TEMPE, ARIZONA — CBRE announced the sale of Farmer Avenue Lofts, an 18-unit townhome property in the Tempe submarket of Phoenix, to Blueprint Capital, a Seattle-based real estate investment trust for $13.1 million ($728,000 per unit).

Brian Smuckler, Jeff Seaman, Derek Smigiel, and Bryson Fricke of CBRE represented the buyer.

Farmer Avenue Lofts, located at 354 South Farmer Avenue, was built in 2008 and is comprised of three-bedroom floor plans, averaging 2,467 square feet each, that include granite countertops, Wellborn Milan cabinets, stainless steel appliances, floor-to-ceiling windows, over-sized balconies, two-car direct-access garages and private rooftop decks.

This property is situated in proximity to the Loop 202 Freeway, Mill Avenue Entertainment District, Arizona State University, and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

“We continue to see great interest for multifamily housing in Tempe from local investors as well as out-of-town buyers looking to enter the market or expand,” says Smuckler.  “They are particularly attracted by this area’s growth potential from the recent construction of mixed-use developments, the emerging corporate tech footprint, and the expansion of Arizona State University.”

CBRE also represented the seller, Tincath LLC, an Arizona-based limited liability company based in Germany, in the transaction.

SAHUARITA, ARIZONA – Steel Jupiter, a Minority-Owned, specialty coating manufacturer, announced today it has leased a 13,000-square-foot facility in Sahuarita for its manufacturing, research and development facility. The facility is expected to be operational by the end of 2022, initially creating 15 jobs in the community.

“Steel Jupiter’s mission is to help make indoor air as free from viruses as possible,” said Carlos Tellez, Chairman and President of Steel Jupiter. “Our product, developed by leading scientists, has the promise to significantly improve the effectiveness of HVAC filters and masks in filtering viruses from the air we breathe. We evaluated other locations and we are thankful to have found the Sahuarita Advanced Manufacturing, Engineering and Technology facility (SAMTEC). Sahuarita is a great community, and the facility and location are perfect for us. We are thrilled to call Sahuarita our home base for our continued growth and innovation long into the future.”

“Steel Jupiter’s innovative manufacturing and research facility is a valued addition to Southern Arizona,” said Sandra Watson, President and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority. “We are grateful Steel Jupiter is establishing its manufacturing facility in Sahuarita, bringing quality jobs while furthering Arizona’s reputation as a national innovation and manufacturing leader.”

“The establishment of this new facility will have an economic impact of $27 million over the next five years,” said Joe Snell, President and CEO, Sun Corridor Inc., the region’s economic development group. “The ripple effect of these high-paying jobs advancing Steel Jupiter’s technology will be felt across Southern Arizona.”

“It’s exciting to sign another tech firm to a lease at SAMTEC. This vision is many years in the making,” said Sahuarita Mayor Tom Murphy. “I know that Sahuarita is becoming a hub for excellence in innovation. We’re laying the groundwork for that right now. Attracting companies like Steel Jupiter, and PowerPhotonic is just the beginning.”

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – NAI Horizon’s Church Realty Solutions practice led by Thomas Smith, represented the seller, the buyer, and a new landlord in the $1.425 million investment sale and long-term lease of Celebration Lutheran Church in Peoria, Arizona.

Smith, a Senior Vice President with NAI Horizon, represented the seller – off of a referral from Earle Shroyer of Realty Executives – Celebration Lutheran Church of Peoria, and the buyer, a private investment partnership from Phoenix.

The property is located at 8726 W. Olive Ave., in Peoria.

In a separate transaction, Smith represented the new owner in a long-term lease totaling in excess of $500,000. Calvary Chapel Arrowhead was looking to move its church to a more dynamic and capable set of facilities while remaining in Peoria.

Smith assists and serves churches in acquiring new buildings, in leasing part or all of their existing facilities, supports owner churches in creating new revenue sources from partial and/or part time leasing of their facilities, creates strategies to repurpose buildings to accommodate places of worship, consolidates, and assists with the sale and disposition of properties and facilities for churches of all sizes and styles. Smith also brings in smaller churches to sometimes share space on off-sabbath days at market rental rates

“Another option for a struggling church that is facing diminishing congregational growth is a sale leaseback in which a church sells its property, banks its equity or uses it to rebuild ministries, and then leases the property back from the new owner/landlord,” Smith said. “This is a message that is being heard in church real estate but not acted on often enough to date.

“The strategy is to bring in another church entity as buyer or a specific investor profile that will encourage a challenged church to look to achieve a strategic transaction known as a sale leaseback. The more traditional approach to capturing inflated equity in a church facility is to sell and seek to either lease or buy a smaller facility thus lowering expenses while recapitalizing a church’s financial position,” Smith said.

Built in the 1994, the 6670 SF property features traditional church architecture – a sanctuary, kitchen, offices, a conference room, restrooms, storage room, and classrooms. There are also peaceful fellowship areas outside and inside the main building. Additionally, a vacant piece of land totaling more than 2 acres was included in the sale transaction.

“For me, the Church Realty Solutions practice is part business and part ministry and serves as my driving purpose to create and deliver world-class professional real estate services to communities of faith,” Smith said.

Janel Wangsness with Keyser represented the Calvary Chapel Arrowhead tenant who already have seen new congregants and made improvements to the existing facilities.