By: Allyson Solomon, Executive Director, Metropolitan Pima Alliance

In 2011, the Arizona legislature passed comprehensive changes to the state’s development impact fee enabling act, putting in place regulations on how the incorporated municipalities would assess, collect, spend and report their fee program. The legislation put in place more transparent and predictable processes to try to ensure new development only pays a proportionate share for the costs of the new infrastructure. The legislation set up processes by which the fee studies are created and approved before the impact fees are determined, separating out the process into two approvals.

The first approval is for Land Use Assumptions (LUA) and Infrastructure Improvement Plans (IIP). These two legally required documents establish baseline data for development growth and define the projects to be completed with the collected impact fees. The second approval is for the fee amounts, determined by the LUA and IIPs.  Both are approved by the local governing body after a public hearing process.

In the fall of 2018, the City of Tucson began their update, hiring TischlerBise to consult on the process and help develop the City’s LUA and IIP. The City began the first phase with the publishing of their draft reports in August 2019, and will be conducting a Public Hearing on these reports on February 4th with an Adoption Hearing scheduled for March 17th. The second phase will begin with the release of the final adopted Development Impact Fee Report to be shared at the April 21st Public Hearing, and will conclude with the June 9th Adoption Hearing (dates tentative).

The City’s Mayor and Council are currently underway with approving the proposed LUA and IIPs, with the first public hearing occurring on February 4th, 2020. Staff has released to Mayor and Council an updated fee table along with a list of recommended changes to the two reports. MPA has worked closely with both our members to aid City staff in developing these recommendations and has submitted a letter to Mayor and Council, in advance of the Public Hearing, in response to staff’s recommendations.

While MPA has a history of supporting reasonable impact fees, as such MPA understands the purpose of impact fees and the goal of not overburdening existing residents with the costs associated with new growth; however, we will continue to collaborate and to strongly encourage the City to ensure that the policies and fees put into place are not burdensome to development, but rather are fair and equitable.

Assigned to direct and grow LPC’s 10 million s.f. portfolio within the Desert West region

PHOENIX, Arizona – Lincoln Property Company (LPC) has hired industry veteran Afton Trail as Director of Property Management for the Desert West region. In her new role, Trail directs LPC’s Desert West portfolio of almost 10 million square feet of landmark office, industrial and retail space. She is also charged with identifying and pursuing opportunities to grow the LPC property management brand in the Desert West region states of Arizona, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico.

“Our Desert West property management portfolio is very diverse. It requires someone with equally strong industry knowledge to support our tenants and customers with the high-quality solutions they expect from Lincoln,” said Lincoln Property Company Executive Vice President David Krumwiede. “Afton has stepped into this role very successfully. We welcome her to the team and look forward to all she will do to continue our mission of excellence and help grow our property management footprint in the Desert West markets.”

Trail’s career spans almost 40 years in commercial real estate, including past roles in property management, asset management, leasing, acquisitions, dispositions and talent management.

At LPC, she directs a team of more than 18 property management experts who provide service for a host of landmark projects. Among these are The Grand at Papago Park Center, 3131/3133 Camelback, Promenade Corporate Center, Luhrs City Center, Paradise Village Office Park and the ADOA and ADEQ buildings in downtown Phoenix, as well as 5 million square feet of industrial product.

This team is also part of the national LPC property management group, which at more than 403 million square feet represents one of the nation’s largest commercial real estate property management portfolios.

“I’m thrilled to join such a prestigious team and to represent such notable projects,” said Trail. “The fact that our portfolio is made up of not only Lincoln-owned assets but also a significant book of third-party management assignments gives us a lot of opportunity to solve complex business needs and drive new business as we continue to uphold Lincoln’s focus on quality and customer service.”

Prior to joining LPC Trail held executive leadership positions with CBRE and Cushman and Wakefield, where she provided oversight to property management teams across multiple markets and directed client care and development programs across all lines of business.

She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Arizona State University and holds a CPM designation from the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM). She is a current member and past board member of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) and a member of NAIOP, Arizona Commercial Real Estate Women (AZCREW) and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).

Class A Building Offers Largest Block of Space in Dynamic East End of Camelback Corridor

Phoenix,  Arizona – Colliers International in Arizona has been selected to lease the recently sold 3900 Camelback Center office building.  The Class A project offers one of the corridor’s largest contiguous blocks of first floor space available and is situated in the dynamic east end of the submarket.

“The midpoint of the Camelback Corridor is shifting eastward,” says Ryan Timpani, executive vice president with Colliers International. “3900 Camelback Center benefits from an incredible wealth of nearby and walkable amenities that offers convenient options to employees in the building.”

Timpani and Phil Breidenbach, executive vice president of Colliers International in Arizona will be exclusive leasing agents for the 177,520-square-foot property that was completed in 2009.  3900 Camelback Center serves as corporate headquarters for Shamrock Foods and Southwest regional office for Ryan Companies.  The building recently sold for $54.5 million to Wilshire Capital Partners of Los Angeles.  Ryan Companies will continue to manage the property.

The three-story building offers abundant surface and garage parking.  3900 Camelback Center is certified LEED Gold Core and Shell (LEED BD+C) by the U.S. Green Building Council.  The lobby features an expansive, two-story main entrance with full-height glass, wood wall panels and stone tile floors.  A second-floor balcony and offices overlook the lobby where visitors enjoy a comfortable seating area surrounded by beautiful planters.  The third floor features a large outdoor patio with spectacular views of surrounding Piestewa Peak and Camelback Mountain.