PHOENIX, ARIZONA – AZCREW, the commercial real estate organization that exists to transform the industry by advancing women globally, will serve up a delectable panel at its April lunch to discuss retail/restaurant trends.

“The Valley’s commercial real estate retail market has witnessed a resurgence post COVID-19,” said moderator Carol Schillne, Senior Vice President, Orion Investment Real Estate. “Consumer spending was up 18.6 percent at the end of 2021, compared to January 2020 and retail vacancy rates are down 7.2 percent.

“We’ll explore the fast-paced changing landscape of retail and restaurants – with a look at where the opportunities lie and what lessons we are learning. We have assembled a dynamic panel of retail experts. They each bring industry expertise to the table.”

The program is scheduled for April 19 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the E-Center Esplanade, 2401 E. Camelback Road in Phoenix. Networking and lunch are from 11:30 a.m. to noon. The program is from noon to 1 p.m.

Joining Schillne on the panel are Josh Simon, Developer/Landlord, SimonCRE; Beth Katz, Owner/Corporate Designer, KatzDesignGroup; and Judith Van Houten, Corporate Real Estate, Chase Bank.

Registration fee is $25 for members; $45 for non-members. This is an in-person event. Please review the COVID waiver and agree to it when registering.

Register here.

PHOTO: Mancuso’s Restaurant at Collier Center, 201 E. Washington St., in Phoenix, was designed by Beth Katz of KatzDesignGroup, a member of the AZCREW retail panel.

PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA — The Pima County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to accept an additional $11 million in federal funds to provide rental assistance to members of the community.

The additional money comes from federal funding that was originally allocated to the Arizona Department of Economic Security but had not been distributed. The County has also requested an additional $6 million in unused DES funds.

The County and the city of Tucson pool their money to provide rental assistance in the community. Tucson also recently received $11 million in additional funding and requested an additional $13 million. If both additional city and County requests are approved, that would mean a total injection of $41 million for rental assistance.

“The new funding will allow us to keep more people in their homes, which is vital to the overall economic health of our community,” said Daniel Sullivan, director of the County’s Department of Community & Workforce Development. “Our federal rental-assistance dollars were running low, so this allocation and the possibility of more in the near future comes at an opportune time.”

Since March 2020, Pima County and the City of Tucson have distributed nearly $53 million in rental assistance through a joint program set up to help struggling households during the pandemic.

To date, the joint program has committed $61 million in combined rental and utility assistance due to economic difficulties stemming from COVID-19. That figure covers more than 11,000 individual cases.

“We are pleased to continue our collaboration with the City of Tucson,” Sullivan said. “We believe this partnership is an excellent model for the rest of the country and more efficiently distributes the funding to families than would be possible if either party tried to do it alone.”

Renters and landlords on behalf of tenants can apply for assistance at TucsonPimaep.com or call 520-447-4423 to see if they meet eligibility requirements.

TUCSON, ARIZONA – A freestanding office building, at 2918 West Ina Road in the Heritage Plaza in the Northwest Submarket of Tucson, recently sold to a California investor for $925,000 ($231 PSF). The 3,997-square-foot building, built in 1990, was last occupied as a Gental Dental Office. This was the buyer’s upleg in a 1031 exchange.

The building was vacant at time of sale and buyer purchased to re-tenant.

Richard M Kleiner, MBA, Principal, Office Specialist with Cusheman & Wakefield | PICOR and Paul Blum with West USA Realty, Inc. represented the seller, BFD Investments of Phoenix (Marshal Castille, manager). The investor, RR Properties I, LLC of Woodland Hills, CA (Renato Parada, manager) was self-represented.

For more information, Kleiner should be reached at 520.748.7100 and Blum can be contacted at 602.369.7575.

To learn more, see RED Comp #9709.

In a second transaction, nearby in La Cholla Corporate Center, 7618 N La Cholla Blvd. in Tucson sold for $360,000 ($196 PSF). This 1,833-square-foot office condominium was built in 2005 and sold to be owner occupied dba Maria Emma Sneddon, a CPA Firm.

The buyer was also in a 1031 exchange.

Jordan Simon and Karen Farrell with Venture West, developers of La Cholla Corporate Center, represented the seller, California Bill’s Automotive Handbooks, LLC (Howard Fisher, manager) and Kristy Kelley with Long Realty represented the buyer in this transaction.

For more information, Simon and Farrell should be contacted at 520.722.9292 and Kelley can be reached at 520.577.7400.

To learn more, see RED Comp #9722.