By: James B Marian, CCIM, MRE

Most Real Estate Daily News readers are likely to be one of 83,805 people employed in the construction and development of Arizona industrial and warehouse, office and retail, a sector that contributes greatly to our state’s economic success. According to NAIOP, this sector contributed $11 billion to Arizona’s economy in 2020. These are not surprising facts, but what is surprising is that not a single public Arizona University currently offers an undergraduate real estate degree. Really? It’s true. Neither ASU, NAU, nor our very own University of Arizona offer such a degree. Talk about a disconnect. Aren’t our universities charged with educating our students to be productive citizens, and in a perfect world, productive to help maintain and grow our state economy?

Now consider that most of us in this industry are mature—a very polite way of saying that many of us are old—and will most likely retire in the next five to ten years. Does anyone else see a problem here?

Three years ago, I began guest lecturing at our College of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Architecture’s (CAPLA) Masters of Real Estate Development (MRED) program. Together with Professor Drew Sanderford, we brought these facts to the attention of our department. We laid out the need for an undergraduate degree in real estate. Our department asked us to “test” student demand by first offering a minor in real estate. We quickly submitted our proposal which included over 20 letters of support from local real estate executives.

This past November, our minor, which is open to all students at the U of A, was approved. In less than four months, over 50 students have enrolled in CAPLA’s real estate minor. Even more impressive is student demand for our Introduction to Real Estate Class. Last year, over 70 students took the intro course. Our fall class had been capped at 40 students. By June we had a waiting list, so just last week, we raised the cap to 50 students.

It appears there is plenty of student demand for undergraduate real estate studies and for this reason, I, together with others in our department, submitted a proposal to re-introduce the undergraduate real estate degree here at the University of Arizona. It is my hope that the degree will be available sometime in 2022.

There is much work to be done. New classes will need to be designed. We plan to work with the Arizona Department of Real Estate Department so that students will be ready to test-out and be licensed shortly after they graduate. Additionally, new staff will need to be hired, including at least three new Professors within the next several years. One search, for an Assistant Professor, has just begun. Local Industry leaders will have a seat at the table and will provide input as to who we hire.

My personal goal is to see our programs ranked as one of the top programs in the County. This will take hiring top-notch talent which may require outside financial support (more about that sometime in the future). Currently our online MRED program is ranked #2 nationally. Our in-person program ranks well and our students have placed 2nd on several occasions at the national Bank of American real estate case study competition. Our team has competed and beat teams from Stanford, Columbia, Harvard, and University of Texas on several occasions (CAL is the only team to beat us consistently—and I am sure this has nothing to do with the fact that Bank of America’s headquarters use to be in San Francisco…ha !!).

Much of our success is due to our outstanding Professors and local support. Local industry executives provide phenomenal support by being guest speakers and providing internships for our students. This support is greatly appreciated and not taken for granted.

Many of you have asked how you can help our program. Here are a few ways:

1. Write a short letter of support for our proposed undergraduate real estate degree.
2. Volunteer to be a guest speaker at one of our classes.
3. Consider offering internship and part time student employment opportunities.
4. Learn more about our courses and suggest changes and updates to keep our program cutting edge. We want our students to be able to ADD to your bottom-line the minute you hire them!!

Please email me if you are interested or have any questions. The future of Arizona’s Real Estate market has never been brighter. Together, we can and will keep our real estate sector strong by helping to educate the next generation. I invite you to get involved NOW!!

Since 1982, when Jim became a full-time commercial real estate agent, he has closed over $350 million in commercial real estate transactions. As one of Chapman Lindsey’s founding partners, Jim has steered the company into its position as one of Southern Arizona’s leading commercial real estate brokerages. Throughout his career, he has worked with the University of Arizona, Citibank, Wells Fargo, Chase Bank and many other institutions. Jim holds a BA from the University of Arizona. Currently, he teaches the undergraduate Introduction to Real Estate course and graduate Introduction to Real Estate Finance and Investments and Capstone (thesis) courses. Jim can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected]

Tucson, Arizona – CBRE announced the sale of a retail site at 2744 East Broadway Blvd at Treat Avenue, Tucson, Ariz. sold to Broadway and Treat Custard Realty, LLC. for $640,000. The buyer will be constructing a Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers that will include a drive-thru lane.

CBRE’s Nancy McClure and John Ash in Tucson represented the seller, Semro Family Investments, LLC, LLC. The buyer was represented by Justin DiBiase, Kidder Mathews in Phoenix.

The property, located at the southwest corner of Broadway Blvd and Treat Ave, consisting of 0.85 acres, zoned C-1.

PHOTO: Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers in Marana

TUCSON, ARIZONA — Rio Nuevo held a special board meeting today in order to discuss two, time sensitive, downtown revenue generating projects.

New Television Food Episodic Project

In Spring of this year, Rio Nuevo together with Visit Tucson, the City of Tucson, and Pima County worked very hard to attract a new major television production project to the downtown area. Part of the package were incentives provided by Rio Nuevo and it has resulted in attracting interest from other film and television production companies to the area.

“These are big name networks, and this is the right time to highlight Tucson.” – Board Member Edmund Marquez

One of the interested parties is a very well-known television food show. The production company has reached out to Rio Nuevo looking for incentives to bring their show to the downtown Tucson area.

Because of this interest shown in filming in the district, the board voted to create a reserve fund of $500,000 that they can utilize, under the guidance of board members Fletcher McCusker, Edmund Marquez and Jannie Cox, to incentivize film and television production projects. The caveat is that the project must return tax revenue. The dollars they will be using for these incentives are non-tax increment financing (TIF) dollars.

One South Church New Employer

A new firm is looking to move into One South Church Avenue and expects to employ between 30 and 50 people. Due to the fact that downtown parking will come at a cost, this new employer has asked for assistance with parking costs, which could be a barrier to their potential move.

“The community will be surprised when they learn of this company.” – Fletcher McCusker

The Rio Nuevo Board approved a motion to offer a parking incentive of $100,000 over 5 years to provide up to 30 parking spaces for the company’s employees.

PHOTO: ONE SOUTH CHURCH STREET