Airport 48 Industrial offers close-in advantages, immediate Sky Harbor Airport access for logistics users

PHOENIX, Arizona – Full-service investment, development and management firm ViaWest Group, along with the City of Phoenix and leading local general contractor Stevens-Leinweber Construction (SLC), has broken ground on Airport 48 Industrial, a 146,526-square-foot, Class A industrial building that will sit on one of the last remaining infill parcels in Central Phoenix.

Airport 48 Industrial is located on nearly 10 acres at 3232 S. 48^th Street, immediately fronting State Route 143 and just north of Interstate 10. It is five minutes from Sky Harbor International Airport and two minutes from a full-diamond interchange, providing direct access to all major Phoenix freeway systems.

“The need for centrally located logistics space has grown in lock-step with the Valley’s skyrocketing population,” said ViaWest Partner Danny Swancey. “Airport 48 is a tremendous site, located minutes from Sky Harbor Airport and within a 30-minute drive of almost 2 million residents. These logistics advantages, combined with the modern amenities of this building, will serve tenants well for a very long time.”

“We’ve partnered with ViaWest on numerous projects over the years and they truly pay attention to what matters, both in a building’s location and its amenities,” said Stevens-Leinweber Construction President and CEO Jamie Godwin. “We’re thrilled to be associated with Airport 48 and look forward to its delivery.”

McCall & Associates serves as the project architect and Kimley-Horn is the Civil Engineer. Isy Sonabend and Drew Eisen of NAI Horizon serve as the building’s exclusive leasing brokers.

“In a submarket with an industrial vacancy rate of just 3.9 percent, Airport 48 represents one of the only options in the area for mid-size users seeking very centrally located, modern space that is also highly divisible – in the case of Airport 48, down to 35,000 square feet,” said Sonabend. “That combination has already attracted a long-term lease from SothernCarlson, bringing this property to 45 percent leased before construction has even begun, and setting it on a path for potential lease-up long before its completion.”

Airport 48 Industrial is expected to deliver during the fourth quarter of 2022.

ORO VALLEY, ARIZONA – Roughly two years ago, The Conservation Fund (TCF) and its partners,  the Town of Oro Valley, residents and community leaders, Ross Rulney and members of the organization Preserve Vistoso, set out to acquire and protect the former Vistoso Golf Course so it could be preserved as a wildlife sanctuary and public recreation destination. Thanks to the generous contributions of over 600 individuals in the community, over $1.8 million dollars was raised by TCF, and a challenging negotiation and successful acquisition are now complete.

In addition to the 202 acres, the former golf course also included a 6.14 acre parcel formerly used for clubhouse operations. As a condition of the sale, the agreement required both the 202 acre and 6.14 acre parcels be sold simultaneously.

The final agreement shows the seller, Romspen Vistoso LLC, the seller,  received an aggregate amount of $4.25 million for all former golf course parcels. In separate purchases and sales agreements, The Conservation Fund (TCF) and Rulney paid a combined $3,365,000 for approximately 202 acres and the 6.14 acre parcel respectively. The Town agreed to settle its disputes with Romspen for $885,000.

The initial closing date was December 31, 2021, was extended to February 17, 2022, due to the parties waiting documentation from the Pima County Assessor that verified future use of the 202 acres would not be subject to a tax recapture as specified in state law and a zoning variance agreement with Vistoso Community Association (VCA).

Rulney purchased the 6.14 acre parcel with clubhouse and parking lot for development of a multifamily residential project, paying $1.75 million ($6.54 PSF) and an opportunity to acquire an additional 6.15 acre of open space later. Rulney anticipates beginning construction by year end.

Rulney agreed to limit its construction of an allowed multifamily residential complex to a maximum of two stories, up to 132 units.  The Town agreed to provide zoning site relief, and the Conservation Fund and the Town agreed that approximately 1.5 acres of adjacent property to be used for drainage, public parking, utilities, open space/passive recreation and related uses.

In order to preserve the open space and passive recreation in perpetuity, required the Vistoso Community Association (VCA) Board of Directors to consider a variance to a legal classification designation of “Commercial” within the 1996 land tract declarations (related to private CC&R’s) for the 6.14 acre clubhouse parcel and a classification consistent with current Town zoning. The variance request was made by Mr. Rulney to the VCA Board, and supported by Town as a condition to the sale.

The Conservation Fund paid Romspen Vistoso $1.615 million for the golf course.

“Support from the community was phenomenal,” said Mike Ford, The Conservation Fund’s Southwest Director. “We want to thank the Town of Oro Valley, led by Mayor Joe Winfield and Vice Mayor Melanie Barrett, as well as Preserve Vistoso and the hundreds of people who donated to this effort. Thanks to you, Arizona has gained another natural, cultural and recreational resource for all to enjoy.”

The former Vistoso Golf Course property is a crown jewel in Oro Valley. Mountain views and varied desert vegetation, wildlife such as mule deer, bobcats, and birds, and rock formations bearing Native American petroglyphs can all be found on the site’s grounds. When the Vistoso Golf Course ceased operations in 2018, many in the community envisioned a future nature preserve in its place. It has become a popular open space for outdoor activities such as hiking and biking.

The Conservation Fund will temporarily hold the property, place a conservation easement on the land, and donate it to the Town of Oro Valley later this year. The conservation easement will ensure that the site will never be developed and will remain an asset for wildlife and the local community. The property will remain open for public access under The Conservation Fund’s interim ownership.

PHOENIX, ARIZONA — Northmarq Phoenix’s Investment Sales team of Trevor Koskovich, Bill Hahn, Jesse Hudson, and Ryan Boyle represented Tide Equities, LLC in the $255 million ($251,976 per unit) purchase of Del Mar Terrace, a 1,012-unit multifamily community located at 7007 W. Indian School Road in Phoenix.  Northmarq Dallas’s Debt & Equity team of Loren Heikenfeld, Kevin Leamy, Jeff Erxleben, Lauren Bresky and Joel Heikenfeld provided bridge loan financing and buyer’s equity for the acquisition, using their structured finance capabilities to fill almost the entire capital stack.

“The Del Mar Terrace sale represents the second highest overall sales price in the Phoenix market over the last 12-months, and coincidentally involved the second-largest apartment complex in metropolitan Phoenix,” explained Trevor Koskovich, President, Investment Sales, Northmarq. “The record-setting Phoenix multifamily investment market of 2021 hasn’t shown any signs of a slowdown during the first two months of 2022.”

Strong renter demand and continued increases in rental rates over the next 12-months in the Phoenix multifamily market will continue to attract investors looking for upside potential in a compressed cap rate environment, according to Northmarq’s Q4 Phoenix Market Insights.

Built in 1986, Del Mar Terrace offers four one- or two-bedroom floorplans that range in size from 626 to 885 square feet. The amenities in the pet-friendly multifamily community include pool, fitness center and daycare center. The property offers easy access to Interstate 10 and Loop 101 and is surrounded by West Valley amenities including State Farm Stadium, Glendale’s Sports & Entertainment District including Westgate, Ak-Chin Pavilion and Desert Sky Mall.

The seller was Del Mar Terrace Apartments, LLC, an entity of Heers Development. The company provided professional management services for Del Mar Terrace along with five other Phoenix apartment communities through their property management division, Heers Management Company.