TUCSON, ARIZONA — On Tuesday, July 23, 2022, Ron Zimmerman passed away peacefully at his home in Tucson. Ron was well known and respected within the commercial real estate community and will be very missed.

Everyone who knew Ron knows the mold was shattered in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania on March 16, 1960, when Ron was born to Bernice Irene “Cookie“ Cook and Ronald Eugene Zimmerman. The family moved to Scottsdale in 1961 and then to Albuquerque 10 years later. Ron and his sister Kyle, now an Albuquerque Realtor, grew up in their father’s business–the Kelly Motel on Interstate 40 in Albuquerque. Ron was an industrious young man who always had a job and many hobbies.  Ron attended the prestigious New Mexico Military Institute beginning at the age of 13, paying his own tuition with the savings from his many odd jobs. Ron asked for permission to join both the Army and get married at the very young age of 16…and as expected, the persuasive young Ron was granted permission from his parents to do both.

Ron joined the Army in 1976 and was married that same year. Ron and Alice moved to Anchorage, Alaska where they started a family and had two daughters—Sandy and Shea—who he loved dearly.  After Ron‘s military service, he moved his young family to Pennsylvania where he did the opposite of what everybody told him to do. Ron developed a dozen self-storage facilities and successfully operated them when interest rates were a modest 18%.  Ron acted as his own contractor and successfully brought his projects in under budget, at about $21 per square foot.

Ron sold the self-storage operation and moved to Tucson with his family.  Shortly after arriving in Tucson, Ron built a multi-tenant office building in the Williams Center.  During the development of this building, Ron met several brokers at Bourn Partners. Upon disposition of this office building, Ron joined Bourn Partners in 2001 and quickly became a highly successful commercial broker who motivated all who worked with him and continues to inspire them today.

Ron joined Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR in 2013 and considered PICOR his family. He had a contagious work ethic and an unparalleled transaction volume while battling significant health issues for decades. Ron beat the odds on many occasions and appreciated life each day. He was a prolific and entertaining storyteller to those around him and made friends instantly around town–from his clients to the wait staff at his favorite restaurants, he was legendary.  Ron drew satisfaction from the beauty of the Sonoran Desert. Even in his most challenging times, Ron hiked with his beloved dogs, often five miles a day.

Ron will be missed by his PICOR family and those around him who benefited from his compassion and generosity. PICOR will organize a memorial hike in Ron’s honor in October 2022.

Donations in Ron Zimmerman’s name may be made to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona or Goodwill Industries of Southern Arizona.

By George Hammond, EBRC Director and Research Professor

The state unemployment rate ticked up to 3.3% while jobs increased by 15,000

Arizona’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate ticked up to 3.3% in June, up from 3.2% in May. That was slightly below the national rate of 3.6%. Arizona’s rate remains very low, signaling an extremely tight labor market.

The state added 15,000 jobs in June (seasonally adjusted), up from a revised gain of 7,000 in May. May growth was revised up from 5,800 in the preliminary estimate.

Over-the-month job gains were driven by government (up 8,900), education and health services (up 3,100), leisure and hospitality (up 1,200), manufacturing (up 1,000), construction (up 800), professional and business services (up 600), financial activities (up 400), and information (up 300). Trade, transportation, and utilities dropped 1,200 jobs while other services lost 100. Jobs were stable in natural resources and mining.

As of June, Arizona jobs were 67,500 above their February 2020 level. Exhibit 1 shows how that breaks out by industry. Government jobs were down 10,500 during the period, with weakness concentrated in state and local government. Leisure and hospitality jobs were down 9,600, with accommodation and food services accounting for most of the gap.

In contrast, jobs in trade, transportation, and utilities were up 49,100, with most of the growth in transportation and warehousing, as well as retail trade. Financial activities were up 11,400 from February 2020, followed by manufacturing (up 9,900), construction (up 6,500), education and health services (up 5,800), professional and business services (up 3,400), and information (up 1,500). Jobs in other services and natural resources and mining were close to their February 2020 level.

Phoenix MSA jobs were up 70,900 from February 2020 to June 2022. Exhibit 2 shows how that growth was distributed across sectors.

In contrast, Tucson MSA jobs were down 5,500 from February 2020 to June 2022. Exhibit 3 shows how that was distributed across industries. The pattern was somewhat similar to the state and Phoenix, with the notable exception of professional and business services. This sector remained 6,200 jobs below February 2020 in Tucson, while statewide and in Phoenix it has more than recovered. The gap in Tucson is primarily due to losses in a sector that includes call centers, employment agencies, and services to buildings (like janitorial services). This matters because if this one sector had performed in Tucson as it did statewide or in Phoenix or even nationally, then Tucson jobs would be back to their pre-pandemic level. Further, job losses of this magnitude have not made it into the media in Tucson. It is not clear what is driving this result in the data.

While Arizona has more than replaced all of the jobs lost during the early months of the pandemic, jobs remain 129,000 below where they likely would have been had the state been able to sustain its average growth during the 2015-2019 period. Still more work to be done.

National annual award recognizes steadfast, substantial contributions to the Cystic Fibrosis community

PHOENIX, Arizona – Scottsdale, Arizona-based multifamily investor, developer and manager MC Companies has been honored with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s coveted Corporate Champion Award, an honor given to just one company, once each year to recognize outstanding and steadfast contributions to the cystic fibrosis community.

The Corporate Champion award was created to acknowledge a volunteer or corporation that successfully champions the cystic fibrosis cause within their company, resulting in significant dollars raised. This year’s award was presented at the foundation’s 18th annual Volunteer Leadership Conference to Lyn Marquis, Director of Philanthropy for MC Companies and President of the company’s Sharing the Good Life Foundation.

A private 501(c)(3) organization, the Sharing the Good Life Foundation is an in-house, employee-supported division of MC Companies, focused on making communities in which it operates better than they found them.

“We are delighted to honor MC Companies and its Sharing the Good Life Foundation with this award,” said Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Chief Development Officer Pat Feeley. “Their drive to create awareness of our foundation and their unwavering participation in our events is inspiring. We are grateful for all that they do as we work to improve and extend the lives of people with cystic fibrosis and help make CF stand for Cure Found.”

Founded by Ross McCallister and Ken McElroy, MC Companies operates with a mission of “Sharing the Good Life” with its residents, investors and employees. It does this by developing premier properties in growth markets, maximizing asset value through strategic renovations and asset improvements, and carefully managing 100 percent of the MC Companies portfolio through affiliate company MC Residential, which has over 200 property management professionals.

Through its Sharing the Good Life Foundation, MC Companies also gives back.

“Our employees are at the heart of this award,” said McElroy. “Their personal contributions of time and resources keep philanthropy a main pillar of MC Companies, and allow us to give generously to organizations like the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. We are proud to receive this award, and will work hard to continue to earn the honor.”

Last year, MC Companies launched Operation 25K, designed to grow the MC portfolio to 25,000 units under ownership by 2029. MC Companies is also expanding its portfolio through a new joint venture with a major global institutional investor, which is pursuing multifamily development opportunities across Arizona.

To learn more, visit www.mccompanies.com and www.mcresidential.com. To learn how you can give through the Sharing the Good Life Foundation, visit www.sharingthegoodlife.org.

PHOTO: left: Pat Feeley, Chief Development Officer, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation right: Lyn Marquis, Director of Philanthropy and President of MC Companies Sharing the Good Life Foundation