Tucson represented the seller, CAA Investments III, LP an affiliate of CSA Management III of Austin, TX.

To learn more the Wadlunds should be reached at 520.529.9206

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[mepr-show rules=”58038″]Sale date: 9/17/2014. Down Payment: $2,443,384. with an assumption loan and new loan.
* Unit Mix Information:
One Bed, One Bath (24) – $561 per month, 534 SF
One Bed, One Bath (30) – $554 per month, 536 SF
One Bed, One Bath (59) – $559 per month, 600 SF
One Bed, One Bath (67) – $566 per month, 650 SF
Two Bed, One Bath (30) – $691 per month, 800 SF

Debt & Equity Information
Proforma
Scheduled Gross Income: $1,460,604
Effective Gross Income: $1,470,890
Operating Expenses:     $783,309
Net Operating Income:   $687,581[/mepr-show]