TUCSON, ARIZONA – In their first meeting of 2022, the Rio Nuevo Board welcomed new board member Mike Levin, and unanimously approved entertaining an additional investment in the Hotel Congress. The Board also held the election of their executive officers.

This investment into the Hotel Congress would be used to help complete a state-of-the-art jazz bar called “The Century Room”, that will feature local & national musical acts, ancestral small batch mezcal, craft cocktails, and regional beer & wine. Musicians are already booked to perform starting in February when the club is planned to open.

“It’s already being considered the premiere jazz club in the southwest United States, and we’re not even open,” said Richard Oseran, owner at Hotel Congress.

Formerly the Copper Hall banquet facility, this new jazz club has undergone $150,000 in sound abatement including windowpanes and shuttering to ensure the acoustics will be of the highest quality.

“We’re now on the radar with New Orleans and Telluride for jazz,” said Chairman McCusker.

In addition to an exciting new jazz club, Hotel Congress, with the support of Rio Nuevo, has been able to update their patio by adding a shaded area and misters to comfortably reach a 700-person capacity. With these upgrades, the Hotel Congress is hosting more than 900 events per year and bringing economic investment into downtown.

Additionally, the Board reaffirmed their executive officer positions and added Board member Edmund Marquez as Secretary. Executive officers were elected as follows:

• Fletcher McCusker – Chair
• Mark Irvin – Vice Chair
• Chris Sheafe – Treasurer
• Edmund Marquez – Secretary

Location on Light Rail Line Attracts Investors

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – A Canadian investor has purchased Urban 188 & 96, apartment communities located at 1601 and 1545 W. Camelback Rd. for a total price of $52,000,000.00.

Epic Investment Services purchased the properties from Urban 1601 Property, LLC of Phoenix for its Epic Multifamily Real Estate Fund I LP. Roach, Brad Cooke, Matt Roach and Cindy Cooke of Colliers in Arizona negotiated the sale transaction. Fidelity National Title handled the title and escrow work for the sale.

“Strategically located on the Valley Metro Rail, Urban 188 and Urban 96 are side by side properties that are operated as one,” says Chris Roach of Colliers in Arizona. “Thomas Pride and Urban Communities did an excellent job maintaining the property and offering community events which focused on tenant retention. The new ownership plans to continue making Urban 188 and 96 a desirable community by further enhancing the unit interiors and operations.”

Urban 96, located at 1545 W. Camelback Rd., sold for $17,000,000.00 and was constructed in 1967. Urban 188, located at 1601 W. Camelback Rd., was constructed in 1970 and sold for $35,000,000.00. The two properties combined contain 284 apartment units totaling 132,675 square feet. The properties offer a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units averaging 467 square feet each. The properties were approximately 98 percent leased at the time of the sale.

Located along the Valley Metro Rail with excellent roadside visibility on Camelback Road, the properties offer exceptional accessibility to the surrounding employment corridors. They are located just minutes from Uptown, Midtown and Downtown Phoenix, as well as a the Biltmore region of the city.

The properties are partially renovated and offer a strong yield through their impressive performance and historic rent growth. Common areas and exteriors were updated by the previous owner to the current seller, allowing the new owner to focus on interior improvements and operations.

TUCSON, ARIZONA – In its 27th year, the PICOR Charitable Foundation was again barred from flipping pancakes for the Tucson community by pandemic conditions, yet through the generosity of donors committed to supporting non- profit youth programs in the region, the Foundation raised its first-ever six figures in donations, bringing in $124,910.

In a stunning act of generosity, the Foundation’s multi-year lead donor, the Burton Family Foundation, provided a dollar-for-dollar matching grant for all funds raised. This combined with significant donations from Schnitzer Properties and PICOR Commercial Real Estate set the pace with a myriad of contributions from clients, vendors, employees, and community members to enable all funds to be donated to support programs benefiting the region’s youth in need.

Despite a pancake-less event, a committee of volunteers reviewed 54 grant applications and selected 45 local non-profits to receive 2021 grants. PCF prioritizes support for organizations with smaller budgets and an emphasis on basic needs. Recipients of 2021 grants used funds for programs providing homeless outreach, arts and educational scholarships, shoes and clothing, healthcare, therapy, hygiene necessities, and more. Year-end grants ranging from $1,000 to $3,000 were awarded to:

Angel Heart Pajama Project
Arizona Dental Foundation
Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation
Arizona Theater Company
Arizona Youth Partnership
Assistance League of Tucson, Inc.
Autism Society of Southern Arizona
BICAS
Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Tucson
Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson
Boys to Men Tucson
Casa de los Niños
Educational Enrichment Foundation
El Rio Health Center Foundation
Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona
Grace Hearing Center, Inc.
Homicide Survivors, Inc.
Integrative Touch for Kids
Interfaith Community Services
Intermountain Centers
JFCS of Southern Arizona
Literacy Connects
Make Way for Books
Marana Unified School District Family Resource Center
Old Pueblo Community Services
Our Family Services, Inc.
Parent Aid Child Abuse Prevention Center, Inc.
Primavera Foundation
Project Linus
Rotary Club of Tucson Kino Charitable Fund
San Miguel High School ‐ Student Literacy
Southern Arizona Book Heroes
Southern Arizona Children’s Advocacy Center
Tucson Girls Chorus
Tucson Jewish Community Center ‐ J‐Care
Tu Nidito Children & Family Services
We Care Tucson
Youth on their Own

Six STEM-specific “Ken Nickel Memorial Grants” were matched by a grant from Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR’s corporate support to Advocacy 31nine, Educational Enrichment Foundation, Reid Park Zoological Society, San Miguel High School, Agnese Nelms Haury Program in Environment & Social Justice, and the YMCA of Southern Arizona.

To donate or apply for funds in our 2022 cycle, please visit www.picor.com/picor-charitable-foundation.