PICOR Connect | Trends in Commercial Real Estate

The purpose of this report is to show the strengths and weaknesses of Tucson, Arizona and its sister cities, Albuquerque, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas. The three cities are sisters since they have many commonalities including climate, population size, and each city having a military base and a university. The stats and data shown herein are used to illustrate the bigger picture and may not reflect exact figures.

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Topics: Industrial, Commercial real estate, Economic development, Office, Retail

“Wow!  What a great time to be in Industrial real estate!” These are sentiments not heard in almost a decade.  During the depths of the doldrums, the Tucson commercial real estate market was marked by Foreclosures and REO sales, “blend and extend” lease negotiations, downsizing (or “rightsizing” as it was more positively termed) and a general sense of survival.

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Topics: Economy, Commercial real estate, Economic development, Investment property, Market trends, Lease rates, Warehouse, Transportation, Logistics, Manufacturing

Believe it or not, something good may be happening in Washington, D.C. Last week 12 local business executives, Tucson Metro Chamber Vice President of Government Affairs Robert Medler and I visited Arizona's senators and representatives to advocate for our local community.

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Topics: Economy, Economic development, Community, Investment property, Transportation, Construction

With accelerating improvement in vacancy from 9.2% to 7.8% year-over-year, Tucson’s industrial market reported the strongest annual gain since 2006 and the lowest vacancy mark since Q3 2008. With occupancy above 92% and no speculative space under construction, the market will experience upward movement in rents. Rent pressure has already occurred for spaces 5,000 square feet (SF) and under. Net absorption for 2016 nearly doubled that recorded in 2015 at nearly 1.5 million square feet (MSF). Absorption over the past twelve months exceeded all years since 2006’s high of 1.9 MSF.

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Topics: Tucson, Industrial, Economy, Commercial real estate, Economic development, Vacancy, Warehouse, Leasing, Logistics, Manufacturing

In a 2014 Tucson Metro Chamber survey of local business executives called the Business Expansion and Retention (BEAR) Report, the Chamber learned that the interface between the City of Tucson and the private sector needed some refinement so it could operate more smoothly and help more job creators open their doors. 

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Topics: Tucson, Economy, Economic development, Community, Investment property

There is a powerful chapter in the bestselling book Good to Great that describes an amazing phenomenon called the flywheel effect.  In the context of the book, the flywheel effect is the relentless and steady achievement of small things that lead to long term achievement of great things.

When you were a kid you might have played with a real flywheel called a gyroscope.  It’s a heavy wheel connected to an axis (axel) and spun like toy top.  Once spinning the gyroscope kept spinning until friction ultimately reduced its RPMs to a point where it lost momentum, began to wobble and ultimately fell over at a dead stop.

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Topics: Tucson, Economy, Economic development, Community

Finally. It’s getting brisk! Not just fall in the air (or the closest it comes in the Sonoran Desert), but a sense that Tucson has truly turned the corner. It’s a time when economic momentum is palpable, and good news comes in long jump strides—not in the inches of years past. We can stop pinching ourselves for a moment and celebrate this, relish it, then build on it. We deserve to bask in some abundant sunshine.

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Topics: Tucson, Economic development, Community

Comcast Cable recently signed a lease for the former American Home Furnishings building near the Tucson Mall for its new IT, call center and social media operations. The company announced its plans to add 1,125 jobs in May. With an annual payroll of $35 million, the facility will be staffed by IT and customer-support workers. The center will house Spanish-speaking employees specializing in social media so customers can connect with Comcast via Twitter, Facebook or other outlets.  One of the major decision factors for selection of the Tucson Galleria site was based upon the convenient commuting options to the building. 

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Topics: Tucson, Commercial real estate, Economic development, Leasing, Office

There has been much written about the new HomeGoods Tucson distribution center lately. What hasn’t been told until now, is the creative brokerage it took by a group of real estate professionals to assemble the land for the HomeGoods Tucson deal to come together.  It really started almost two years earlier, when the Massachusetts-based TJX Companies, HomeGoods’ parent company, broadcasted its requirements for a 100-acre site appropriate for a new western regional distribution center to be built.

Rob Glaser, CCIM, SIOR, Principal at Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR credited as the mastermind behind this real estate assemblage told us when he first heard of the requirement it was just his intuition that told him Tucson would be an ideal place for the company.

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Topics: Tucson, Industrial, Economy, Land, Commercial real estate, Economic development, Warehouse, Development, Construction

PHOENIX - Governor Doug Ducey has appointed Michael S. Hammond to the State Transportation Board, representing the Pima County region in the planning and development of Arizona’s transportation network.

 

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Topics: Tucson, Economy, Economic development, Community, Transportation, Phoenix, Leadership