Tucson housing lot sales rose in July, as home sales were up 25% over last year, and sales volume increased by over 28% from 2014. At mid-year, there were reported 14 land transactions totaling over $26 million. In July, there were  11 land transactions totaling $11.6 million, 728 platted SFR and condominium lots, nine finished SFR lots and five new infill or smaller subdivision projects coming onboard.

In addition to these sales, as previously reported this month, Sunbelt Holdings’acquisition of 401 platted lots at Sycamore Canyon II (click here for full story) and 195 platted lots sold to Meritage Homes in Tucson’s first Master Plan Community in fifteen years, La Estancia, at Wilmot and I-10 in the Southeast submarket. (click here for full story)

NORTHWEST SUBMARKET
Maracay Homes took down six more lots at Tortolita Vistas for $1,018,645 ($169,774 per lot). Located just north of Tangerine Road on Thornydale Road, the Tortolita Vistas community is set in the foothills of the Tortolita mountain range and surrounded by stunning views. These over-sized one acre home sites feature lush desert open space. Maracay entered into an agreement with Ready Eight Corporation of Tucson (David Mehl, manager) for a total of 54-lots in this community that started October 2013. Will White and John Carroll with Tucson’s Land Advisors Organization represented Maracay. See RED Comp #3088 for additional information.

NORTHEAST SUBMARKET
Territory at Santa Catalina and Ranches at Santa Catalina, two recorded subdivision with an aggregate of 34 platted lots sold for $2.6 million ($76,470 per lot) to Maracay Homes. The ten half-acre lots are in Territory at Santa Catalina and the other 24 quarter-acre lots is known as Ranches at Santa Catalina. The buyer handled the entitlements and closed at final plat acceptance. The seller was J. DeGrazia Company of Tucson. Maracay plans to develop the lots for construction of 34 SFRs. There were no brokers involved, see RED Comp #3164 and #3167 for more information.

CENTRAL SUBMARKET
Stone Crossing a 28-lot recorded Condominium site in Central Tucson sold for $672,000 ($24,000 per lot). The buyer, Dr. Horton Inc., purchased the 28 condo lots in a 40 lot larger subdivision located southeast of Limberlost Dr. & Thurston Ln. HSL Stone Crossing LLC, an affiliate of HSL Properties of Tucson was the seller. There will be two different lot sizes to accommodate two distinct condo units, all units are designed to be two stories. There are 15 large lots available which are approximately 1,317-square-feet in size (ground floor) and 13 smaller lots which are approximately 1,032-square-feet in size (ground floor). Both buyer and seller were represented by Ben Becker and Adam Becker with CBRE’s Tucson office. See RED Comp #3095 for additional information.

Limberlost Estates a recorded infill for 10 platted lot subdivision sold for $348,000 ($34,800 per lot) to Barrio Partners (Daniel Campa, Sr. and Randel W Jacob, managers). Property is adjacent to LA Fitness and Sprouts Natural Foods and minutes away from the UA, Tucson Mall, the River Walk & the Foothills. Jade Bossert with Tierra Antigua Realty represented the seller, Antony Tsang of Tucson and Ana Canizales with HomeSmart Advantage Group represented the buyer. See RED Comp #3113 for additional information.

EASTERN SUBMARKET
A portion of All Faith Memorial Park sold to Tucson Land and Cattle Company of Tucson (Jim Campbell, manager) for $490,000 for 19 acres of vacant unimproved land at 2151 Avenida Los Reyes in Tucson, near Old Spanish Trail east of Houghton Road. The property was excess land to the Diocese of Tucson Catholic Cemeteries and purchased to jointly develop, after zoning and entitlements, a 25-SFR lot infill project. There were no brokers involved, see RED Comp #3136 for additional information.

Camino Seco Village a recorded 35-SFR lot subdivision at 22^nd Street and Camino Seco sold to R.B. Price & Company of Tucson (Rick Price, manager) for $200,000 ($5,714 per lot). The 5.89 acres was entitled in 2008 and sold in an REO sale by the Alliance Bank of Arizona and the Bank of Nevada. Buyer purchased to finish development. See RED Comp #3175 for additional information.

Seattle-based Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) announced Thursday plans to open Nordstrom Rack at Wilmot Plaza in Tucson, Arizona. The approximately 25,000-square-foot store is scheduled to open in spring 2016. The property is owned by BP Wilmot Plaza LLC, an affiliate of Bourn Companies LLC, a commercial real estate investment, development and services company based in Tucson, Arizona.

Nordstrom Rack will be joining fellow anchors TJ Maxx and Dick’s Sporting Goods in the redeveloped Wilmot Plaza shopping center, located at the northeast corner of Broadway Boulevard and Wilmot Road, near Park Place Mall. Wilmot Plaza will encompass approximately 140,000-square-feet of retail space when the 10-acre shopping center is fully redeveloped.

“We’re excited to offer our customers in Tucson another location to shop for the brands they love at great prices by adding a second Nordstrom Rack at Wilmot Plaza,” said Geevy Thomas, president of Nordstrom Rack. “We’re hopeful this will give new and existing customers a more convenient shopping experience.”

The new store will be the seventh Nordstrom Rack in Arizona, and the second in Tucson, joining Nordstrom Rack at The Corner which opened in 2011. Nordstrom also operates two full-line stores in Arizona, and began serving customers in 1998 at Fashion Square in Scottsdale.

Since its origination in 1990, Bourn Companies and its predecessors have completed over 4 million-square-feet of acquisitions and developments, specializing in corporate office buildings, retail shopping centers and unique multi-family residential and hospitality properties.

“We are thrilled to once again to be working with Nordstrom to bring a Rack store to Wilmot Plaza to serve the east half of the market and southern Arizona,” said Don Bourn, principal of Bourn Companies, LLC.

In a separate transaction, Bourn Companies through affiliate, BP Grant PAD Investors LLC, bought a 31,748-square-foot retail pad at 6572 E Grant Road in Tucson from Target Corporation for $640,000 ($20.16 PSF). The property is located at Grant and Tanque Verde and was excess land for Target. Bourn purchased it to pre-lease for either a single tenant built-to-suit ranging from 2,500 to 7,500-square-feet, or possibly a multi-tenant building up to a 7,500-square-foot footprint.

Alan Tanner and Brigham Stevens with Bourn Advisory Services in Tucson are handling the leasing for both properties and should be reached at 520.323.1005.

For additional information on these transactions, see RED Comp #1136 and RED Comp #3148.

AutoZone Purchases Land at Houghton Town Center
AutoZone purchased a .78 acre parcel of land at Houghton Town Center for $700,000 ($20.52 PSF) from Diamond Ventures of Tucson. AutoZone has started construction of the store to be located at 10240 E Old Vail Road, east of Dunkin Donuts. AutoZone has four distinct floorplans that run from 6,500 – 8,000 square-feet. AutoZone will join Walmart, Panda Express, Discount Tire, McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, Houghton Family Dental Care, SuperCuts, Nationwide Vision, Champion Pool & Spa Supply, Northwest Emergency Center, Hughes Federal and Credit Union at the southwest corner of Old Vail Road and Houghton Road in Vail, in the southeast submarket of Tucson. Shannon Murphy with DVI Realty in Tucson and Ben Craney with NAI represented the seller. Jayme Fabe with Tucson’s CBRE office represented the buyer. To learn more Murphy can be reached at 520.577.0200 and Craney is at 520.326.2200. Fabe can be contacted at 520.323.5100. For additional information see RED Comp #3172.

MU Zoned Acreage Sold for Redevelopment
Sean Bowman of Oro Valley purchased 1.72 acres at 1075 W Wetmore Road in Tucson for $490,000 ($6.54 PSF). The MU zoned property with 1,653-square-feet of buildings was purchased for redevelopment in a joint venture. Located near the Auto Mall, in the Central submarket of Tucson, the property would be great for automotive or industrial use. Tony Reed with Long Realty in Tucson represented the seller, Groome Transportation of Tennessee (Harold Groome, CEO). The buyer was represented by Frank Ali with Portofino Realty. Reed should be reached at 520.577.7400 and Ali can be called at 520.241.9941. Also see RED Comp #3129.

Pre-Leasing Build-to-Suit on River Road Land Sold
Michael R. Wattis has purchased 3.5 acres of TR zoned land at 1107 E River Road in Tucson for $315,000 ($2.07 PSF) from KLK Consulting Group of Tucson (Carla J Keegan, director). The buyer purchased for pre-leasing a 12,000-square-foot built-to-suit office for general or medical use. Buzz Isaacson with CBRE’s Tucson office represented the seller and is doing the pre-leasing for the buyer. Located between Campbell and 1^st Avenue, Isaccson expressed the owner is flexible, and would consider a slightly larger or even multi-tenant building in this pristine natural setting. To learn more Isaacson can be reached at 520.323.5151. For additional information see RED Comp #3139.

Lot in Santa Cruz Plaza Sells for Medical Related Expansion
Dr. Javier Rios of Corona, CA purchased .75 acres of land at Santa Cruz Plaza, located at the northeast corner of I-19 and Ajo Way in Tucson for $165,000 ($5.05 PSF). The buyer owns the adjoining medical clinic, Clinica Medica Familiar at 3770 S 16^th Street and purchased the lot for expansion of a related business to the clinic. Pete Villaescusa and Jesse Peron with CBRE’s Tucson office negotiated the transaction and represented the seller, Sagehen Investments of Newport Beach, CA and the buyer. Villaescusa and Peron can be reached at 520.323.5100. For additional information see RED Comp #3208.

C-1 Zoned Land Sells in REO Sale
Business Park Limited Partnership of Tucson (Phillip Roberts, general partner) purchased 1.82 acres at 8437 E Old Spanish Trail in Tucson for $139,000 ($1.75 PSF). The east side location is located close to shopping, parks, restaurants, and major transportation routes and was previously tentatively platted for 20 SFR lots. The tentative plat has since expired and buyer purchased property to hold for investment. Ben and Adam Becker with CBRE’s Tucson office represented the seller, the Bank of Oklahoma. To learn more the Beckers can be reached at 520.323.5100. For additional information see RED Comp #3154.

Expansion Site for Atlas Transmission Sells
The Izzo Revocable Living Trust purchased .67 acres of vacant land at 2360 W Wetmore Road in Tucson for $112,500 ($3.85 PSF) from Pamela L Potts and Richard L Pittman of Tucson. The large fenced, industrial MU zoned lot will be used for expansion by buyer who owns Atlas Transmission at 2380 W Wetmore Road. Tony Reed with Long Realty in Tucson represented the seller and Chuck Blacher with Tucson Realty & Trust Co. represented the buyer in the transaction. To learn more Reed can be reached at 520.577.7400 and Blacher can be called at 520.577.7000. For additional information see also RED Comp #3158.