INSIDE: Arizona Builders’ Alliance // International Interior Design Association // Tucson Market Update // Office & Industrial Preview JULY-AUGUST 2014
The Most Influential Women in CRE
GROUNDBREAKERS
When You Need Direction Today’s dynamic commercial real estate environment presents real estate owners, managers, developers, lenders and investors with exciting opportunities. Buchalter Nemer real estate attorneys offer sound professional advice and guidance, when you need direction.
In Arizona, please contact
Paul M. Weiser, Esq.
480.383.1823 pweiser@buchalter.com 16435 North Scottsdale Road, Suite 440 Scottsdale, Arizona 85254-1754 www.buchalter.com
ON THE HEELS OF SUCCESS
F
or the last three years, Az Business magazine has published its “50 Most Influential Women in Business” list. It’s the most popular issue of the year and though it has always included a handful of commercial real estate professionals, AZRE deserved a list of its own. So, that’s what we did (pg. 30). It was a difficult list to whittle down, but we think this inaugural group of 20 professionals will set the stage for years to come. They’ve already completely changed AZRE’s history as not just the first women on the cover, but the first people ever featured on a cover in the magazine’s 10-year history. These women fought the early morning traffic for AZRE’s cover shoot at the Tempe Center for the Arts in preparation for this issue. On my drive into Tempe that morning, I was able to associate nearly every woman I was meeting to a building I passed or by the shadows cast by cranes, workers in hard hats and the skeletal frames of new developments. Many of these projects were announced less than a year ago and are a testament to not only the buoyant state of commercial real estate in Arizona, but of women’s roles in steering that ship. AZCREW’s members (pg. 49) and the infographic on the next page will back my claims up. I also had the pleasure of telling the stories of two companies celebrating 40th and 50th anniversaries — Interstate Mechanical (IMCOR, pg. 65) and Buesing Corp. (pg. 97), respectively. We also profiled the projects of the Arizona Builders’ Alliance (pg. 81) and the most impressive interior designs in the Southwest, according to this year’s IIDA PRIDE Awards (pg. 44). I hope you enjoy this issue — whether it’s on a break at a construction site or pool-side on summer vacation. See you in September!
Amanda Ventura Associate editor, AZRE amanda.ventura@azbigmedia.com 2 | July-August 2014
President and CEO: Michael Atkinson Publisher: Cheryl Green Vice president of operations: Audrey Webb EDITORIAL Editor in chief: Michael Gossie Associate editor: Amanda Ventura Interns: Leslie K. Hughes Az BUSINESS MAGAZINE Senior account manager: David Harken Account managers: Ann McSherry | Shannon Spigelman ART Art director: Mike Mertes Graphic designer: Shavon Thompson DIGITAL MEDIA Web developer: Eric Shepperd Digital manager: Perri Collins MARKETING/EVENTS Manager: Angela Vaughn OFFICE Special projects manager: Sara Fregapane Executive assistant: Mayra Rivera Database solutions manager: Cindy Johnson SCOTTSDALE LIVING MAGAZINE Director of sales: Jon Buls AZRE | Arizona Commercial Real Estate Director of sales: Steve Koslowski AZ BUSINESS LEADERS Director of sales: Mark Blum RANKING ARIZONA Director of sales: Sheri King EXPERIENCE ARIZONA | Play Ball Director of sales and marketing: Carla Baran AZ BIG MEDIA HOME SHOWS SCOTTSDALE HOME & GARDEN SHOWS Exhibit directors: Kerri Blumsack | Tina Robinson
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THE GENDER CAP
Women have made great strides in the business world. The humber of women-owned businesses surged by nearly 60% between 1997 and 2013, according to a recent study by American Express OPEN. But women business leaders still face a key obstacle - in the form of financing. This infographic shows a number of ways in which women-owned businesses remain at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to accessing capital. Yet it also shows recent progress being made in areas such as venture capital and crowdfunding.
MORE WOMEN BUSINESS LEADERS The number of women-owned firms in the U.S. has EXPANDED RAPIDLY IN RECENT DECADES,
WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS ACCOUNT FOR 26% of the businesses in 1997, 29.4% in 2013
growing at 11/2 times
26%
1997
the national average from 1997 to 2013
29.4%
2013
NUMBER OF WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS grew from 5.4M in 1997 to 8.6M in 2013
59%
8.6M
41%
vs
Number of women-owned firms increased by 59%
5.4M
41% growth among U.S. businesses overall
1997
2013
YET WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES CONTINUE TO LAG WHEN IT COMES TO ACQUIRING THE CAPITAL THEY NEED TO GROW women owners men owners
LESS ACCESS to debt financing Less likely to apply for loans 2007 2010
Small business lender BizzCredit reports that applications and approvals are up among women business owners, yet still lag their male counterparts.
Didn’t apply for loan out of fear of denial
9.9% 13% 8% 12%
16.9% 15.3%
2007
21.1%
2010
LOAN APPLICATIONS from women-owned firms
17.8%
nearly doubled in 2013,
LESS CAPITAL AT STARTUP... and problem persists as business matures Average startup capital invested in 2004
to 2,985 from 1,501 in 2012
Average additional capital injected into those startups in 2012
women owners.....................$73,500
women owners.......................$38,217
men owners.........................$130,166
men owners..........................$73,249
LOAN APPROVAL RATE for women-owned firms rose to 31% in 2013 from 26% in 2012 but still below 39% for men-owned firms
$
STILL THERE ARE CLEAR SIGNS OF PROGESS IN KEY SOURCES FOR FINANCING GROWTH WOMEN ARE MAKING
inroads in venture capital
WOMEN-FOUNDED COMPANIES represented 13% of U.S. VC deals through the first half of 2013, up from 4% in 2004
WOMEN REPRESENTED 22% of angel investors in 2012, up from 12% in 2011
22%
vs
12%
INDIEGO REPORTS THAT ABOUT
47% of campaigns
that reach their funding goals on its platform are
run by women
$ $ $
$
$ $ $
WOMEN ARE MAJOR PLAYERS
in crowdfunding
FUNDRAZR REPORTS THAT
more women than men started campaigns in 2013
58% 42%
SOURCES: American Express OPEN, BizzCredit.com, Center for Venture Research, FundRazr, Kauffman Foundation, Pitchbook
CONTENTS FEATURES
32
02 Editor’s Letter 06 New to Market
Projects in the pipeline
08 Project News
12 After Hours
Bill Olson, RE adviser & sculptor
16 Big Deals
Top sales and leases since April, and the brokers who made them
24 Valley Partnership Developer’s Advocates 32 Raising Arizona
The 20 most influential women in CRE
49 Arizonas CREW Network CRE’s female powerhouses
On The Cover: Front to back, left to right: Cindy Winters, Heidi Kimball, Judi Butterworth, Jackie Orcutt, Sharon Harper, Beth Harmon-Vaughan, Anita Verma, Deb Sydenham, Jami Savage-Gray, Megan Creecy-Herman, Danielle Feroleto, Karrin Taylor, Molly Ryan Carson, Rory Carder, Vanessa Hickman, Lorraine Bergman; Not pictured: Mindy Korth, Rozlyn Lipsey, Terry Martin-Denning and Michelle Schwartz
65 IMCORs 40th Anniversary Backyard beginnings to owning a city block 81 Arizona Builders Alliance Its prized projects, 2014 strategic plan 97 Buesing Corp. turns 50 Dirt on AZ’s top earthwork contractor
49
65
81
97
NEXT ISSUE NAIOP Roundtable Arizona Multihousing Assoc. Annual RE Law Guide Corrections: The opening photo caption in
the May-June story “A Valley of Partners” incorrectly identified the photo as Marina Heights and Cushman & Wakefield as its brokerage firm. The photo was of an adjacent development, USA Place, of which Cushman & Wakefield is the assigned brokerage.
4 | July-August 2014
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3101 N. Central Avenue Suite 1070 Phoenix, Arizona 85012 (602) 277-6045 azBIGmedia.com
New to Market Education
Multi-family
1 | Sunset Heights Elementary School Developer: Peoria Unified School District General contractor: McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. Architect: EMC2 Location: 9687 W. Adam Ave., Peoria, Ariz. Size: 96,500 SF Value: $16.5M Start/Completion: August 2013 to June 2014 Subcontractors: Jenco Electrical, WJ Maloney Plumbing, Midstate Mechanical, MKB, Schuff Steel, LR Cowan, Progressive Roofing, Wholesale Floors, Western Millwork
This elementary school brings a new design to the district. The school is centered around flexible learning spaces with retractable walls. It also was designed to allow more natural light into classrooms. Construction includes one 20KSF multipurpose building consisting of a cafeteria, full gym and locker room, and one 76,500 SF classroom building for pre-K through eighth grade. Sitework includes a joint courtyard, baseball and softball fields, two regulation basketball courts, two gradespecific play areas and a solar-power-generating canopy.
2 | Tempe Union Compadre High School Additions & Renovations and District Office Renovations Developer: Tempe Union High School District General contractor: McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. Architect: SPS+ Architects Location: 500 W. Guadalupe Rd., Tempe Size: 58,000 SF Value: $13.6M Start/Completion: May 2013 to August 2014 Subcontractors: Cactus Asphalt, Apache Pipelines, LR Cowan Concrete, Brothers Masonry, Schuff Steel, TD Industries Mechanical and Plumbing, Echo Canyon Electric
McCarthy Building Companies recently completed the topping out of a new two-story classroom building at Compadre High School. McCarthy is also enclosing the courtyard, building a new cafeteria/kitchen/meeting area, renovating the main building (including HVAC and roof renovations) and adding a gymnasium to the campus. The project includes other major renovations, HVAC updates and an expansion of office space at the district office. 6 | July-August 2014
3 | Envy Condos Developer: Deco Communities General contractor: McShane Construction Co. Architect: Harley Ellis Deveraux Location: 4244 N. 75th St., Scottsdale Size: 100KSF Brokerage Firm: Cassidy Turley Value: $38M Start/Completion: TBD
This 90-unit luxury condominium project is an eight-story, type-1 building over three levels of underground parking. It will also offer a rooftop pool, concierge service and fitness center.
4
|
The Landing at Gateway
Developer: Streamline Construction and Development Corporation General contractor: TBD Architect: Saemisch + Di Bella Architects Location: SEC of Power and Warner roads, Mesa, Ariz. Size: 520KSF Brokerage Firm: KW Commercial Value: $110M Estimated start and completion dates: May 2014 to December 2015
The Landing at Gateway is a development within a growing area of the Mesa, Ariz. This development proposes a variety of uses, including retail, large retail/hospitality and office/ employment. A significant amount of consideration has been given to the design and integration of the pedestrian, vehicular and architectural elements of the development pattern. The focus will be pedestrian connections and associated green spaces. The parking fields are decentralized but balanced with the uses, meaning there is sufficient parking associated with each area for daily typical use, but also allows for crossover parking areas connected with pedestrian elements. The design
New to Market and form for the project emphasizes pedestrian connections throughout, between employment, dining, shopping and entertainment uses. The project will contain over 210KSF of office and more than 300KSF of retail and hospitality uses.
5 | Edison Midtown Developer: Deco Communities General contractor: McShane Construction Co. Architect: Harley Ellis Deveraux Location: 2346 N. Central Ave., Phoenix Size: 80 units Value: $22M Start/Completion: summer 2014 to 2016
Developed exclusively by Deco Communities, Edison Midtown will be the first major residential development announced for the Central Corridor since 2008. The development will include 80 units ranging from 800 to 1,350 SF. Pricing will begin in the high $200s. Designed to appeal to Gen Y urbanites, the building draws from Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Portland and London. The five-story building sits above a two-level underground parking garage.
6 | Portland on the Park Developer: Habitat Metro General contractor: Sunbelt Holdings Architect: DAVIS Architects Location: 100 W. Portland St., Phoenix Size: 745 to 2,381 SF Brokerage Firm: Habitat Urban Value: $75M Start/Completion: late-2014 to mid-2016
The award-winning condominium community Portland Place will soon have an adjacent sister property that will begin construction late this year adding 170 true lofts and finished condos to the downtown Phoenix Roosevelt Historic and Art districts. Four-, 12- and 14-story towers will be completed by mid-year 2016. Portland on the Park will offer its residents an energized, metropolitan standard of living. The first floor 7,200 SF commercial space will house a coffee shop, wine bar and restaurant providing a social space for residents and the Roosevelt neighborhood. Ample bike storage and electric car charging stations are built-in. The development is designed with a resort-like pool on the ground level, an open-air gathering spot on top of the 14-story tower and a state-of-the-art workout facility. Home sizes range from 745 to 2,381 SF presented in 21 floor plans. The lofts are designed with exposed metal ductwork giving a modern appeal to a comfortable space. Finished condominiums offer homebuyers options of one, two and three bedrooms.
Senior Living
7 | Friendship House at Royal Oaks Lifecare Retirement Community Developer: Royal Oaks Lifecare Retirement Community General contractor: Sundt Construction, Inc. Architect: Todd & Associates Interior Design: Thoma-Holec Design Location: 10015 W. Royal Oak Rd., Sun City, Ariz. Value: $13.6M Start/Completion: March 2014 to spring 2015 Subcontractors: RT Brown, S&S Paving, JBS Plumbing, Levake Construction
Sundt Construction, Inc. broke ground on the Friendship House, the general contractor’s sixth project at Royal Oaks Lifecare Retirement Community, in Sun City, Ariz., in Marhc. The $13.6M project is a two-story, 53KSF memory care facility designed to provide lifestyle-focused accommodations for Royal Oaks residents with varying levels of cognitive needs. Located near the center of the 38-acre community, the Friendship House will provide memory care in a residential setting, moving away from the traditional skilled-care model that has been common at Royal Oaks and many other retirement communities. This new design concept allows for more efficient staffing and flexibility in a comfortable setting that stresses the individualized needs of residents. Personalization is achieved through four “neighborhoods” of 14 residents each that have distinct interior design themes and create smaller scale living environments, walk-in closets, laundry rooms and natural light.
7
PROJECT NEWS
project News ➤ THIRD TIME’s A CHARM Hayden Ferry Lakeside III, developed by Ryan Companies, designed by DAVIS and owned by Parkway Properties, broke ground in May. The 265KSF, Class-A, 10-story office tower is the last of three being developed at the Hayden Ferry Lakeside Development along Mill Avenue and Rio Salado Parkway in Tempe, Ariz. The building will be completed in September 2015. Its predecessors were completed in 2002 and 2007 and are 98 percent leased.
8 | July-August 2014
➤ Industrial Delivery FedEx broke ground on a 302KSF facility at Chandler Crossroads. The distribution center is scheduled to open in August 2015. ➤ Gateway to Health Mountain Park Health Center broke ground on the Gateway Clinic in May with completion set for fall 2014. The 30KSF, $10M to $13M clinic, designed by SmithGroupJJR, will bring affordable healthcare to 36,000 Phoenix residents.
➤ Data Center 2.0 Data center provider CyrusOne broke ground on a second data center at its Phoenix campus in Chandler, Ariz. The 60KSF building is scheduled for completion by the end of 2014. The campus will have room for seven additional data centers. ➤ Breaking Ground Balfour Beatty Construction and Cobalt Medical Development broke ground on the Rehabilitation Hospital of Surprise. Designed by Ascension Group Architects, the 55KSF facility
will serve as a traumatic brain injury hospital. ➤ LGE Design BUILD UPDATE LGE Design Build broke ground on Papago Tech, a 63KSF research, development and manufacturing facility in Phoenix, Desert Storm Elite, a 21KSF cheer training facility in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Savage Universal’s corporate headquarters in Chandler, Ariz. The design-build contractors have been tapped to build the a new 5,400 SF location of soul food restaurant Lolo’s Chicken & Waffles
Left, Hayden Ferry Lakeside III; Below, top to bottom, left to right, Margaret T. Hance Park, Savage Universal Headquarters, Lolo’s Chicken & Waffles and Desert Storm Elite
in Scottsdale and recently completed Barron Lighting Production’s 80KSF facility in Glendale, Ariz. The Core | LGE Design Build JV broke ground on the $13.6M, 42KSF Museum of the West in a previously abandoned transit center in Scottsdale. ➤ Downtown Diagnostics The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix and the City of Phoenix announced in mid-May plans to construct a 10-story, 245KSF research building near 7th and Fillmore streets. The $136M building will break ground by
the end of 2014, taking about 26 months to complete. It will bring nearly 500 construction jobs and 360 permanent jobs at build-out. ➤ PARK LIFE City of Phoenix and the Hance Park Conservancy released multi-phased plans to turn Hance Park into a 32acre, $118M masterplanned civic space designed by Weddle Gilmore, !melk and Floor Associates. It aims to increase connectivity, encourage culture, serve as a catalyst for economic development and a model for ecological sustainability.
9
Planning and Zoning ´´City of Buckeye
Buckeye became a “city” in January, and Mayor Jackie Meck delivered the first State of the City address in May of this year. Meck indicated that Buckeye is the same geographical size as Phoenix but with much more empty land to develop. The city plans to do just that. Buckeye issued 149 single-family residential permits through March and expects to issue about 1,000 more permits by the end of the year. The mayor believes this shows not only how much developers are interested in Buckeye but that the housing industry is recovering. With this kind of housing development and growth taking place in the west Valley, the mayor believes Buckeye must now work harder to attract jobs by continuing to build infrastructure that will accommodate industrial projects in order to create those jobs and attract capital investment. Meck indicated that various existing water-infrastructure projects being conducted by the city would open more than 800 acres for development of railroad-served, industrially zoned property within the city. Meck also indicated that some of the city’s major assets included “thousands of acres of industrially zoned entitled land, rail and air access, robust fiber works, a relevant and dynamic work force, a tremendous transportation infrastructure and proximity to major global markets through the ports of Southern California as well as the Canamex Corridor and the future Interstate 11.”
´´City of Goodyear
The City of Goodyear updated design guidelines are near completion. The document was reviewed and adopted by the planning and zoning commission in late May and has now been forwarded to the city council for final approval in the near future. The updated document can be viewed on the city’s website. While there are changes throughout the document, there are very few changes in the chapter dealing with residential design guidelines.
´´City of Maricopa
When the City of Maricopa was incorporated in 2003, it adopted the Pinal County zoning code as its own. However, the city has recently been in the process of rewriting its zoning code with the intent of producing a document tailored to meet the city’s needs for guiding future growth. The final draft of the rewrite became available on June 2 and is scheduled to be submitted to the planning and zoning commission for review and to the city council for approval within the public hearing format. The new code contains three new mixed-use districts, updated single- and multi-family districts, and streamlined review and permitting procedures. The new code has a voluntary sustainable development incentive program that offers site design relief when green-building features are used and provides an updated list of permitted uses and related regulations consistent with other communities. The new code is also much more flexible by providing waivers from certain requirements and allows more discretion by the zoning administrator for consideration of alternatives in cases of unique circumstances. For additional code status updates, visit the City of Maricopa website.
10 | July-August 2014
´´City of Scottsdale
The City of Scottsdale is proposing to change the method of assessing water service fees from the current residential lot size for single family residential and from construction envelope size for multi-family residential to a method based on meter size. Under this proposed impact fee structure, singlefamily residential development with a one-inch meter would see a decrease of approximately 28 percent from a current fee of $7,477 to a proposed fee of $5,407. The decrease for a one-acre lot is approximately 63 percent from a current fee of $14,596 to a proposed fee of $5,407. Conversely, a 1.5-inch meter for a one-acre lot would see an increase of 86 percent from a current fee of $14,596 to a proposed fee of $27,035. The impact to multi-family residential development will vary depending on the approximate square footage of the dwelling unit and the number and size of the meters selected to serve the development.
´´City of Tempe
The May 20 election results on the City of Tempe’s General Plan 2040 are official. Tempe voters approved the general plan update that outlines how their community will develop for the next quarter century. In this case, the new plan emphasizes the concept of an urban city with high-density development and transportation alternatives to motor vehicles. The updated document focuses on the concept of Tempe as the leader in urban living in the Valley. New mixed-use development is encouraged to create new high-density centers that would offer goods, services and activities while the downtown, Town Lake area and ASU continue to be the city’s central urban core. Along with the traditional policy guidelines and goals for land use, economic development, conservation, open space, etc., the update also offers proposals for transportation options that include the expansion of light rail, streetcar transit and the revamping of streets to integrate bicycle transit.
´´Town of Wickenburg
In May, the Town of Wickenburg completed the process to annex a portion of Yavapai County consisting of approximately 2,900 acres of land north and west of the current town limits. The annexation includes the existing housing development called Wickenburg Ranch and the 667-acre Perks Ranch Property which, according to town officials, is tentatively proposed to be developed as a residential community by M3, a company that is currently negotiating with the town on this proposal. The development is expected to generate more than 3,000 homes for the town over the next decade, which could double its current population of 6,500 people.
The P&Z column is compiled by Dave Coble and George Cannataro with Coe & Van Loo Consultants, cvlci.com
TOTEM Commercial H 11
AFTER HOURS William M. Olson
Senior Vice President, Division Manager, Newland Real Estate Group Years at company: 1 ; in commercial real estate development industry: 31 years Born/raised: Michigan Education High school // Scottsdale, Ariz. university // Arizona State University, Tempe, Ariz. Dual General Contractors Licenses AZ Real Estate Broker’s License Several professional certifications Favorites sports // Hockey, golf, football Music // Too numerous to list Travel destinationS // Snow and ocean Leisure activities // Hike, bike, climb, motorcycles and sculptures What did you think you’d be when you grew up? A medical doctor
PHOTO BY SHAVON ROSE, AZ BIG MEDIA
that will help show you the ropes and work you tail off.
a person who has a need and I can design the piece to the space they need/want it.
Of what personal or professional accomplishment are you most proud? Father of my daughter
What would people be surprised to know about you? I do metal and stone sculpture.
Best business advice you’ve been given: Work hard, be genuine and finish what you start.
When and how did you get into sculpting? I started welding go-karts in Michigan as a kid and then spontaneously tried some metal work and it took off from there.
What kind of sculpting mediums do you use and what kind of sculptures do you make? Metal, stone, wood, patina solutions for color and special effects.
Advice you’d share with people early in their real estate career: Find a firm where you can have a mentor
How often do you find the time to work on sculptures? Infrequently today, but it’s best when I have
Do you sell your work? No. Once I start selling, it becomes work. I do it for creative outlet and for people I care about.
Paul Boyle
Senior Managing Director, Cassidy Turley Years at company: 15 Paul Boyle is the senior managing director of Cassidy Turley’s Capital Markets Group, with a focus on industrial building and land sales. But every other Thursday, he plays bass at the bar and lounge Downside Risk. Boyle has played music since he was 14 years old. When Boyle first got into commercial real estate in 1979, he played music for three years to supplement his income. He stopped playing after starting a family, then picked it up again to teach his four children to play. He and his kids have performed at the P.F. Chang’s Rock and Roll Marathon for the last 12 years. READ MORE ONLINE AT AZBIGMEDIA.COM/AZRE-MAGAZINE 12 | July-August 2014
PHOTO BY MIKE MERTES, AZ BIG MEDIA
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EXECUTIVE VOICES What is your best advice for those who are considering spec office suites?
Sights are set on spec office
Chris Anderson Hines
S
peculative office buildings are making their way back into the market, says Lee & Associates’ Andrew Cheney. “As of the end of Q1, 18 percent of the 2 MSF we had under construction is speculative,” he says. “Since then, a few notable projects including Hayden Ferry Lakeside III have kicked off 100 percent speculative. Where markets are tight, like Tempe and Chandler, developers are going spec. South Scottsdale is the only other place speculative office is happening. I lease SkySong 3 which is delivering 70 percent pre-leased in July.” These buildings are attractive to tech companies and financial and professional services, says Cheney. When it comes to speculative office suites, Hines Managing Director Chris Anderson says small businesses are flocking to building in the Camelback Corridor for economic and time-saving purposes. Generally, small business owners and smaller tenants do not have the time or resources to endure the process of designing space, selecting finishes and absorbing any cost overrun. Hines’ spec suite at 2375
E. Camelback Road is currently attracting several users who need less than 5KSF... Smaller tenants are trying to build or rebuild their businesses and want a fresh new look that matches their business image.” Hines recently completed a 3,500 SF speculative suite at 24th at Camelback I and leased it prior to completion of construction. With that success, Hines started another 2,900 SF speculative suite on the third floor that Anderson says will be delivered by summer’s end. Tenants are ignoring office suites in buildings that are not central to employment pools, says Cheney, adding that speculative suites are more attractive between the two. Speculative office suites have faster leasing velocity and a reusable design, however, Cheney says, tenants may still require changes from a finished spec suite. It’s a leap of faith for the landlord, Anderson agrees.
“My best advice is to spend money wisely. Pick a few areas to add some ‘wow’ factor, such as upgraded lighting in the conference room or wall coverings that stand out from the crowd. Keep other areas like offices, open work areas and break rooms generic so tenants can add their own furniture and customized touches later.”
ABOVE: SkySong III, a 145KSF, fourstory office development. BELOW: Jobing.com remodeled its office suite as an environment that would appeal to a younger workforce.
Andrew Cheney
Lee & Associates
“Build them and tenants will come, and make sure they are cool spec suites.”
14 | July-August 2014
Since 1931, Financial Executives International is recognized globally as the leading organization for senior-level financial executives. FEI AZ is proud to present the 8th annual CFO of the Year Awards.
This event is the most prestigious financial executive awards in Arizona and the one not to miss! Nominations deadline is August 22, 2014
Visit azBIGmedia.com
H
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AN NOMINATE TODAY!
There’s no such thing as a “small” deal in this industry, coming out of a recession. However, it’s the big deals, and the brokers who make them, that make the market an interesting one to watch. In every issue, AZRE publishes the top five notable sales and leases for a period of 60 days (one month out from publication) based on research compiled by Cassidy Turley and Colliers International with Costar.
Industrial/Sales
Will Strong
Top 5 Notable Leases and Sales (APRIL 1 to MAY 31, 2014) Source: Cassidy Turley Research Department, Colliers International and CoStar
Office/Sales
Mike Haenel
Andy Markham
Chris Toci
Mike Beall
1. 3601 & 3701 E. University Dr. & 405 W. Geneva Dr., Phoenix & Tempe 174,664 SF; $29M Buyer: Cohen Asset Management, Inc. Seller: Alliance Commercial Partners LLC Listing BrokerS: Will Strong, Mike Haenel and Andy Markham, Cassidy Turley
1. Anchor Centre East & West, Phoenix 333,284 SF; $85.1M Buyer: KBS Real Estate Investment Trust III Seller: Angelo, Gordon & Co. Listing BrokerS: Chris Toci, Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. BUYING BrokerS: Mike Beall and Chris Walker, Cassidy Turley
2. Reywest Commerce Center, Phoenix 208,835 SF; $13.783M Buyer: Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc. Seller: Cobalt Capital Partners, LP Listing Brokerage: CBRE
2. 20022 N. 31st Ave. - Phase I, Phoenix 337,439 SF; $51M Buyer: Griffin Capital Essential Assets REIT, Inc. Seller: KanAm Grund Group Listing Brokerage: Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.
3. 317 S. 48th St., Phoenix 113,827 SF; $9.4M Buyer: DriveTime Automotive Group, Inc. Seller: Second Berkshire Properties Listing Brokerage: Cassidy Turley
3. Hayden Station, Tempe 109,672SF; $26.5M Buyer: YAM Management Seller: Holualoa Companies Listing Brokerage: Cassidy Turley
4. Fifth Street Industrial 109,700 SF; $9M Buyer: DCT Industrial Trust Seller: Clarion Partners Listing Brokerage: JLL
4. Camelback Arboleda, Phoenix 178,792 SF; $24.9M Buyer: EBF & Associates LP Seller: Westport Capital Partners, LLC Listing Brokerage: JLL
5. Fiesta Center, Gilbert 122,191 SF; $8.35M Buyer: Presson Corporation Seller: RREEF America REIT II Corp. VVV Listing Brokerage: Boulders Realty Advisors
5. One11 Tower 255,556 SF; $22M Buyer: Rialto Capital Management, LLC Seller: General Electric Credit Equities Inc Listing Brokerage: Colliers International
16 | July-August 2014
Chris Walker
LAND/Sales
Grant D. Helgeson
MULTI-FAMILY/Sales
Don McCaul
1. Adobe Meadows, Chandler, Cave Creek, Mesa 77.05 ACRES; $15.778M BUYER: Pulte Home Corporation SELLER: Blandford Homes Listing BrokerS: Grant D. Helgeson and Don McCaul, Westland Properties Group 2. NEC Queen Creek Road and Emmett Drive, Chandler 47.91 ACRES; $12,522,123 BUYER: SunCap Property Group SELLER: Rockefeller Group Development Corp. Listing BrokerAGE: Colliers International 3. 35th and Missouri Avenues, Phoenix 20.44 ACRES; $12,455,167 BUYER: Grand Canyon Education, Inc. SELLER: SHU LLC 4. SE Lower Buckeye and Palo Verde Roads, Buckeye 190 ACRES; $11,275,290M BUYER: Garrett Development Corp. SELLER: Benross Corporation 5. NE Crimson and Ray Roads, Mesa 28.64 ACRES; $10,323,600 BUYER: JEN Partners LLC SELLER: DMB Associates Listing Brokerage: DMB Associates
Tyler Anderson
RETAIL/SALES
Sean Cunningham
1. Quadrangles Village, Tempe 510 UNITS; $41.875M BUYER: MIG Real Estate, LLC SELLER: FSC Realty, LLC Listing BrokerS: Tyler Anderson and Sean Cunningham, CBRE
1. Camelback Center Shops, Phoenix 32,963 SF; $19.75M BUYER: Crow Holdings Capital Partners, LLC SELLER: Orange Grove Apartments Listing BrokerS: Dave Bernstein, Dave Murphy and David Vallecorsa, Bernstein Murphy Co.
2. The Lodge, Flagstaff 252 UNITS; $31.85M BUYER: Clear Sky Lodge LP SELLER: The Lodge Luxury Apartments LLC Listing Brokerage: Cassidy Turley
2. Squaw Peak/Arcadia Fiesta, Phoenix 154,219 SF; $16.75M BUYER: Larry Van Tuyl SELLER: Bashas’ Supermarkets Listing Brokerage: Nathan & Associates, Inc.
3. 201 West, Tempe 441 UNITS; $27.35M BUYER: Gelt Inc. SELLER: Bank of America Community Development - Dallas Listing Brokerage: Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. 4. Crestone at Shadow Mountain, Phoenix 248 UNITS; $27.2M BUYER: Real Estate Capital Partners SELLER: P.B. Bell Asset Management, Inc. Listing Brokerage: CBRE 5. Sierra Vista I & II, Tempe 467 UNITS; $23.825M BUYER: Fowler Property Acquisitions SELLER: KC Venture Group LLC Listing Brokerage: CBRE
3. Union Hills Village, Phoenix 110,188 SF; $10.3M BUYER: Ethan Christopher LLC (EC Union Foundation) SELLER: Donahue Schriber Commercial Real Estate Listing Brokerage: Cassidy Turley 4. Martin Buick Pontiac GMC, Scottsdale 43,377 SF; $8.5M BUYER: Impact Church SELLER: Joseph A. & Jeannette Cardinale Tr. Listing Brokerage: Ted Marek Real Estate Co., Inc. 5. Islands Plaza, Gilbert 117,448 SF; $7.5M BUYER: BH Properties LLC SELLER: C-III Asset Management Listing Brokerage: NAI Horizon
17
Industrial/Leases
Jackie Orcutt
John Grady
Ted Liles
1. Buckeye Industrial Center, Phoenix 88,488 SF Landlord: Cabot Properties Tenant: HBI International Landlord Brokers: Jackie Orcutt, John Grady, Cushman & Wakefield TENANT Brokers: Ted Liles, Cresa 2. Tempe Commerce Park, Tempe 85,245 SF Landlord: Everest Holdings Tenant: HBI International Landlord BrokerAGE: Lee & Associates TENANT BrokerAGE: Capacity Commercial Group 3. 50 S. 43rd Avenue, Phoenix 60,106 SF Landlord: 43rd/Jefferson Partnership Tenant: Big O Metals Landlord BrokerAGE: Lee & Associates TENANT BrokerAGE: DAUM 4. 6902 W. Hadley St., Phoenix 51,260 SF Landlord: JM Wells Company Tenant: Sun County Trailers & Towing Landlord BrokerAGE: Commercial Properties Inc. TENANT BrokerAGE: Lee & Associates 5. Carver Distribution Center, Tempe 45,228 SF Landlord: Principal Financial Group Tenant: PetClub Landlord BrokerAGE: Cassidy Turley TENANT BrokerAGE: Cassidy Turley
18 | July-August 2014
Office/Leases
Bill Blake
Andrew Cheney
Retail/Leases
Craig Coppola
1. Camelback Colonnade, Phoenix 50,000 SF Landlord: The Macerich Company Tenant: Best Buy Landlord Brokers: RED Development Gregg Kafka
Colton Trauter
1. Chandler Forum, Chandler 51,165 SF Landlord: Piedmont Office Realty Trust Tenant: GMAC Landlord Brokers: Bill Blake, Andrew Cheney, Craig Coppola, Gregg Kafka, Colton Trauter, Lee & Associates 2. Take Charge America HQ, Phoenix 33,344 SF Landlord: Take Charge America, Inc. Tenant: Progrexion Landlord BrokerAGE: DAUM TENANT BrokerAGE: Site Selection Group 3. Great American Tower, Phoenix 30,206 SF Landlord: American Realty Advisors Tenant: Dignity Health Landlord BrokerAGE: Cushman & Wakefield TENANT BrokerAGE: Newmark Grubb Knight Frank 4. Galleria Corporate Centre, Scottsdale 25,057 SF Landlord: Oaktree Capital Management Tenant: Weebly Landlord BrokerAGE: CBRE TENANT BrokerAGE: Cushman & Wakefield 5. City North, Paradise Valley 24,484 SF Landlord: ScanlanKemperBard Companies Tenant: Alliance Financial Resources Landlord BrokerAGE: JLL TENANT BrokerAGE: CBRE
2. Main Street Plaza, Mesa 45,500 SF Landlord: Fenton Companies Tenant: Covered Wagon Antiques Landlord BrokerAGE: Willis Property Company 3. Chandler Pavilions, Chandler 38,086 SF Landlord: Chandler Pavilions LLC Tenant: Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc. Landlord BrokerAGE: Cassidy Turley TENANT BrokerAGE: JLL 4. Goodwill, Phoenix 21,169 SF Landlord: Rosenthal Family LLC Tenant: Goodwill Landlord BrokerAGE: ICON Realty Advisors TENANT BrokerAGE: Velocity Retail 5. Tempe Marketplace 20,000 SF Landlord: Vestar Development Company Tenant: Total Wine & More Landlord BrokerAGE: Vestar Development Company TENANT BrokerAGE: Western Retail Advisors
19
NAIOP
Local real estate companies battle the ‘big boys’ By Steven Schwarz, Principal at ViaWest Group
A
cross all business sectors, local companies are constantly running into challenges competing against the big, national companies that Steven Schwarz possess more resources, easier access to capital and power of size. This is no different in the local Phoenix, real estate investment and development business. So, how do these companies survive and excel? As a foundation, local companies must have 1) access to capital that is properly aligned with the company’s strategies; and 2) excellence in operations. On a deal level, local companies cannot forget the importance of location and, just as critical, timing, i.e., being on the forefront of market shifts.
20 | July-August 2014
to raise these discretionary funds. Our company, ViaWest Group, is presently raising a $50M real estate fund from private investors that will provide it with the discretionary capital it needs to have a competitive advantage. Its ability to raise these dollars will be based, in large part, on its deep investor relationships established over many years and its tenyear highly successful track record.
BEING CREATIVE: The following elements are key to the successful business strategy of a local company:
ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIPS:
Longstanding relationships may offer local companies unique opportunities and help them to more quickly access the right type of capital.
TRACK RECORD:
A successful track record is critical to establishing credibility with debt and equity sources and to procuring the best investment opportunities.
RAISING DISCRETIONARY EQUITY CAPITAL:
Discretionary funds allow local companies flexibility to pursue new opportunities that are on the forefront of market changes. Relationships and solid track record are key to being able
Local companies need to be creative in their pursuits, whether, as examples, establishing joint venture relationships with land owners or creating unique deal structures that incentivize brokers to bring them opportunities.
PROVIDING LOCAL SERVICES:
Some local companies have found success by taking the “if you can’t beat them, then join them” approach by providing services to national companies that can be done best on a local level. With the building of relationships through services, such as property management, local companies can sometimes parlay these into larger opportunities. Local companies do have the advantages of flexibility, responsiveness and market knowledge and, when matched with the key elements above, they have significant opportunities to outcompete the larger national companies.
C O M M E R C I A L
G IN R M BE CO VEM NO
I N
R E A L E S TAT E
PEOPLE TO KNOW IS EXPANDING ANDING IN 2014 AZRE Magazine will combine the top People to Know with the top Projects to Know — all in one issue! This annual special edition will feature the best commercial real estate projects that define our state with the people who make them happen.
PEOPLE TO KNOW CATEGORIES
Architects Engineers Attorneys Brokers Developers Finance Accounting General Contracting Property Managers Subcontractors
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PROJECTS TO KNOW acknowledges Arizona’s landmark developments in a range of categories and notable additions to cityscapes statewide.
+ PEOPLE TO KNOW
PROJECTS TO KNOW
PEOPLE TO KNOW will reveal updated interviews that add more personality to the profiles than ever before.
Sample page/People to Know ARCHITECTS & ENGINEERS - PTK
MICHAEL L. MEDICI, AIA
LES F. OLSON
Senior Vice President, Corporate Practice Leader
Sample page/Projects to Know
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PROJECTS TO KNOW CATEGORIES
Adaptable Re-Use Art/Entertainment Office Development Industrial Development Government Healthcare Facilities Hospitality Multi Family Retail/Mixed Used Development Tenant Improvement Educational Facilities
REBECCA OLSON, AIA, LEED AP
President
Principal, Director of Phoenix Studio
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SMITHGROUPJJR
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455 N. 3rd St., #250, Phoenix smithgroupjjr.com · 602-265-2200
4550 N. 12th St., Phoenix cvlci.com · 602-264-6831
COE & VAN LOO CONSULTANTS
WESTLAKE REED LESKOSKY
Responsibilities: Sr. Vice President, Corporate Practice Leader Years at Company: 33 Years in CRE: 33 Accomplishments: Medici has been with SmithGroupJJR since 1980 and has remained active in managing several of its key projects including TGen, Arizona Biomedical Collaborative and Freeport McMoRan Center. He is active in the the community and serves as co-chairman of the Annual Cystic Fibrosis Stair Climb & Firefighter Challenge; a member of St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation Board; a member of the Scottsdale Cultural Council & SMoCA Board and past president of ASU Council for Design Excellence. His leadership enables SmithGroupJJR to achieve success both regionally and nationally.
Responsibilities: Business development Years at Company: 22 Years in CRE: 37 Accomplishments: Olson has more than 36
Responsibilities: Principal/Director, WRL Phoenix; Project Director Years at Company: 5 Years in CRE: 30 Accomplishments: Olson is a leader in integrated A/E design and project delivery. She builds strong teams serving Arizona real estate through top management, and multiple roles. Her expertise in LEED sustainable design, project delivery, design build, and BIM places her at the forefront. She drives the success of WRL’s Arizona studio, guiding strategic development and expansion in the West. Her 30-year experience in project management spans new construction and renovation, a range of construction types and budgets, including large complex projects.
years experience in building what others say isn’t possible — complex civil engineering for private developments, water resources, municipal improvement projects, airport planning and design, construction specifications and inspection. In addition, he has provided consultant services and design expertise for petrochemical and marine industries along the Texas Gulf Coast. He has participated in various aspects of numerous major projects with a combined size in excess of 75,000 acres.
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One E. Camelback Rd., #690, Phoenix wrldesign.com · 601-212-0451
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BRYCE PEARSALL, FAIA Chairman
DLR GROUP
ERIK B. PETERSON AIA
STEVE RAO, AIA
Principal
PHX ARCHITECTURE
6225 N. 24th St., #250, Phoenix dlrgroup.com · 602-381-8580
7507 E. McDonald Dr., #B, Scottsdale phxarch.com · 480-477-1111
Responsibilities: Chairman of DLR Group Years at Company: 41 Years in CRE: 41 Accomplishments: Pearsall became Managing Principal at DLR Group in 1986 and received his Fellowship in the American Institute of Architects in 1987. He is chairman of the National AIA Large Firm Roundtable and on the Board of Regents of the National American Architectural Foundation.
Responsibilities: Lead Architect and Principal, business and project management Years at Company: 2 Years in CRE: 12 Accomplishments: Peterson is licensed in several Western states, and is an active member in AIA Arizona. He serves as a board member for Valley Forward. He was voted Best Architect in AZ Foothills - Best of Our Valley, and has designed projects that have been featured in publications such as LUXE, Phoenix Home & Garden, Luxury Home Quarterly, AZ Foothills, and Mountain Living Magazines. Designing award winning projects, including clubhouses, custom residences, restaurants, and office, Peterson has led PHX Architecture to continued success.
President
DWL ARCHITECTS + PLANNERS, INC. 2333 N. Central Ave., Phoenix dwlarchitects.com · 602-264-9731
Responsibilities: President of DWL, leading the Transportation Services Group. Years at Company: 24 Years in CRE: 32 Accomplishments: Rao’s notable accomplishments include Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport’s Terminal 4 and the West Terminal Expansion project at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. He has managed more than $700M worth of aviation work. He is actively involved in the Arizona Airports Association, Airport Consultants Council, Southwest Chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives, and currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Support Sky Harbor Coalition, Discovery Triangle and East Valley Aviation & Aerospace Alliance.
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8 PEOPLE TO KNOW 2013
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4/30/13 10:08 AM
For more information call: 602.277.6045 or visit azBIGmedia.com
23
VALLEY PARTNERSHIP
THE LEADERS OF
VALLEY PARTNERSHIP Chris Anaradian
Development Services Director, Town of Queen Creek It’s Queen Creek’s time in the sun, boasts the town’s Development Services Director Chris Anaradian. Permit activity is “out of sight” and he cites his Valley Partnership involvement as a key ingredient while the town grows into its own. “The situational awareness that Queen Creek gains from Valley Partnership is essential,” says Anaradian, who sits on Valley Partnership's Board of Directors. “Knowing the current areas of focus and growth that our private partners are focused on helps us plan and build a better government and community for all. Having a voice when new legislation and alliances are being formed helps us better prepare to fund and administer the services our customers have come to expect and deserve.” Anaradian is the former community development director and development services manager for the City of Tempe. He managed the 220-acre Tempe Town Lake and 500-acre Rio Salado Project during their initial five years. He also helped modernize multiple permitting and regulatory agencies and advocated for many developer-friendly shifts within the city, including those that precluded the Tempe light rail. Anaradian now has watched Queen Creek come through the economic recovery. “It is now Queen Creek’s time in the sun, and so many opportunities lie ahead,” says Anaradian. “Our wash and trail system is poised to unite huge swaths of our community and become a defining geographic feature of life in Queen Creek. Large tracts of undeveloped hillside residential property are into entitlement, some of the last and most majestic in the Southeast Valley.” 24 | May-June 2014
Tim Brislin
Vice President, Harvard Investments
Tim Brislin, an on-and-off member of Valley Partnership since 2004 who currently sits on the Board of Directors, has used VP’s networking opportunities to broaden his land investment and masterplanned community development firm’s exposure and partnership options. What many don’t know about Harvard Investments is that its Canadian parent company, The Hill Companies, is a major commercial developer of office and retail, Brislin says. The company has expansion plans to include industrial, office and multi-family assets. “Harvard Investments is laser focused on executing its vision and plans for its masterplanned communities in Mesa, Queen Creek/San Tan Valley, the West Valley and in Prescott,” Brislin says. Its Mesa project, Cadence at Gateway, is making way on its first residential phase, and gaining traction on its retail and high-density residential components much earlier than anticipated, Brislin says. “Thanks to Harvard’s long-standing market reputation, the faith of our partners and hard work, we built a highquality portfolio of assets that we will harvest for years to come. “Our current planning efforts are highly focused on demographic trends locally and nationally and how we plan our communities for the long-term based on who are buyers are, what products they want and what type of community they will embrace,” Brislin says. “There are shifts going on that affect all aspects of the real estate development business.”
John Creer
VP of Real Estate Development, Arizona State University Seven months ago, John Creer moved to Arizona and into the role of assistant vice president at Arizona State University’s Real Estate Department. At the suggestion of Sunbelt Holdings’ John Graham and Heidi Kimball, Creer immediately joined Valley Partnership. A month into his membership, Creer saw the need to position himself and the university as a board member of Valley Partnership. It’s a role he says he’s honored and thrilled to hold. “Valley Partnership is not just filled with developers who want to do business with each other. It’s more than that,” Creer says. “They’ve been strategic with the user groups they have on the board so they are full-service organization.” “I really enjoy the concept of marrying the private sector and public sector and better using assets the public sector has for the benefit of the public entity,” Creer says. ASU owns several hundred acres in Arizona that it doesn’t need for campus use, he says, and Creer’s job is to find its best use. Before coming to ASU, Creer spent 30 years in public and private development. The last 10 were as a consultant for the Los Angeles Unified School District’s largest public works project in the country — raising $28B in public financing to add 130 new schools to its existing 850 school inventory. (1,000 school sites in 26 cities. Creer managed the pre-construction for the San Fernando Valley part of that program.) He also ran LAUSD’s $200M Prop 39 charter school. His speciality is monetizing underutilized real estate. “I’ve been in L.A. and Salt Lake City for 30 years, and I have yet to find another organization like Valley Partnership,” Creer says. “I believe it’s fairly unique to this community.”
Kristina Locke
Marketing/Business Development Manager, Hoskin Ryan Consultants, Inc. Looking for the latest news on the golf tournament? Kristina Locke sits on the committee for two-year member Hoskin Ryan Consultants, Inc. Locke comes to Valley Partnership with more than a decade of marketing, advertising and business development achievements for Hoskin Ryan and its clients. Hoskin Ryan finished off 2013 with four new clients. Though they weren’t acquired through Valley Partnership, Locke is confident they will be this year. “It does take a little while for people to get to know you and trust your firm,” she says. “We have formed great relationships and were educated on many different industry trends.” Trends Locke is particularly interested in learning more about is the impact the Affordable Care Act will have on hospitals, physicians and companies such as Hoskin Ryan. “More than anything, it would be great to be educated on how small-medium firms will be effected in the next several years,” she says. “I would love to see a panel of speakers who are watching these trends closely, such as executives of insurance companies, medical brokers, economist, hospital executives and/or physicians. Is the ACA ultimately heading to a single payer system? Will our taxes increase to support this act? Will ACA collapse based on the low volume of healthy individuals signing up? Or will it just be another system like Medicare for a certain population. Lastly, how will this affect the growth of Arizona?”
Jenifer Davis Lunt Partner, Davis Enterprises
Davis Enterprises joined Valley Partnership last January — a big step for the closely held family business. Though Davis is one of the smaller development companies in the Valley and has a long history in the Valley, it has been a two-year sponsor of the organization. Davis Enterprises is actively involved in the identification, acquisition, development and management of real estate properties in Arizona.
Jenifer Davis Lunt became managing partner following an award-addled tenure at CBRE, where she became the first female at the Phoenix office named “Rookie of the Year,” for selling more than 100 properties totally more than $675M in value and 2.5MSF. In 2005, Davis Lunt was named CBRE’s No. 1 Investment Broker. The following year, her father retired from Davis Enterprises and named her partner and principal of a business her grandfather started. “We are most proud of contributions Davis has made to the revitalization of Central Phoenix including the SWC of 7th Ave & McDowell, 4700 N. Central and Melrose Marketplace,” Davis Lunt says. The company is looking forward to the redevelopment of 21st Avenue and Deer Valley Road and 1015 S. Rural Rd., near ASU’s main campus. Along those lines, Davis Lunt says a trend or issue she would like to see addressed by Valley Partnership is how the City of Phoenix can become more pedestrian, rail and bike dependent to allow for more retail and housing development in the urban core.
Retired Lt. Col. Rusty Mitchell Director of Luke Air Force Base Community Initiatives Team
Rusty Mitchell, director of Luke Air Force Base Community Initiatives Team, has been an ex-officio board member at Valley Partnership since 2005 and is the primary liaison between the Air Force base, nine municipalities, Maricopa County and state officials. “(Valley Partnership) has enabled me to network with major developers and discuss development issues in areas that we conduct flight operations,” he says. “This communication enables developers and landowners to be better informed of state statutes for compatible land use before they obligate time and money to a particular project.” The partnership has been mutually beneficial. Before retiring, Mitchell served 22 years in the Air Force as a fighter pilot. It is through his community involvement and history with the Air Force that Mitchell has managed to bring enduring economic development to the base and Arizona. “The over-whelming community support of the mission of Luke AFB has been recognized by the senior leadership of the Air Force and was a significant contributing factor in its selection as the largest F-35 training base and the
recipient of an eventual 144 F-35’s,” he says. The selection of Luke to be the primary pilot training center for the nation’s most advanced fighter will ensure the existence of Luke AFB for many decades to come, Mitchell says. “Not only is Luke critical in the nation’s defense, producing the world’s greatest fighter pilots, but the fact that it contributes approximately $2B to the state’s economy every year will continue to infuse the state with much needed economic power.”
Scott Nelson
Vice President of Development for Macerich Scott Nelson, vice president of development for Macerich (formerly Westcor), has been involved with Valley Partnership for nearly a decade. He has sat on the board for six years, currently as vice chair. “I was introduced to Valley Partnership early on in my real estate career by my boss at the time,” Nelson says. “It was immediately evident that the organization was well supported by the major players in the area’s development community.” Nelson, who has also sat on the membership and golf tournament committees, notes that some of the heavy lifting in the organization happens on the committee level. “The organization is very action oriented and results driven. From the annual community project to our state legislative efforts – we look to cause positive change and be a strong voice for the local development community,” he says, noting VP’s involvement in the Turken v. Gordon issue that helped preserve municipalities’ rights to enter into reimbursement agreements for the construction of public infrastructure. “Valley Partnership provides another set of eyes and ears within the real estate development community,” he says. “There is great comfort in knowing that the organization will expose me and our company to issues early on that could be both negatively and positively impactful to our business. This enables VP and our company to have a say in those issues.” As the incoming chairman of the board, Nelson plans to increase VP’s role in advocacy forums on federal, state and local levels. He also wants to bolster membership, sponsorships, partner participation and younger partners through mentorship. 25
VALLEY PARTNERSHIP
Valley Partnership Amplifies Voice of Responsible Development
By Amanda Ventura
W
hen municipalities have development-related issue at stake, one of the first organizations they call is Valley Partnership. Advocacy for responsible development is the driving force of the 27-year-old organization, which often takes a stance on behalf of its busy members. The issues range from state legislation and statewide issues such as land reform efforts, Government Property Lease Excise Tax (GPLET), copper theft and economics of Luke Air Force Base. Leading into 2014, the organzation is in the midst of community district financing.
26 | May-June 2014
Many members have taken turns sitting on VP’s advocacy committees, with a focus on city and county to federal influence, but no one has more ears to the ground than DMB Associate’s Karrin Taylor. Taylor is the immediate past chair of the board and has sat on multiple committees. “(VP’s advocacy) started out many years ago working at the local level and coming out of an era when anything related to development or developers wasn’t seen in best light,” says Taylor. The most robust is the City County Committee, Taylor says, which is represented by a laundry list of the
Valley’s municipalities. About four years ago, Valley Partnership got involved on a federal level with the Clean Water and Endangered Species acts. The committee has since turned into a roundtable for the congressional offices as well as a forum for educating members of the development community, Taylor observes. “Through that legacy, we’ve become the voice of the development community and local jurisdictions. Before they proceed with ordinances, they call us,” she says. “Valley Partnership really represents the entire industry. We’re seen as the one that
Karrin Taylor
has to look at things holistically.” Valley Partnership’s working relationship with the cities is based on communication and trust, says the organization’s CEO and President Richard Hubbard. “Using regular meetings between private sector developers and municipal staffers, we are able to discuss and resolve potential issues related to commercial real estate regulation prior to those issues becoming problems. Through more than 27 years of this process and the resolutions of dozens of complicated issues related to oversight of commercial development, experience has led both developers and the cities to rely on each other’s expertise with the common goal of effectively building quality projects.” As mentioned earlier, one of Valley Partnership’s slogans is that it advocates for developer issues so its members can focus on business. When an issue arises, Taylor says, Hubbard will give a “call to arms” so members are aware of an issue and committee members can work on an industry response. “We rely on them to take the leadership role and managing issues as they arise,” Taylor says. “The relevance of the organization as a reasonable and educated voice of issues facing the development community (is its greatest achievement).” Taylor serves as President of the Foundation for Environmental and Economic Progress (FEEP), which represents major landowners and stakeholders across the country in the advancement of balanced federal environmental law and policy on endangered species acts and wetlands issues. Hubbard served as the Deputy Arizona State Land Commissioner
Vanessa Hickman
Carolyn Oberholtzer
and during his time generated more than $1B in sale and lease revenue for the trust’s beneficiaries, Arizona Public Education. It was the most profitable period of the department in its century-long existence. In a similar vein, current Arizona State Land Commissioner Vanessa Hickman has been on the board of Valley Partnership for 2.5 years and prior to that was a member in the private sector. Among the organization’s most significant advances at the legislature, says Hubbard, is the years-long work to preserve the GPLET. “Our developer partners have used the GPLET tool to develop some of the most important real estate projects in the Valley,” he says, adding, “We are also the biggest watchdog of preserving reasonable impact fees applicable to commercial real estate. Valley Partnership has also worked to support other economic development incentives designed to bring new employers to Arizona including the formation of the Arizona Commerce Authority.” What comes to mind for Hickman was the northern expansion of the Black Mountain Freeway. Valley Partnership backed the development due to transportation’s role in allowing for economic growth and clearing traffic congestion. On that issue, Valley Partnership drafted a letter to the City of Phoenix advocating for the project to move forward. Valley Partnership has also taken a stance on the extension of long-term leases. The organization advocated the legislature change the statutes so that during the recession people could pay their rent with more time. Land-use and entitlement lawyer Carolyn Oberholtzer, partner at Bergin, Frakes, Smalley
Richard Hubbard
& Oberholzter, has been a Valley Partnership member since 2004 and has sat on the board for four years. She works with municipalities and counties on development project phases and has handled entitlements for some of Arizona’s largest masterplanned communities, commercial, industrial and renewable energy facilities. She was retained by Valley Partnership in 2007 to work on a parking calculations issue in Buckeye that she says could have potentially hurt retail development in the city. Oberholtzer worked in tandem with VP’s on-staff lobbyist. Oberholtzer, with Hickman, sits on the City County Committee and worked on impact fees and what the effect would be on large land owners and the ability to plan on infrastructure in the future. The committee worked diligently, Hickman says, on what the legislation would look like. “We really engaged with this latest go around with the impact-fee legislation,” Oberholtzer adds. “Some of the stakeholder groups were bitterly divided. We got involved to iron out a solution. We’re living with the results. It’s not perfect legislation but that’s where we try to be most helpful. Where there are areas of disagreement between developers and municipalities.” “I think the members, we, all have our respective missions and goals for the organizations we represent,” Hickman says. “We live in Arizona and we want this to be a beautiful place to work and raise our families, so to understand that development happens in a progressive way and is thoughtful and well-planned and not done in a way that will adversely impact our community partners and state.” 27
TUCSON MARKET UPDATE
Sun Link
RECONNECTING TUCSON By Amanda Ventura
W
hile Phoenix is in the throes of commercial recovery, Tucson is, comparably, about 18 to 24 months behind. The city’s proximity to the border is touted as a draw for investors, but the player with the best hand remains the University of Arizona (UA), which is not only the largest employer in southern Arizona but also the nucleus to an otherwise stagnant city. As development stands, experts point out Tucson has added 1,900 student housing units in the last year and the retail and office sectors in proximity to UA and Pima Community College show promise. In April, Colliers closed the largest office sale in Tucson since 2008. “Multifamily has led the recovery in almost all markets,” says Cindy Cooke, who heads the Cooke Multifamily Investment Team at Colliers. “Since so much of Tucson is UA and the medical school, I think you only see that continue to be strong. The growth will be fantastic.” The first sign in recovery, she says, is when vacancy increases. Right now, Tucson’s multi-family vacancy is at 7.9 percent. In 2009, it exceeded 11 percent. The UA is working to spin its innovation to the private sector and create small firms offering high-paying jobs in many areas of core competency, says President and Managing Shareholder of Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR,
28 | July-August 2014
Mike Hammond. “The UA more than ever drives our community in a positive direction,” he says. Kurt Wadington, Sundt Construction’s Tucson building group leader agrees. He adds that “apart from downtown and other isolated projects, Tucson’s market continues its softness in the shadow of a very slow economic recovery.” Tucson’s streetcar project, Sun Link, aims to strengthen those existing assets and ignite future development. “With the recent infusion of student housing and corporate offices, downtown has become a desirable location for restaurants and bars as more people live and work in the area,” says Wadington. “This increased day and nighttime activity, that is expected to increase when Tucson’s new streetcar becomes operational on July 25, has numerous developers considering additional retail, office and housing projects.” Though pens are to drawing boards, and the Sun Link has generated a “flurry of land sales,” there is some hesitation in development. Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR called Tucson a market in search of demand in its Q1 2014 reports. “One-liners are always a little true and at the same time false,” says Hammond. “Tucson says it wants good jobs but it acts differently when they appear. Tucsonans tend to like the environment and object to
nearly any attempt to develop on the land. This depresses demand as the process to develop anything is cumbersome and expensive with very little certainty of success, so we grow slower and some would say that is good. The right balance is tough to achieve. “As government indebtedness drops, it is anticipated Pima County, followed by other jurisdictions, will pursue bonding authorizations for badly needed capital projects. Other needs may be met through public-private partnerships as public infrastructure needs continue to mount.” UA is closely followed by Raytheon Missile Systems, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and the State of Arizona as top employers. Simply, southern Arizona relies on government funding. “I think the big rock the southern Arizona market is waiting for is some resolution at the national level on debt and how government goes forward at the federal spending level,” says Hammond. “Much of our area is dependent of spending at the federal level and that has been decreasing, whether for infrastructure, military in general — the A10 fighter specifically — and Raytheon. No one expects funding to increase in these areas and these are very good jobs that bring new money into the area. The multiplier effect is real in the creation of jobs or the loss of jobs as the case may be.”
THE SUN LINK In 2006, Pima County voters approved a $2.1B regional transportation plan funded by the Regional Transportation Authority, federal and regional sources. Construction on a key component of the plan, the Sun Link streetcar, began in 2012. Sun Link is a 4-mile, 18-stop electric rail line routed through downtown Tucson. The stops link cultural hubs such as the 4th Avenue shops and the various districts’ museums to the University of Arizona and the Pima County Consolidated Justice Courts. It opens to the public July 25. BY THE NUMBERS - 3.9 miles, length of route - $196M to build Sun Link system - $800M invested by private developers in project area - 500+ project-related jobs created - 1,200 estimated long-term jobs created - 100,000 people who live within half-mile of - route - 45 mph travel speed - 148 passengers per car - 750 volts on which the Sun Link runs
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TREO REVISING TUCSON’S ECONOMIC BLUEPRINT By Amanda Ventura
J
oe Snell, president and CEO of Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities (TREO), provided insight on the latest growth initiatives in Tucson and what the city needs to do to continue its upward trajectory.
What are Tucson’s strongest assets coming into the recovery? ❚ The University of Arizona is a Top 20 research university with amazing strengths in engineering, science, optics, entrepreneurship and provides a robust talent pipeline companies are looking for. -Tucson has an established, diverse aerospace and defense industry, with more than 200 companies, and an emerging bioscience sector with strong contribution to the state’s Bioscience Roadmap. ❚ Its strategic location. Southern Arizona is truly a gateway to Mexico. In addition to the unique rail assets we already have, we will leverage Mexico’s Port of Guaymas expansion to our benefit. Also Tucson’s position at the southern end of the Sun Corridor location in our mega region, expected to have the most growth in the next 35 years, positions us for business investment for years to come. ❚ On the heels of Arizona’s high national entrepreneurship rankings, Tucson is beginning to receive national recognition for its own entrepreneurial culture. For example, Entrepreneur magazine 30 | July-August 2014
recognized Tucson last August as one of the best cities for entrepreneurs. With these state and local rankings giving Tucson needed exposure, the McGuire Entrepreneurship Program at The University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management, the new Tech Launch Arizona initiative, Start Up Tucson, a strong Desert Angels group, and various public and private organizations, Tucson supports start-up businesses and entrepreneurs with resources for launching new ventures. ❚ Progress in downtown revitalization. TREO just released its 2014 updates to its Economic Blueprint. Describe the “urban renaissance” on which Tucson is focused. As the national and local economies slowed around 2008, Tucson’s long-term downtown development momentum picked up steam. Over the last three-plus years, huge and exciting changes have come to downtown Tucson by way of over $320M in public and private investment. Some notable projects include UniSource Energy’s new corporate headquarters, other headquarters such as Providence Service Corp., Mr. Car Wash, Sonoran Institute and Madden Media; the Tucson Modern Streetcar and a new UA downtown branch, among many other retail and restaurants new to downtown. Some of those changes are more visible than others, but together they add up to a more exciting, more vibrant, more inviting downtown for everyone, but especially the young, creative class that is just discovering Tucson. Infrastructure, specifically related to transportation, is another big initiative in TREO’s Economic Blueprint. What are some of the short-term goals TREO hopes to see happen? Infrastructure investment is really a path for economic growth, and expansion of existing highway, rail and airport capacity is the key to global competitiveness. We are fortunate in southern Arizona. Our location in the Sun Corridor puts the Tucson region at the crossroads for trade corridors in all directions. Many communities would covet this position, so
we must be laser-focused and smart about how we go about ensuring that we invest in the right transportation infrastructure. We are focusing on three key areas. First, achieving seamless connectivity to Mexico and other southwestern markets. We, as a region, have the ability to influence the inclusion of the southern segment of I-11 and the border-to-border vision of the Intermountain West Corridor in federal and state planning. We have made a great start but have much more to do. Second, we are focused on supporting Tucson International Airport, rail asset capacity growth and local mobility initiatives. Expanding passenger and freight service at Tucson International Airport will mean increased commerce for the entire region. We also have to make the proposed Aerospace Corridor and associated research park, rail reclassification facilities and the 10/ I19 Bypass realities. Third, how do we pay for all this? Creative funding and private sector solutions are required to ensure our region continues to have the resources to be competitive in the marketplace. We will be actively participating in the development of new funding mechanisms. What are some of the challenges TREO has overcome or anticipates? Over the last nine years, we have made progress in our focus on business development and economic diversification through targeted industries. We are laser-focused on four industries that can shape our future: aerospace and defense, alternative energy and natural resources, transportation and logistics, and bioscience/healthcare. Most of our successful projects over the last several years fall into these categories. In addition, we have dramatically increased private sector support of TREO and the understanding of the importance of economic development with all of our regional partners, public and private. Obstacles and opportunities include the unification/cooperation among many groups, accountability, common definitions of economic development and increased funding is critical for success.
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20 By Leslie K. Hughes | PHOTO BY SHAVON ROSE, AZ BIG MEDIA
in Commercial Real Estate
Most Influential Women
Raising
Arizona
T
he work of women in commercial real estate does not pass by unnoticed. The effect the professionals pictured below have on Arizona can be seen with just a glance of the Arizona skyline. A number of commercial buildings in Arizona exist and thrive today thanks to the women who designed, develop, manage and market them. AZRE chose to honor these achievements by recognizing a number of women who stand out in the industry.
In order to do so, we took a deeper look into the work of women within the industry and picked 20 who exemplify the qualities of a successful leader in commercial real estate. The accomplishments of 15 of these women have stemmed from years in the industry, while the remaining five are who we consider “Generation Next” — a group of women who are already making a name for themselves in their respective fields at a young age. From architects to brokers and marketing managers, the women on this list excel in their work and within their communities, making a lasting impact on Arizona and its future.
LEADING LADIES (L to R): Back row: Rory Carder,Lorraine Bergman, Danielle Feroleto, Beth HarmonVaughan, Jami Savage-Gray, Jackie Orcutt and Vanessa Hickman. Front: Sharon Harper, Anita Verma, Judi Butterworth, Cindy Winters, Deb Sydenham, Molly Ryan Carson, Megan Creecy-Herman, Karrin Taylor and Heidi Kimball.
Lorraine Bergman
Judi Butterworth
Rory Carder
Molly Ryan Carson VP of Development, Ryan Companies
President & Owner, Small Giants LLC
Though Bergman founded Caliente Construction in 1991 with her husband, she didn’t enter commercial real estate until 2000. When he passed away in 2005, she took over Caliente. “Many people believed the company would not survive under my leadership. If you educate yourself, and surround yourself with a team who [has] the skills and knowledge you lack, and trust their decisions, being a women in commercial real estate is not a challenge.” Surprising Fact:“My favorite pastime is singing.”
As an independent contractor with 35 years of experience, Butterworth loves that every day is different at her job. “The people are smart, funny and a little crazy – who else would work solely on commission with no salary and no benefits,” she asks. She was appointed the first and only female Arizona State Director for the International Council of Shopping Centers in 1990. Surprising Fact: “I participated in the first Women’s March on Fifth Avenue in New York City in 1970 with Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan.”
Carder’s work covers an array of disciplines. She advises aspiring professionals to pay attention to news and trends and the changes in construction costs. “Never underestimate what the future can hold, and, most importantly, align yourself with a mentor in the industry.” Surprising Fact: “When I was 5 years old, I had two eye surgeries. I went through years of...doing everything to strengthen my eyes. Now, I have 20/20 and 20/15 vision and the only time I wear glasses is when I’m burning the candle at both ends to get my work done!”
Carson models her career after the mantra “you only get to go around once, and you want to do it the right way.” After 12 years, she feels equally proud about every ground breaking and ribbon cutting. The hardest challenge for a woman in the field, she says, is something that men will never know: “Wearing high heels on a site tour. Seriously.” Her success is a result of “great role models and mentors, wonderful teammates, a great support system at home and a little Irish luck.” Surprising Fact: “I can do a back flip and am the oldest of eight.”
Feroleto began her foray into commercial real estate nearly 20 years ago as an editor for a trade publication. Although her roles in the industry have advanced, she always knew she would be in commercial real estate. “There are no better people. The most dynamic, driven and successful women [I know] have built a great career in commercial real estate,” she says. Surprising Fact: “I have eight siblings, which has always made for adventure, drama and a very full life!”
Owner/President/CEO, Caliente Construction Inc.
Senior Vice President, Velocity Retail Group
Managing Director/ Principal, DAVIS
DANIELLE FEROLETO
Pictured, left to right: Danielle Feroleto, Lorraine Bergman, Rory Carder, Judi Butterworth and Molly Ryan Carson
Sharon Harper
Vanessa Hickman
Heidi Kimball
Mindy Korth
Rozlyn Lipsey
Harper looks to the words of John Quincy Adams for her motivation to succeed: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” Harper founded Plaza Companies 34 years ago. “We strive to partner with people who exhibit integrity in their business dealings and care about their impact on the community.” Surprising Fact: “I worked in Kenya, east Africa, with my physician husband for a year and was trained to do vaccinations seven days a week in villages.”
Responsible for more than 9.2 million acres of State Trust land, Hickman is a part of some of the highest profile properties in the Southwest. “There is a difficult balancing act between demands from the job that arise all hours of the day and into the evening while also providing for young children,” Hickman said. Her secret? “I know enough to know what I don’t know.” Surprising Fact: “I participated as a dancer in the 2014 National Kidney Foundation of Arizona Dancing with the Stars.”
Kimball has been with Sunbelt Holdings for more than 30 years and is in the midst of her most monumental project to date, Marina Heights — the largest single-tenant office project in Arizona, She did not reach this point without following her own advice: “Be fearless. Recognize that you will have to deal with difficult people in your career; just don’t let them shake your resolve or your confidence.” Surprising Fact: “I started out as a theater major in college. My first college production was ‘The Women.’”
Thirty years ago, Korth began an achievementladdled career based on teamwork, “maintaining a positive attitude, and living the RISE values – Respect, Integrity, Service and Excellence.” Korth believes CRE is a wonderful industry for women “because a person’s capabilities and quality of work helps propel the professional forward...Become an expert. Keep pursuing the goal...It is the pursuit that is the most fun and inspiring.” Surprising Fact: “I enjoy collecting hand woven carpets from around the world. Each is a work of art.”
With 16 years of experience in commercial real estate, Lipsey has many professional achievements under her belt. Her proudest one is the day in 2008 that she and the Jokake employees purchased the construction company from its founders. Lipsey attributes her success to caring for others: “When people know you care about them, they have more courage to dare and dream big in their lives.” Surprising Fact: “I can throw a perfect spiral with a football.”
President/Founder/COB, Plaza Companies
Arizona State Land Commissioner
Senior Vice President, Sunbelt Holdings
Executive Vice President, Colliers International
CEO, Jokake & Managing Partner, Appian Companies
Inset: Mindy Korth, Rozlyn Lipsey Pictured, left to right: Vanessa Hickman, Heidi Kimball and Sharon Harper
Terry MartinDenning
Principal/COO/Designated Broker, NAI Horizon After 29 years in commercial real estate, Martin-Denning still views each day as an adventure. “Not every person you meet is going to make you money but over time strong relationships, built on trust and respect, have tremendous value.” Surprising Fact: “I love football so much that I coached my son’s Pop Warner team. I would have loved to play myself when I was growing up but that wasn’t an option for girls in the ‘old days.’”
Debra Sydenham
Executive Director, Urban Land Institute, Arizona With 30 years in the industry, Sydenham said she couldn’t have reached success without “dark chocolate, a good belly laugh, and following the Golden Rule.” As “the face of ULI,” Sydenham practices its mission ”to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities”personally and professionally. Surprising Fact: “I have flown in an F-16 aircraft and experienced aileron rolls, aerial loops, pulling 5Gs, and going Mach 1.1 to break the sound barrier.”
Karrin Taylor
Executive Vice President, DMB Associates For the first few years of her career, Taylor doubled as a law school student. Twenty years later, she feels “blessed to work for a company that challenges her. “This can be a very aggressive business and women need to own their competitive side and be strong advocates for their clients,” she said. Surprising Fact: “For nearly a decade, I have served on the United States Air Force Chief of Staff’s Civic Leaders Group. I’ve had the opportunity to travel the world...including an active war zone.”
Beth HarmonVaughan
Cindy Winters
Harmon-Vaughan entered the CRE world more than 30 years ago and earned her proudest professional achievement when she became a principal and managing partner for Gensler. She reached this point through “perseverance and an extremely high demand for quality in everything” she does. Surprising Fact: “I have a collection of nearly 50 pairs of iconic Ray-Bay Wayfarer sunglasses in assorted colors and limited editions.”
With her recent acquisition of Eagle Commercial Realty Services, Winters has reached the top of her 26-year career. “I see very few women in the higher levels of business ownership such as development companies and/or brokerage firms,” she said, adding that mentors and community involvement are gateways to board involvement. Surprising Fact: “I love competing (getting dirty) in mud run competitions.”
Managing Principal, Gensler
President, Eagle Commercial Realty Services
Inset: Terry Martin-Denning Pictured, left to right: Deb Sydenham, Karrin Taylor, Beth Harmon-Vaughan and Cindy Winters
Innovative Solutions RCAlaw.com
Congratulations to the 20 Most Influential Women in Commercial Real Estate Real Estate | Lending | Business | Litigation | Corporate & Securities | Public Finance & Corporate Trust Creditor’s Rights & Bankruptcy | Document Control Group | Government Relations | Publishing | Employee Benefits Estate Planning | Restrictive Covenants and Trade Secrets | Food & Drug Law | Advertising Law | Taxation | Intellectual Property Transportation | Labor & Employment | Mining | Water, Energy, Resources & Environmental Law | Lender Liability Defense
Megan CreecyHerman Senior Director of Leasing & Development, Liberty Property Trust Creecy-Herman, the 2014 Chairman of NAIOPArizona, is the first female in Arizona and one of the youngest in the country to hold this seat. “Regardless of gender...one of the hardest challenges for all young people in our industry is finding time to build a strong professional network,” she said. Creecy-Herman developed such relationships and worked full time while she pursued an accelerated MBA at the University of Arizona. Surprising Fact: “I am huge fan of classic movies from the 1930s to 1950s.”
Jackie Orcutt
Jami Savage-Gray
New to the industry, Orcutt believes her “shining moments are yet to come.” She has already received honors in her seven-year career. In 2013, she was promoted to director at Cushman & Wakefield and recognized as one of the top 10 producing brokers in its Phoenix office. “As one of the only female brokers who has ever achieved this status in our office, it was humbling to stand among the ranks of several inspiring colleagues,” she says. Surprising Fact: “My first job out of college was a risk management consultant for a sorority.”
Savage-Gray has already reached the goal she set for herself when she began working at CBRE two years ago: a spot on the top 20 brokerage professionals list for CBRE’s Phoenix office. “People are more likely to be surprised at my age rather than the fact that I’m a woman,” she says. Surprising Fact: “I am a germaphobe and don’t like to walk barefoot unless I am lounging by the pool.”
Director, Cushman & Wakefield
Vice President of Retail, CBRE
Michelle Schwartz Business Development/ Marketing Manager, RSP Architects Schwartz’s position with RSP allows her to have one foot in the business and creative sides of design. A part of the industry for nine years, Schwartz says a passion for learning is what makes someone a sought-after resource. “Overcoming the initial stereotype of being the only woman in the room can be challenging, but I have found that as soon as you bring value to the conversation there is great respect.” Surprising Fact: “I was manager of the Penn State wrestling team and traveled throughout the Big Ten Conference with the team.”
Anita Verma
Director of Marketing, Vermaland, LLC Verma’s family business saw its beginnings 20 years ago and is now one of the largest landowners in Arizona. As head of the company’s renewable energy department, Verma takes pride in the company’s work with solar development. During Phoenix’s worst housing recession, between 2008 and 2012, Verma’s team managed to generate millions of dollars in revenue from solar development. Surprising Fact: “I met my husband in high school (Xavier Prep).”
Inset: Michelle Schwartz Pictured, left to right: Megan Creecy-Herman, Jami Savage-Gray, Jackie Orcutt and Anita Verma
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39
OFFICE PREVIEW
Hitting the Pavement PARKING SPACES ARE MAKING, BREAKING OFFICE DEVELOPMENT By Amanda Ventura
P
aradise used to be a big corner office with large windows and enough room to putt over lunch. Those days are rapidly disappearing in favor of dense work spaces where each worker is allotted between 175 and 200 SF. Just a few decades ago, workers had between 250 and 500 SF per person. The new, dense office environment is affecting parking ratios as more people are working in the same or smaller spaces. Developers are finding the necessity to paving the paradise past to put up a parking lot. “Parking is driving new development,” says Sunbelt Holdings President John Graham. Sunbelt Holdings is working with Ryan Companies to develop the largest new office development in Arizona, Marina Heights. Large office users, defined as those who use 500KSF or larger, require a parking ratio of 5 to 7 per 1KSF. The Reserve at San Tan, a 455KSF business park under construction in Gilbert, Ariz., will have a parking ratio of 10 per 1,000. Buildings built before 1990 generally have a parking ratio between 3.5 and 4.49 per 1KSF of leasable space. A majority of post-1990 buildings have parking ratios between 4.5 and 5.49 and high-rise in-fill buildings are between a 3 and 4 ratio per 1KSF, reports Cassidy Turley. “This is one of the reasons why older buildings have been more difficult to lease and ties into the functional obsolescence occurring in the metro Phoenix office market,” says Cassidy Turley’s Director of Research Zach Aulick. Alter Group’s Vice President Kurt Rosene notes that higher density has also affected the desire for higher ceilings in an effort to add volume and comfort to a smaller work area per employee. “Many existing buildings just do not have the capability to provide the higher ceiling heights and the increase parking requirements,” he says.
4 0 | July-August 2014
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
A bulk of the 2MSF of new office construction in the Phoenix Metro is taking place in Tempe and Chandler, with the exception of Scottsdale’s SkySong Building III. Lee & Associates’ Principal Andrew Cheney says if Phoenix absorbs at least 2MSF in 2014, the sector will break into the 19 percent vacancy range, which will increase rental rates across the market. It’s currently at 22 percent. In 2013, 1.3MSF of office was absorbed. Greater Phoenix has seen three consecutive quarters with net absorption more than 500KSF. Colliers International reported the strongest absorption among Class-B properties. This could be due to a dwindling supply of Class-A space, down 30 percent. A lack of new Class-A office building development and decrease in large blocks os space in the last few years has put upward pressure on rates, which are approaching $30/RSF, says Newland RE Group’s William Olson. When rental rates reach the mid- to high-30s, Olson believes trophy high-rise product may be developed. “It seems safe to assume developers will not pursue development of high-rise buildings because the pro formas, in the absence of economic development tools such as GPLETS and large-scale pre-leasing, are not quite there to support this caliber of asset.” There can be exceptions if a developer leverages a fast-moving expansion of submarkets like Tempe. As vacancy drops into mid- and high-teens, new construction becomes justifiable for multi-tenant buildings. Build-to-suit single-tenant buildings and campuses such as Marina Heights are exceptions. “I think that Hayden Ferry III and other Class-A, low-rise product will enjoy a very successful ride on this wave,” Olson says. Another exception, Olson says, includes Hines Interests Limited Partnership’s mixed-use development called
Chandler Viridian. “Some interesting and construction cost-effective Class-A, tech-forward, pre-cast, low-mid rise office product with LEED credentials can be executed at moderate rental rates such as [Chandler Viridian] east of Chandler Fashion Square,” Olson says. “This type of product will have great location, amenities, superb ingress/egress, access to a well-educated workforce and lowest vacancy in the Metro Phoenix.” Tenants are placing an emphasis on access to talent, access to transportation, sufficient parking, amenities, functional floor plates, natural light, and collaborative space, says Parkway Properties Vice President and Managing Director Matt Mooney. “It is exciting because more users are viewing their space as a tool to hire and retain the right talent, versus the pure commodity that it seemed to be several years ago,” he says. “In turn, developers are working to design projects that meet those demands, and this is reflected in the types of projects currently underway.” “The types of tenants we have seen choose to be in downtown Tempe, such as Silicon Valley Bank, Amazon and Allstate, are proof of this trend and Ryan Companies/Sunbelt Holdings’ Marina Heights development is a perfect example of a user (State Farm) that in previous cycles would have likely chosen a sprawling, suburban campus location but instead chose to be in mid-high rise infill product that met these types of demands,” Mooney says. Parkway Properties, the owner of Hayden Ferry Lakeside Development in Tempe, Ariz., broke ground on the last of its three low-rise office towers in May. Hayden Ferry III, developed by Ryan Companies and designed by DAVIS, is a 265KSF Class-A, 10-story office tower set for completion in September 2015. Its predecessors were completed in 2002 and 2007 and are 98 percent leased. At the time of Hayden Ferry I, LEED Silver certifications weren’t even on developers’ radars, Ryan Companies’ Vice President of Development Molly Carson says. “Fortunately, the first two Hayden Ferry buildings were ahead of their time in terms of many of the trends that are affecting this cycle,” says Mooney. “The third building has some technical efficiencies that the other two buildings didn’t have, and this will allow us to pursue a LEED Silver designation. Additionally, the building will have 10foot floor-to-ceiling glass, which will be
one of the only such designs in the greater Phoenix market upon delivery. When you couple the design with the phenomenal list of companies that occupy the adjacent buildings, we are confident it will be the premier asset in greater Phoenix.” CBRE reported Class-A vacancy falling from 25.7 percent less than three years ago to 3.7 percent today in Tempe. “This type of supply contraction has translated into significant rent increases, and that in turn has gotten us to a point that justifies new development,” says Mooney. “That being said, even with the increases in rental rate, we still wouldn’t be at a point to build the quality of product that we are were it not for the existing garage, and scale in our adjacent portfolio.” “Having 2 MSF of new office, employing nearly 10,000 employees will be a significant contribution to Tempe’s already robust growth. It no doubt will assist in the ancillary product growth — housing, retail, hospitality, etc. I can’t wait,” Carson says.
Zach Aulick
Molly Ryan Carson
Andrew Cheney
John Graham
Jeff Hartland
Matt Mooney
Bill Olson
Kurt Rosene
OFFICE MATE
Marina Heights’ highly visible location along Tempe Town Lake will bring needed discussion about the demand for office space, says Sunbelt’s Graham. Vacancy stayed flat from the end of 2013, and CBRE reports that Metro Phoenix led the U.S. with a 3.9 percent increase in average asking rents — from $20.74 to $21.41. San Francisco, second in the nation with a 3.3 percent increase, shares the same dwindling supply of large blocks of space. “Users driving the market currently include technology and financial industries,” CBRE reports. “In particular, the Chandler and Tempe submarkets have seen an influx of tech and finance users in the last few quarters resulting in increased leasing and construction activity in the southeast Valley. Buildto-suit activity is particularly high in this area with five major projects under construction, including 150,001 SF for GoDaddy and 96KSF for Amcor Technologies at ASU Research Park; 67KSF for Garmin in Chandler; and two 205KSF buildings for Wells Fargo in the Price Corridor. “We will be seeing new construction and build to suits perform better than smaller plate, column congested older buildings,” adds Cassidy Turley’s Senior Managing Director Jeff Hartland. “Infill itself is exciting, especially along the rail line and in places like Mill Avenue
that offer a broader experience than just another office building.” The southeast Valley and similar submarkets have something Midtown doesn’t, he says. “Mainly better access to employment and a fresher amenity base,” says Hartland. “Some buildings on Central Avenue sometime feels like your dad’s Buick when the younger employee base yearns for a Prius.” 41
INDUSTRIAL PREVIEW
Coldwater Depot
Industrial sector suits up By Amanda Ventura
I
f Q1 reports are any indication, the Phoenix metro’s industrial sector is suiting up for an interesting year. Intel finished construction on its 2.2MSF manufacturing fab in Chandler, Ariz. It sits vacant with hopes for adaptations into a manufacturing facility for chips. The 700KSF Buckeye Business Center is under construction without any tenants. Last year, Turner Spectrum Ridge broke group on eight industrial buildings that totaled 120KSF of space in Deer Valley. And WinCo Warehouse is expected to complete a 800KSF distribution facility in Q2 2014. While there are a handful of tenants looking for large industrial spaces, a majority of market demand lingers between 20KSF and 100KSF. Still, Phoenix ranks No. 3 in the country for year-over-year construction completion increases, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s Q1 2014 report. In Q1 2013, 316KSF of industrial product was completed. In Q1 2014, that number jumped to 2.1MSF. Another 2.7MSF is being developed. Industrial vacancy in Phoenix is at 10.5 percent, still above the national average (7.4 percent), Cushman & Wakefield reports. Vacancy reached a twoyear high, reports Colliers International, and vacancy in buildings larger than 100KSF has spiked to 16 percent, while vacancy in buildings of 200KSF and larger has more than doubled in the past year to 17.6 percent. “But the glass is half full,” says Marc Hertzberg, managing director of
42 | July-August 2014
industrial/supply chain and logistics solutions at JLL. “Phoenix remains a great place for labor, lower operating costs and quality of life. Economic conditions are improving and we expect to bounce back.” “Phoenix typically absorbs somewhere between 3.5MSF and 4.5MSF of industrial space per year,” says Hertzberg. “We’ve been off this mark for about 12 months now, but we are not the only market in this position. Our large-scale industrial sector is a mirror image of a phenomenon taking place in southern California, and particularly the Inland Empire, which usually absorbs as much industrial space in one quarter, approximately 4MSF, as Phoenix does all year. At almost mid-year, that market has only absorbed 3.4MSF.” The sweet spot, he says, are the smalland mid-size users who need between 75KSF and 200KSF. “The small- and mid-size users are typically made up of higher-wage specialized employers like medical and high-tech companies,” Hertzberg says. “They are looking for fully-air conditioned flex industrial space that is close to quality labor, vendors and transportation, and they are willing to pay prices of approximately 10 to 20 percent higher than the big-box users in the areas of west Phoenix to secure those factors.” Build-to-suit construction is what companies need to factor into their projections, says Hertzberg. “In the build-to-suit sector, vertical markets like e-commerce and food and
beverage are providing us with some positive absorption, however this does nothing to fill existing space,” he says. “Rather, it is adding specialized building inventory to our market—product that is built specifically for its user versus the specs of an existing warehouse.” “We are seeing an aggressive level of capital looking to be placed in Phoenix,” says Cassidy Turley’s Industrial Group Vice President Will Strong. Companies are looking toward build-to-suit options over taking existing buildings, he says. “New industrial developments are pushing higher on clear height, bigger on truck courts, and are continuing to find better, more efficient and modern ways to meet the tenants’ changing facility needs,” he says. “We are seeing companies increase employment density for fulfillment centers, which in-turn pushes the parking requirements higher than a traditional warehouse user would have.” Spec is also being leased up. Coldwater Depot in Avondale, Ariz., the Trammel Crow-Clarion project, entered the market with 600KSF in spec development and leased out to Conn Appliances and SanMar Corp. “Capital markets are really looking at Phoenix hard right now because they can’t find anything to buy in other markets that pencils out,” Strong says. “This has pushed investors to look not only at traditional listings but also off-market opportunities. Whether current owners will sell is another question. Some are contemplating offers, but even if they were to sell they’d need to determine where to put their money next, and if that investment has the same kind of upside potential as Phoenix industrial space.”
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International Interior Design Association The IIDA Southwest PRIDE Awards
Aspect Software Regional Headquarters
were presented April 24 at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix.
Commercial Office 10,000- 25,000 SF - Award of Merit Krause Interiors PSCU Command Center & Mojos
On the Boards-Award of Merit SmithGroupJJR Augustana College Froiland Science Center Renovation & Expansion
Commercial Office 10,000- 25,000 SF - Design Excellence & Best of Show & Outstanding Team on a Project SmithGroup JJR Aspect Software Regional Headquarters
On the Boards- Award of Merit Corgan Architecture Firm – Western Region Office
Commercial Office Over 25,000 SF - Award of Merit Ware Malcomb United Rentals Corporate Headquarters Commercial Office Over 25,000 SF- Design Excellence Gensler Fennemore Craig Phoenix Office Creativity on a Budget- Award of Merit Ideation Design Group Flo’s Asian Diner Creativity on a Budget- Award of Merit DFDG Glendale Community College High Tech Bldg I Remodel Educational- Award of Merit Deutsch Architectural Group Glendale Community College T1 Remodel Educational- Design Excellence SmithGroupJJR Paradise Valley Community College Kranitz Student Center Hospitality- Award of Merit FoRM Design Studio, Ltd. Babbo Italian Eatery
STUDENT PROJECTS Student Projects- Award of Merit Justin Horlyk Scottsdale Camelback Resort Timeshare Seville Unit ‘A’ Student Projects- Design Excellence
Alexa Schroeder Zen Tea Shop
4 4 | July-August 2014
On the Boards- Design Excellence SmithGroupJJR University of Arizona Engineering Innovation Building Public Facility- Award of Merit Gensler City of Maricopa City Hall Public Facility- Award of Merit DFDG Town of Paradise Valley Municipal Courthouse Commercial Single Space- Design Excellence Evolution Design Perkins Coie, LLP Lobby Remodel
INDUSTRY AWARDS
Commercial Sustainability- Award of Merit SmithGroupJJR Energy Systems Integration Facility
Partner of the Year Airpark Signs and Graphics
Commercial Sustainability - Design Excellence Deutsch Architectural Group Aridus Winery Facility Repurpose
Industry Appreciation Melissa Almquist Almquist One
Residential Remodel- Award of Merit Lori Carroll & Associates Evanston Residence
Outstanding Service Jill Gibney McCarthy Nordburg
Aridus Winery Facility Repurpose
Lifetime Achievement Michael Kroelinger Professor at ASU School of Design Contractor of the Year Stevens Leinweber Construction
PSCU Command Center & Mojos
Flo’s Asian Diner
Evanston Residence
Glendale Community College T1 Remodel
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IIDA HAUTE FOR CHARITY By Leslie K. Hughes
G
owns designed with recycled sign parts and steel cable; belts constructed of tile and linoleum. This is couture at its most creative. Couture garments made out of commercial construction materials — two worlds you wouldn’t expect to collide in such beautiful ways — paraded down the catwalk at the biennial International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Couture event in March at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. The event is the largest fundraiser for the Southwest chapter of IIDA and attracted more than 500 guests to “ooh” and “ahh” over the collaborative creations realized by the participating teams. Each interior design team was paired with a vendor, given a color forecast and left to its own imagination to construct an outfit. This year’s color forecast was based on that of Sherwin Williams Paint’s 2014 color categories, which were inspired, as the paint company described it, by “the world around us.” Many design firms spent months putting together works of wearable art, and the effort was clearly seen in the finished products. The personal favorite of Board Member Jill Gibney was a flowing cream hi-lo dress by Creative Interiors, Inc. that won Best Haute Couture. “You would never have known it was done out of commercial carpet products – I could imagine it being on display in a high-end wedding dress boutique,” said Gibney. Yuki Nakai, chair of this year’s event, found herself in awe of creativity of the designers as well. “There’s always a wow factor when I see a material utilized in a unique way,” she said. Nakai participated in the event as a design team member in 2012 and saw first-hand how the event “fosters an opportunity to let the local designers’ creativity shine and an opportunity for the vendors to highlight its products.” IIDA Southwest has expanded its efforts to benefit people outside
46 | July-August 2014
LELAND GEBHARDT PHOTOGRAPHY
of the interior design and vendor industries. The majority of the funds raised by the Couture 2014 event will go to IIDA Southwest’s new philanthropic event, Connect4. Every other year, opposite the couture event, the chapter’s City Centers (Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vegas and Albuquerque) redesigns a local nonprofit organization’s space. Last year, for the Phoenix chapter’s first Connect4, IIDA renovated community areas in the U.S. VETS Grand Veterans Village, a facility that provides affordable apartments to local homeless and at-risk veterans. With the conclusion of the 2014 Couture event, IIDA Southwest will begin narrowing down candidates for its 2015 Connect4 recipient. The introduction of Connect4 into the picture came after IIDA Southwest decided to host the couture event biennially. Designers and board members found themselves wrapping up an event just in time to start the next one and the lack of recovery time became too much. Additionally, board members found that the community anticipation of a biennial event is much greater and allows people time to really get fired up about couture. An event that sends models down a runway wearing the seat of a Bertoia chair as an elegant hat is sure to draw a crowd.
47
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2014
Arizona
Commercial Real Estate Women Championing the advancement and success of women in the commercial real estate industry
PUBLISHED BY
AzCREW
Arizona CREW Network Members Rise to C-Level
W By Amanda Ventura
hether someone is looking up, through or down at the glass ceiling, research suggests a the oft-discussed gap between men and women in commercial real estate is in fact dwindling. If the current velocity is any indication, there are still a few decades before the C-level roles find an equilibrium. In the meantime, organizations such as CREW Network ensure female industry professionals remain empowered, connected and at the forefront of industry research. CREW Network has two chapters in Arizona. AZCREW, formed in 1985, predating CREW Network’s formal establishment, is the Greater Phoenix chapter. In
50 | July-August 2014
51
AZCREW 2002, Tucson CREW was formed for professionals in southern Arizona. “When I look around our organization I see women who hold positions at the top of every commercial real estate category, which was something I didn’t see 20 years ago when I entered the business,” says Karen Halpert, senior vice president of single tenant property management for Karen Halpert American Realty
Capital Properties, Inc. and immediate past-president of AZCREW. “Women such as Mindy Korth with Colliers International, Vicki Williams with Alliance Bank of Arizona and business owners such as Patty Hartley with Mode Real Estate and Liz Paquette with Sonoran Property Maintenance provide role models and examples to younger women of what can be achieved. Women have made huge strides toward positions of leadership and are now creating their own companies at twice the rate of men.” In a 2010 benchmark study conducted by the Cornell University Program in Real Estate and sponsored by CREW Network, surveyed commercial real
estate organizations reported a 7-percent increase in female employees from five years previously. Women, according to the survey, now comprise 43 percent of commercial real estate professionals in the U.S. The percentage of women specializing in asset management and brokerage increased since 2005, while women in financial and development services declined. Eleven percent of women surveyed in 2010 had an income between $100,000 and $250,000. This is a 3-percent increase from 2005. The survey findings also found a closing compensation gap. Women in commercial real estate earned 82.8 percent of the median weekly wage of men in 2009. A
CREW NETWORK’s MEMBERSHIP BY SPECIALTY 17.56% Law 11.96% Brokerage Sales 7.16% Property/ Facility Management 6.99% Finance 5.84% Construction 4.68% Title/Escrow 4.61% Marketing/Business Development 4.44% Architecture 4.23% Real Estate Development The CREW Network, founded in 1989, has more than 9,000 members in more than 70 markets in the U.S. To be a member, someone has to work in commercial real estate and care about sdvancing the achievements of women in the industry. Members come with all sorts of specialty. While each chapter has its own dynamic, here is the breakdown of all CREW Network members.
3.96% Accounting 3.78% Interior Design/Space Planning 3.58% Commercial Lending 3.54% Consulting 3.22% Asset Management 3.15% Engineering 2.54% Corporate Real Estate 2.39% Appraisal 1.99% Economic Development/Public Sector 1.36% Environmental Planning 1.13% Investment Management 1.03% Acquisitions/Dispositions 0.84% Other* * Relocation Services, Quasi-Govt Transportation, Journalism, Public Relations, Personnel/HR, Market Research, Education, Administration Information retrieved from crewnetwork.org
52 | July-August 2014
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AZCREW decade earlier, women made 76.1 percent of men’s salaries. Some of the difference, the survey suggests, may be attributed to more men engaging in commission-based compensation than women. Multiple sources also cite Halpert as a key member of AZCREW’s recent success. “Karen Halpert should be recognized for her hard work and efforts in making our board meetings extremely professional and for enacting a multitude of changes and efficiencies Christine Veldhuizen that will carry forward in making AZCREW an outstanding organization for years to come,” says Cassidy Turley CPA and AZCREW Finance Chair Christine Veldhuizen. “Karen is a fabulous role model to all women.” Vicki Williams, the 2014 AZCREW president and senior vice president of Alliance Bank of Arizona, also cites Halpert in recharging AZCREW’s industry role and bringing the organization back to black after the Great Recession. “All local real estate organizations were negatively impacted by the recession, and AZCREW was no exception — a painful lesson highlighting the need for strong financial controls,” Williams says. “We are happy to report that we are in sound fiscal shape and continue to pay attention to our budget, due in no small part to the services of our talented treasurer. The second biggest achievement is that we now hold an annual business meeting each August to promote transparency. We share with our members how the organization is managed, what the leadership opportunities are, what our budget looks like, and where their membership dollars go. I want to thank our immediate past president, Karen Halpert, for putting that meeting in place.”
7% 54 | July-August 2014
Real estate organizations reported a 7-percent increase in female employees from five years previously
AZCREW has 120 members with a number of new applications pending. Williams expects membership to reach 150 in 2015. CREW Network has Vicki Williams more than 9,000 members, mostly women, who work in a qualified field of commercial real estate for more than two years. Nearly half of CREW Network members have worked in commercial real estate for more than 16 years and 76 percent of members are presidents, CEOs, partners or senior managers of their companies. The leading speciality among CREW members are law and brokerage. “I appreciate the fact that AZCREW has standards for its members, both in terms of level and number of years of experience in commercial real estate,” says Veldhuizen. “AZCREW does a nice job of limiting vendor members to 10 percent, so the interactions between members are meaningful and connective.” AZCREW’s board in particular ranges from seven to 33 years of experience with an average of 18 years in the industry. “My most recent career milestone is that our team was awarded a project that came from a lead I brought in,” says Weitz’s Senior Pre-Development and Marketing Manager Samantha Pinkal. “As someone new to business development, it was one of my long-term BHAGs — big, hairy, audacious goals — to take Samantha Pinkal a generated lead to a negotiated contract. The fact that it only took eight months from my first day in my new role to the first project award worth over $1 million is something I’m a
43%
Women now comprise 43 percent of commercial real estate professionals in the U.S
little proud of.” Tucson CREW also saw its share of member spotlight, says Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR Principal Barbi Reuter. “Last year was a stellar year for our members,” says Reuter. “We had a member sworn in as a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge (Brenda Whinery), a CREW Network national mentoring participant (Eileen Lewis), a member voted ‘Lawyer of the Year’ by her peers for Tucson Real Estate Law (Linda McNulty), a National award winner for advancing other women’s careers (Lesli Pintor), two members named Women of Influence by Inside Tucson Business (Janice Cervelli and Roxanne Veliz), and a member involved in the state’s largest real estate development project in history (Linda McNulty).” Tucson CREW’s biggest achievements, Barbi Reuter Reuter adds, are driving member-to-member business and earning recognition as a leading source of talent and knowledge instead of a “leading women’s organization.” Her company is currently listing Tucson’s largest available industrial building, thanks to a referral from a board colleague with Tucson CREW, she says. Reuter, who was also a participant in CREW Network’s inaugural C-suite mentoring program, is now a mentor for a student at University of Arizona Eller College. “Given the experience requirements for membership, CREW members represent some of the most knowledgeable CRE professionals in the business,” she says. “Leaders are not born,” Halpert says, “but are made as skills are developed through experiences. Harnessing intellect, experience and through collaboration of the members, AZCREW aims to provide a forum where women can discuss the common elements of their success and provide exposure to women who have achieved uncommon success.”
11%
Women in commercial real estate surveyed in 2010 had an income between $100,000 and $250,000. This is a 3-percent increase from 2005
AZCREW THE NEW CREW
provides scholarships at a national level. Clearly there are challenges in attracting a younger membership to get involved and also to help them advance their careers in real estate. We continue to strive to close the gender gap by leveraging the talented and successful women leadership in our own ranks.
By Amanda Ventura
V
icki Williams is the senior vice president of commercial real estate at Alliance Bank of Arizona, where she has worked since 2004. She is the 2014 president of AZCREW, the Phoenix chapter of CREW Network, and former chair of AZCREW’s programs committee. Williams has been the vice president on the board of trustees for Childsplay, Inc., a professional theater company that produces plays for young audiences. WHAT KIND OF MOVEMENT TOWARD LEADERSHIP ROLES ARE YOU SEEING AMONG THE PHOENIX CHAPTER’S MEMBERS? HOW DOES THIS COMPARE TO THE INDUSTRY WHEN AZCREW WAS FOUNDED 30 YEARS AGO? Having been a part of AZCREW in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I am honored to have witnessed firsthand the evolution of both the local commercial real estate industry and also AZCREW’s evolution into a highly professional and more mature organization. In the early years, our membership was dominated by women in the fields of title and lending. Today, AZCREW is a well-known and respected part of the metro Phoenix real estate scene. We now have many more members involved in brokerage, law, architecture, asset management, construction and development. Moreover, a good number of these women are in senior leadership positions, including some who have founded and currently own businesses. That was certainly not common 20 years ago. The quality of both our programs and networking events is phenomenal. Attracted by our high caliber speakers and timely topics that include development case studies, industry updates, financial market panels, and other topics impacting commercial real estate in the Valley, nonmembers and guests are coming to our luncheons in larger numbers than ever before. When we ask respected members of our local real estate community to speak, we receive enthusiastic responses. They know who we are and support our mission. 56 | July-August 2014
Our monthly special events are also in high demand as they include mixers at popular venues, brown bag networking lunches and an annual golf tournament where a portion of the proceeds benefit a local charity.
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING PEOPLE NEED TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT AZCREW? What people need to know most is that AZCREW is part of a national and dynamic organization with more than 75 chapters and 9,000 members in the U.S. and Canada, whose resources and influence have a significant impact locally and nationally. For example, CREW Network’s annual national convention held each fall features five-star national speakers presenting important market trends and is a great platform for building relationships and sharing ideas with women from other metropolitan areas. Open to all CREW Network members, this convention is truly an inspiring experience even for those whose business is primarily local. Last year, there were close to 1,000 in attendance. Simply promoting the benefits of our parent network to both our members and prospective members is an opportunity to increase engagement.
HOW DOES AZCREW MAKE AN EFFORT TO AFFECT GENDER INEQUALITY AMONG LEADERSHIP IN THE CRE INDUSTRY? We champion the advancement and success of women in commercial real estate industry through four key areas: leadership, professional relationships, education and excellence. CREW Network, our parent organization, funds research into women’s representation in the commercial real estate industry nationally, including representation in leadership and managerial positions. Paid for in part through our local dues, CREW Network produces highly respected white papers that are now being referenced by other commercial real estate industry groups who are also seeking more participation by women in their own organizations. AZCREW and CREW Network also raise funds to provide scholarships for young women looking for careers in commercial real estate. Specifically, we have an annual signature Black & White event in November to raise funds for local scholarships and for CREW Foundation, which is our parent’s arm that
WHAT WAS A MEMORABLE MENTORING EXPERIENCE? I didn’t have a mentor in the field of commercial real estate, per se, but did have a formal mentor when I got my first banking job in Arizona, fresh from NYC. My mentor was president of the bank, who provided a great example by being professional, thoughtful and respectful in his dealings with everyone equally. I was fortunate to never have felt I was being treated differently or underestimated because of my gender at a time when there were certainly other male managers with less progressive attitudes toward women in business, much less real estate. He was very patient and encouraged me to ask questions and, so long as I had done my research, to make recommendations despite my lack of experience. I felt I could ask him the “dumb” questions as to why things worked a certain way. The best thing I learned was that big, critical decisions should not be made in a rush, no matter what pressure you may feel. Looking back, I wish I had followed that advice a little more often.
I find it gratifying that we are able to have more female speakers, which is indicative of women’s increased leadership within the industry. Incidentally, other industry groups are also including women on their panels, which is great to see.
TUCSON CREW
THE KEY TO THE CORNER OFFICE
with Tucson Crew President Jeannie Nguyen By Amanda Ventura
J
eannie Nguyen is a vice president and relationship manager with National Bank of Arizona’s real estate banking group in Tucson, Ariz. She specializes in investor and developer commercial real estate relationships exceeding $5M. Jeannie is the 2014 president of Tucson CREW. She is also involved with National Bank’s Women’s Financial Group and Angel Charity for Children, Inc. ONE OF AZCREW’S MAIN OBJECTIVES IS TO CHAMPION SUCCESS OF WOMEN IN COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE THROUGH LEADERSHIP, RELATIONSHIPS, EDUCATION AND EXCELLENCE. WHAT KIND OF MOVEMENT TOWARD LEADERSHIP ROLES ARE YOU SEEING AMONG THE TUCSON CHAPTER’S MEMBERS? HOW DOES THIS COMPARE TO THE INDUSTRY FIVE, 10 OR EVEN 20 YEARS AGO? Tucson CREW is dedicated to the advancement of women in commercial real estate and we are certainly seeing evidence of such. We have members in senior positions such as senior/managing partner, principal, senior vice president and CEO. Growth is happening. Twenty years ago, one would have walked into a board room and probably witnessed 25 percent, or less, representation by women. That gap is closing but does still exist at some levels of senor leadership. Tucson CREW, in unison with CREW Network chapters nationwide, have put forth focus to assist women in empowering themselves to attain greater levels of leadership and personal and professional confidence. At the chapter level, we provide opportunities to assist individuals with this through multi-faceted opportunities
58 | July-August 2014
including involvement in chapter leadership roles, structured luncheons offering programs designed to increase marketplace and subject matter knowledge, ability to build networks and foster relationships. Participation in CREW, and CREW-related activities affords an additional level of individual and company visibility as well. HOW DOES TUCSON CREW MAKE AN EFFORT TO AFFECT GENDER INEQUALITY AMONG LEADERSHIP IN THE CRE INDUSTRY? ARE THERE ANY OTHER OBSTACLES OR CHALLENGES TUCSON CREW IS WORKING TO OVERCOME? At the national level, CREW Network performed a benchmark study which addressed gender inequality among leadership in CRE. Based on the research, between 2005 and 2010, women at the SVP/VP/managing director/partner level increased from 20 percent to 24 percent. In 2010, male counterparts were noted at 27 percent, versus 25 percent in 2005. However, the greatest inequality remains at the C-suite level (president, CEO, CFO, COO). Of women surveyed in the 2010 benchmark study, only 9 percent of women respondents held C-suite positions compared to 22 percent of their male counterparts. In answering one question of how to increase women leadership at the highest level, CREW Network has deployed a mentoring program known as “Bridging the C-Suite Gap.” This executive mentoring program allows mentees to work with mentors to create executive development and action plans to achieve development and career goals. The ultimate goal will be to see more women attain the top tier of leadership. In Tucson CREW, we have one member as a current participant in the national-level program and a second member who is a recent graduate.
Locally, Tucson CREW is working to make an impact not only with its members but also the next generation of young professionals. While our chapter has had a long history of reaching out to both high school and college students, through an annual event intended to introduce them to areas of commercial real estate, we recently elevated this approach to the next level. Through our partnership with University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management and College of Architecture, Tucson CREW members have dedicated additional time and energy to become increasingly involved with students through panel participation and networking events. This year, Tucson CREW began its first formal mentoring program. Seven Tucson CREW mentors are mentoring six students for a one-year period. Through these different touch-points, it is our chapter’s goal to not only cultivate professional and leadership development but also to expose students to the many career possibilities within commercial real estate. WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING PEOPLE NEED TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT TUCSON CREW? We are a vast resource of knowledge and talent. Further, our chapter is one small part of a larger 9,000-member base that encourages networking, deal making and cultivating of ideas and resources.
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AZCREW
AZCREW MEMBER
SPOTLIGHTS Vicki Etherton
President,Landmark Title Assurance Agency Years in commercial real estate: 25+ Years as an AZCREW member: 9 AZCREW holds mentorship and professional relationships among its highest values. During your career, what is a particularly memorable mentoring experience or advice you received? Early in my career I worked with a woman 15 years my senior and she became a mentor that I have continued to work with throughout the years. She treated me as an equal and often partnered with me on deals. She wisely advised me, “All things being equal, people like doing business with people they like and trust.” I find her words to be true to this day. How do you feel AZCREW membership has aided your professional success? I joined AZCREW years ago, because it was one of the only industry organizations that focuses on developing women in the industry and providing an opportunity for us to connect. As a member, I have learned a great deal from the speakers and enjoyed access to industry leaders in a small venue. People I have met through AZCREW have become clients and friends. Since this is an organization that focuses on the advancement of women in commercial real estate, I’d like to know if you feel gender factors into the way you view professional achievements. How has being a woman been an advantage or disadvantage? Has this changed over the course of your career? Where is there still room for gender equality to grow in the industry? The title industry has historically been more female dominated and female friendly, even on the commercial side. Individuals are rewarded for skill and talent, so gender does not come into play when it comes to professional achievement. On the other side, the clients are definitely male dominated. On both sides, I am seeing a change with more men working in the title industry and bright young women entering commercial brokerage firms. There is definitely still room for growth in gender equality in both areas of the industry. What noteworthy achievements or career milestones have you completed that I may be able to highlight in the story? When I started in the industry as a part-time runner, I never imagined I would end up building a career and helping expand our commercial title business in the Phoenix market. My most notable achievement was this past year when I was named president of Landmark Title Assurance Agency. 60 | July-August 2014
Shirley Hawley
Regional Manager, Single Tenant Office and Industrial Property Management, American Realty Capital Properties Years in commercial real estate: 17 Years as an AZCREW member: 8, currently Sponsorship Chair and on the Board of Directors AZCREW holds mentorship and professional relationships among its highest values. During your career, what is a particularly memorable mentoring experience or advice you received? When I began working for RREEF as the property manager for Anchor Centre, one of my new duties included leasing. I was completely out of my comfort zone, but I was very fortunate to have John Amory Jr. with CBRE, who had the listing for this property at the time, take me under his tutelage. Amory told me, “Shirley, when I get done showing you the ropes you’ll be a leasing machine.” I have never forgotten the time spent, support and encouragement he graciously shared with me and from that moment decided I would pay it forward by mentoring other newcomers in the commercial real estate field. One of my mentees, Michelle Ramirez, began her property management career at RREEF as an administrative assistant in San Francisco, Calif., and later transferred to the RREEF property management team in Phoenix. Michelle has since obtained her real estate license, worked as an on-site property manager and currently works alongside me in our office and industrial property management team as a regional manager at for American Realty Capital Properties. How do you feel AZCREW membership has aided your professional success? I am a firm believer in relationship building on a face-to-face basis that promotes a longer lasting business partnership, which often evolves into a strong personal friendship. A good example of this is the monthly AZCREW luncheon’s five minutes of networking prior to the formal presentation. Within those five minutes, you are able to share and connect not only who you are but who is sitting around you. Texting and emails have their place in networking but a face to face exchange leaves a more lasting impression. One of my more memorable five minute connections I have made at an AZCREW luncheon was with Valerie Marciano, Esq., which led to a social gathering which then evolved into a working relationship both professionally and in AZCREW. We have worked together for the last four years on the sponsorship committee and I know going forward that I have a lifelong friend and colleague. Since this is an organization that focuses on the advancement of women in commercial real estate, I’d like to know if you feel gender factors into the way you view professional achievements. How has being a woman been an advantage or disadvantage? Has this changed over the course of your career? Where is there still room for gender equality to grow in the industry? Traditionally, commercial real estate (CRE) has been a male dominated field which I believe is now evolving into a more equal platform. Being a woman in any field has its advantages and disadvantages. In CRE, as a woman you had to work a little harder and a little longer but success no matter the gender will always achieve recognition and the rewards that come with it. Women in CRE in Arizona have seen a remarkable growth greatly attributed to affiliations such as AZCREW whose foundation is to promote women’s achievements. Gender equality in the brokerage arena is still in the infancy stage but through mentoring of the young women coming out of the universities, this too will change and grow.
THE WOMEN LEADERS OF CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD OF ARIZONA The female leaders of Cushman & Wakefield of Arizona are a driving force both in the office and throughout the Valley’s commercial real estate industry. They are leaders in brokerage, property management, appraisal, and marketing, maintaining a passion for their service lines while also contributing to the industry. The leading women of Cushman & Wakefield are a diverse group intensely focused on providing their clients with best-in-class service and advancing Cushman & Wakefield’s position in the marketplace. (Back row, l to r: Kathleen Holmes, Valuation & Advisory; Keri Scott, Industrial Brokerage; Chelsea Maddox, Healthcare Practice Group; Jo Dance, Valuation & Advisory. Front row, l to r: Patti Farina, Corporate & Investors Services; Vanessa Winkel, Marketing & Communications; Jackie Orcutt, Industrial Brokerage; Courtney Auther Van Loo, Retail Brokerage; Summer Jackson, Retail Brokerage.) 2555 East Camelback Road, Suite 300 | Phoenix, Arizona 85016 | (602) 253 7900 | www.cushmanwakefield.com
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What are your proudest career milestones? During my tenure at RREEF, my team was awarded the first place national award for overall tenant satisfaction and “most likely to renew” in the million-plus-square-foot category. In 2010, I was tasked to open the Phoenix Voit Real Estate office which involved overseeing all property management, operations and leasing. Currently, at American Realty Capital Properties (ARCP), as a regional manager I successfully transitioned a portfolio of more than 50 acquired properties over the course of 18 months with a portfolio total of 11MSF and locations in 24 different states. Along with my CRE career my husband, Bill Blair, I opened Digital Video Networks, LLC (DVN), an audio visual integration company in Scottsdale, Ariz. DVN was acknowledged by Inc. Magazine (Inc. 500) in 2012 and 2013 as one of the fastest growing companies in the United States and Arizona. AZCREW is an avenue that has opened up my networking and years of relationship building to combine both my CRE career and my DVN business ownership. DVN has become a sponsor for AZCREW and proudly supports this organization as a leader in the promotion and advancement of professional women in all business industries.
Mindy Korth
Executive Vice President, Colliers International Years in commercial real estate: 29 Years as an AZCREW member: 25 AZCREW holds mentorship and professional relationships among its highest values. During your career, what is a particularly memorable mentoring experience or advice you received? Looking back, I could have started using mentors sooner in my career than I did. I am grateful for my mentors and will continue to be mentored through the rest of my life. The best mentoring advice I have received is to get a mentor, pick the mentor wisely, rely on the mentor and use him or her regularly. How do you feel AZCREW membership has aided your professional success? I couldn’t imagine not being a member of AZCREW. I have established some great relationships with various women real estate executives as a result of my AZCREW involvement. We collaborate, share ideas and, of course, conduct business together. Since this is an organization that focuses on the advancement of women in commercial real estate, I’d like to know if you feel gender factors into the way you view professional achievements. How has being a woman been an advantage or disadvantage? Has this changed over the course of your career? Where is there still room for gender equality to grow in the industry? Professional achievements are a result of proven results regardless of gender. CRE is a great industry for women. Women adapt well in a dynamic environment and they are excellent negotiators and consensus builders. I have seen a difference during the 29 years that I have been in this industry. There are many more women in higher level positions today. What are your proudest career milestones? Two career milestones come to mind: representing more than $2.6B in sales transactions and moving to Colliers International. 62 | July-August 2014
Samantha Pinkal
Senior Pre-development and Marketing Manager, The Weitz Company Years in commercial real estate: 6 Years as an AZCREW member: 1
AZCREW holds mentorship and professional relationships among its highest values. During your career, what is a particularly memorable mentoring experience or advice you received? I’ve been blessed with a few mentors along the way with a lot of helpful advice but I think the piece that has made the greatest impact is to “ask questions.” My first project manager shared that wisdom with me, a fresh college grad at the time. At first, it was simply a tool help me learn what I didn’t know about construction, which ended up being a lot more that I thought it would be. As I move forward in my career I use the same advice, “ask questions,” in a more thoughtful way: to create change and improve processes or circumstances or whatever is at hand. Those have been my favorite words of wisdom to pass along to others. How do you feel AZCREW membership has aided your professional success? Last fall I made a career change from the project management side of construction to pre-construction and business development, and part of that role was to become involved in industry organizations. AZCREW was recommended by a coworker and it absolutely has become the launching point for me. I’ve joined committees where I’ve been able to give my input on topics that I think are interesting and a little unique, some of which allow me to showcase Weitz and our clients in presentation and in property visits. I’ve met so many dynamic women who really emulate the AZCREW mission. They’ve been nothing short of champions for me, introducing me to decision-makers and influential people, providing me with projects leads, being role models for the type of businesswoman I want to be, and becoming great friends and a support system. How has being a woman affected the way you view your career and achievements? Where is there still room for gender equality to grow in the industry? In the past I’ve viewed gender as a qualifier to my career and success. I was “a woman” in the construction industry rather than just in the construction industry. In that way I try to be mindful of how I categorize success but still recognize great achievements in the movement toward gender equality. Anytime someone is different than the typical image or stereotype we picture for a particular role, he or she has an inherent advantage should they choose to see it that way. Through school and into my career, I’ve consistently been one of very few women in the room and I am asked often “Why are you in construction?” Over the years, I’ve learned to embrace the curiosity or the doubt. Telling my story allows me more opportunity to create an impact, not only for me but for others following similar paths. In my personal experience, the disadvantages of being a woman in construction and commercial real estate have been very limited and I credit that to the caliber of people I work with and for. I think there is room to grow at all levels of the commercial real estate industry. If you simply look at the numbers of men versus women, regardless of level of employment, there is an obvious gap. It will take time and a good amount of effort to fill that gap but I think that the industry is headed in the right direction, especially with the mentoring and outreach that so many organizations are offering.
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Vicki Williams SVP, Commercial Real Estate
Firm:
Arizona State University Foundation, Plaza Companies and Holualoa Companies
Build:
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Loan:
$17.8 million construction loan
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CELEBRATING | 40 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE
2014
IMCOR
The Pipeline to Presidency By Amanda Ventura PHOTO BY MIKE MERTES, AZ BIG MEDIA
Executive Q-and-A with IMCOR President Bill Mason
B
ill Mason worked as a mechanic and rigger at a Phoenix-area boat shop through high school and while attending Mesa and Maricopa community colleges, where he completed an AA degree in refrigeration and air conditioning. Afterwards, he worked for a small sheet metal shop for a year. In 1978, he was hired by IMCOR, then known as Karber Air Conditioning. He worked as a mechanic and delivery/yard guy for a short period and entered into a four-year apprentice program. During this time, he drove a service truck and performed everything from air-conditioning service calls to sheet metal work, piping, welding, shop sheet metal fabrication, start-up and warranty work. As time went on, he became the piping superintendent with three employees to manage. When the division grew to more than 140 pipe fitters and plumbers in the late 1980’s, Mason took on a management role for multi-million dollar projects. He was then promoted to vice president of facilities services and for approximately eight years was involved directly with customers on multiple project types. Mason was named president of IMCOR in 2003, with 25 years of experience.
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How long have you worked at IMCOR? What IS your proudest achievement since joining IMCOR? Thirty-six years. I am proud of several achievements, such as managing the first high-rise building (Phoenix City Hall building) for IMCOR as the project manager and in general working my way up from a service technician to the president. How did the company navigate the recent recession? IMCOR broadened its customer base by increasing its service group, adding plumbing-specific service, opening a manufacturing group, and IMCOR actually had some construction projects that were perhaps better than expected during the downturn. What is one of the most memorable IMCOR projects for you? The Phoenix Convention Center, phases 1 and 2, that we completed with HuntRussell-Alvarado, a tri-venture, was a very large project stretching over five years (2004 to 2009) that required the installation of several hundred feet of 36-inch condenser water piping that
was suspended approximately 100 feet above the floor that connected the Northwind (now NRG ) cooling towers to the Northwind ice storage plant located below 3rd Street adjacent to the convention center’s lower level. IMCOR is celebrating its 40th anniversary. How has the company evolved in the last decade? Over the last 10 years, IMCOR has grown to nearly a complete city block, increased its BIM department to eight stations, added a computerized automated pipe cutting machine, several automated welding positioners, a 50-feet-by-120-feet metal manufacturing building with a three-ton and six-ton overhead fully mobile cranes, a coil feeder system for the sheet metal plasma cutting table, and has become a high purity piping contractor. IMCOR has also updated its project management and accounting computer programs. What’s in store For IMCOR in the near future? Looking forward, IMCOR is faced with the same tough competition as others and plans to maintain a tight overhead and continue to think outside the box to remain competitive in a tough marketplace.
BUILDING SOLID RELATIONSHIPS Making buildings more energy efficient, comfortable, safe and productive Johnson Controls understands buildings better than anyone else. Our experience spans more than 125 years and tens of thousands of buildings. The owners and managers of commercial, institutional and government buildings worldwide turn to us to maximize comfort, productivity, safety and energy efficiency. We engineer, manufacture and install control systems that automate a building’s heating, ventilating and air conditioning, as well as its lighting, security and fire safety equipment. We also manufacture YORK® industrial/commercial HVAC products including chillers and central air handling equipment. And we strive to deliver the “ultimate service experience” for all of our systems and equipment.
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IMCOR
THE AWNING OF AN ERA By Amanda Ventura
I
n 1973, beneath a metal awning in a Phoenix backyard, a 31-year-old sheet metal worker with less than a decade of experience established what would become a multi-million-dollar company. Merle “Rick” Karber Jr. was working for HAPCO A/C at the Metro Center complex when he decided to try and make a living on his own as a sheet metal worker. Prior to that, his contracting experience began as an apprentice journeyman and foreman for several air-conditioning companies in the Phoenix area. Nine months after founding Karber Sheet Metal, he moved from beneath the awning and into his brother’s backyard shed. Shortly thereafter, Karber's brother, Michael, quit his job with Stiles and Allen A/C to join him. The company then changed its name to Karber Air Conditioning Company. In 1978, the brothers began to see some success and their father, Merle Karber Sr., who was a sheet metal worker in the construction industry from the time he got out of the Army in 1944 until he retired in 1982, quit his job with Goettl A/C and came to work with his sons at Karber A/C that same year. “I think our father could see that even though we were making progress in our business he had vast knowledge that he could share with his sons,” Karber says. As it happens, he worked as a sheet metal worker on the Sky Harbor Control Tower in the early ‘40s — nearly 60 years before IMCOR won a bid to complete HVAC and plumbing work on the new air traffic control tower in 2004.
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PHOTO BY MIKE MERTES, AZ BIG MEDIA
Karber says IMCOR has always derived positivity by providing a good workplace for employees. As business grew so did its need for space. “We quickly ran out of room in Michael's shed,” Karber says. “A good friend, Joe Banks, offered us a place to work in the corner of his shop, Banks Welding, on east Washington Street. We eventually bought the vacant lot next door to Joe’s shop and built a sheet metal building. We presently own and occupy the city block in that location.” Karber’s first commercial project was to install sheet metal flashings on a row of buildings on east Van Buren Street for $1,200. One of the company’s recent, larger projects was to install the air-conditioning, sheet metal and plumbing for the Civic Plaza complex in downtown Phoenix — a contract for more than $50M. The journey wasn’t as direct. The company would see one more merger before it became IMCOR as its known today. The Karber brothers started Interstate A/C while still operating Karber A/C.
“Karber was a union contractor and became unable to compete on the public works jobs that were its main market due to the Arizona Supreme Court ruling that repealed Arizona's version of the DavisBacon Act,” he says. IMCOR had a plumbing subcontractor that was unable to perform on a certain project, so Karber decided to form its own plumbing company, Allied Plumbing, to do this project. “After that, we used this entity on several other projects until we got the bugs out and then we merged Allied Plumbing with Interstate A/C to form IMCOR,” he says. Though the company has a lot of history in its 40 years, Rick’s fondest memory is forming a nationally accredited, four-year apprenticeship training program in the name of his late brother, Michael, who passed away in 1990. The program, established in 1993, has graduated many journeyman tradesmen since its inception and has contributed greatly to the industry, Karber says.
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IMCOR's NOTABLE PROJECTS
IMCOR has worked on some of the most prestigious and iconic developments in Phoenix; The Orpheum Theatre, Phoenix City Hall, ASU Sun Devil Stadium, Sky Harbor International Airport and the Phoenix Convention Center are just a handful of highlights on a long list of the company’s legacy. It has worked on data centers, hospitals, libraries, power stations and casinos. Since its formation in 1974, the company has also seen its space grow from a garage in downtown Phoenix to a full city block with its own manufacturing plant. There are many of marks of IMCOR's success all over the Valley, but here are its top 10.
1. Deer Valley Municipal Airport Air Traffic Control Tower and Base Building Owner: Federal Aviation Administration General contractor: Kiewit Western Co. Award amount: $1,145,555 Project start and completion dates: July 29, 2005, to Jan. 2, 2007 IMCOR provided HVAC and plumbing construction services for this project, which consisted of three buildings – the air traffic control tower (measuring 144 feet to the top of cab), a 5KSF base building and an emergency generator building. The HVAC in the base building is a variable air volume (VAV) system and the tower has a constant volume system. The emergency generator building is not cooled. Two air-cooled chillers and two chilled water pumps feed three air handlers in the base building and five air handlers in the tower, for a total of 90 tons. There is a 500-gallon above-grade fuel oil storage tank with stairs and a monitoring system. The plumbing is typical sanitary waste and vent; domestic water and storm drain systems design. Two central vacuum systems in the base building and tower are also included in the plumbing scope of work. Seismic bracing was required on this project.
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2. Dodge Theatre (now Comerica Theatre) General contractor: Target Project start date: 2000 IMCOR installed a hydronic system for the theater. It was supplied by NRG Energy Plant, which serves multiple downtown buildings with its chilled water cooling. Two plate and frame heat exchangers along with two chilled water pumps provide chilled and heated water to the multiple air handling units (AHUs) throughout the building. There is a single hot water boiler that provides the heating for the building in conjunction with the air handling units. The hybrid piping system consisted of welded and mechanically coupled components. The duct work off of the AHUs consisted of large rectangular and round galvanized duct work. As in most theaters, air noise is a great concern. Special care was taken to assure proper air flow without creating excessive turbulence, serving the multiple levels of the theater. Much of the duct work is suspended high above the theater floor elevation. Safety was a primary concern when installing the duct work at the high elevations. This project was a design-bid-build project and was completed on time and within budget.
3. Fountainhead Office Plaza Developer: USAA Real Estate Company/Metro Commercial Properties Contractor: Sundt Construction Architect: DAVIS Size: 493,661 SF Location: 1624 Fountainhead Parkway, Tempe, Ariz. Completed: July 2011 Fountainhead Office Plaza is a high-end, high-rise office complex consisting of one 10-story building, one six-story building and
one five-level parking garage in Tempe, Ariz. The HVAC system utilizes a built up chilled water central plant, consisting of water cooled chillers, cooling towers and heat exchangers, with DX split systems being utilized for the parking garage elevator mechanical rooms. VAV boxes with electric heat strips are used to provide conditioned air and heat throughout the buildings. Condenser water pumps and chilled water pumps circulate the water through the hydronic piping system. Plumbing systems provided for Fountainhead included sanitary waste and vent, domestic water and storm drainage systems. Custom fixtures included ADAcompliant lavatories, water closets and kitchen sinks. Electric
water heaters and a hot water circulation system are used to provide hot water to the domestic water system. IMCOR provided HVAC and plumbing design assistance and preconstruction services for this project, which afforded considerable cost savings to the building’s owner and end user. 4. JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort General Contractor: Hunt Construction Location: 5350 E. Marriott Dr., Phoenix Value: $16M IMCOR completed the central plant, HVAC, plumbing and piping for this 950-room hotel, resort and convention center. At peak demand, 180 IMCOR employees worked on this project. To keep the hotel cool during the summers, designers used a central water chilling plant along with cooling towers, heat exchangers and boilers. Additional air handlers are located throughout the hotel in strategic locations to aid in the flow of air. 5. Lower Buckeye Jail Owner: Maricopa County General Contractor: CORE Construction Architect: DLR Group Location: 3250 W. Lower Buckeye, Phoenix Size: 604,743 SF Completed: April 2005 This three-story maximum-security tower is designed to hold 1,808 inmates. Each of the tower stories contains four housing units that can hold 64 juveniles or 96 adults. Each story also has a main floor, mezzanine and a two-story outdoor exercise area. The Lower Buckeye Jail contains the central infirmary for the county jail system. At peak demand, IMCOR had 125 employees working on this project.
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IMCOR 6. NAU Health and Learning Center General Contractor: M. A. Mortenson Company Architect: Cannon Design Size: 265,307 SF Location: Flagstaff, Ariz. Value: $15,523,497 Completed: Nov. 2011 This LEED Gold project consisted of five areas – recreation center, athletic, wellness and classroom additions and a recreation center renovation for an approximate square footage of 265,307 SF. The NAU Wellness Center received chilled water and steam for heating hot water via underground pipes inside the facility. Total cooling capacity is 733 tons. IMCOR’s point of connection to an underground pipe occurred in a tunnel inside the facility’s first floor mechanical room. Inside the mechanical room, the district water goes through heat exchangers to separate building systems from the District Cooling Plant system. This project had four
hydronic piping loops: a 160-degree loop for perimeter heating, a 140-degree loop for air handing units (AHUs) and variable air volume (VAV) heating, a 43-degree chilled water loop for AHUs and fan coil units (FCUs), and a 57-degree chilled water loop for chill beams. The air handlers that serve the building provide conditioned air to VAV boxes throughout the building. All areas have typical cast iron waste and vent systems. Reclaimed water from the campus loop serves water closets and urinals throughout the building. Domestic water is provided for all other fixtures. Evacuated tube solar collectors on the roof along with gas-fired boilers and storage tanks provide domestic hot water for fixtures.
IMCOR provided pre-construction services that included cost estimates, value engineering, constructability reviews and scheduling input.
Additionally, the NAU Wellness Center utilizes an evacuated tubestyle hot water heating system that consists of 102 evacuated tube-style panels with three 1,800-gallon heat exchanger type storage tanks, two recirculation pumps with 50 percent glycol piping and uses solar power to heat 100 percent of the building’s hot water requirements.
IMCOR was awarded a $9M contract to provide HVAC and plumbing service. The development sits on 600KSF city block that houses 3,000 tons of water chilled nightly to offer air conditioning to Phoenix City Hall, Orpheum Theatre and other nearby buildings.
7. Phoenix City Hall Owner: City of Phoenix General Contractor: Hunt Construction Architect: Langdon Wilson Location: 200 W. Washington St., Phoenix Completed: 1993
8. Phoenix Convention Center Expansion, Phases 1 and 2 Owner: City of Phoenix General Contractor: Hunt-Russell-Alvarado Architect: Populous Architects and Leo A. Daly Size: 2.1MSF Location: 100 N. 3rd St., Phoenix Value (IMCOR): $45M IMCOR worked on the Phoenix Convention Center expansion and renovation projects with its partners for nearly four years with labor totalling 408,000 hours. PHASE ONE This project consists of 600KSF of new convention and meeting room spaces, with four levels below grade and six levels above grade. The mechanical system consisted of 22 large custom air handing units (AHUs) serving 175 variable air volume (VAV) boxes located at each zone. The chilled water to the air handlers and fan coil units (FCUs) was delivered from the Northwind District Cooling Plant, also constructed by IMCOR. There are approximately
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Phoenix Convention Center Expansion, Phases 1 and 2 continued.... seismic bracing. Additionally, safety, commissioning and quality were primary concerns. The TRACON building includes a data storage center responsible for storing previous flight operations. The mechanical system for the data storage included nine chilled water-cooled Liebert units.
650,000 pounds of ductwork serving the air handlers and VAV boxes throughout this facility. Plumbing systems consist of a typical cast iron waste and vent system and domestic water system serving 156 water closets, 58 urinals and 100 lavatories. Phase one is a USGBC LEED Silver Certified building consisting of dual-flush water closets, low-flow urinals, energy recovery units and fan wall technology. The project duration was approximately 20 months. IMCOR provided cost estimating for drawing changes and value engineering pricing for LEED items during preconstruction. Notably, IMCOR provided the pricing, constructability review and payback analysis for the use of fan wall technology in lieu of conventional single fan AHUs.
Additionally, the following mechanical components were utilized on this project: 14 chilled water air handlers, one 12,000-gallon water storage tank, chilled water buffer tanks, fuel oil system including day tanks, storage tanks, leak detection and controls, primary and secondary pumping systems, and three remotecooled liquid chillers with related evaporative condensers.
PHASE TWO Phase two was approximately 1.5MSF of convention space, meeting rooms, ballrooms, offices and kitchens. The project was curb-to-curb construction with a construction schedule of 22 months. IMCOR’s contracted value for the HVAC and plumbing scope was $32M. This project consists of 50 large custom air handlers with approximately 1.5M pounds of ductwork. Sound levels were a primary concern for this project, which resulted in sound traps for each unit, double-wall ductwork and factory sound testing of the AHUs being specified.
10. Sky Harbor International Airport Terminal 3 Central Plant Renovation Owner: City of Phoenix Terminal 3 is the second-oldest terminal at Sky Harbor International Airport. In 1998, IMCOR collaborated with the City of Phoenix to perform upgrades to the central plant’s equipment. The renovation consisted of temporary air cooled chillers to keep the terminal operational during construction, demolishing the existing chillers, pumps, heat exchanger, piping and concrete pads. The existing cooling towers were not replaced during this phase. IMCOR did however replace them approximately one year later under a separate budget.
The plumbing scope consisted of 450 water closets, 150 urinals, 250 lavatories and a condensate harvesting system to be used for a water feature. IMCOR was selected as a design assist partner for this large, fast-tracked project approximately eight months prior to start of any construction activities.
Logistically, the project was challenging. Access to the work area was airside, which required special badging to access the work area. This required each individual employee to be checked by the security guards prior to driving onto the vehicle service roads within the secured area. To further complicate things, all deliveries of equipment and material had to be escorted onto the vehicle service roads, off-loaded onto a loading dock and then lowered into the depressed slab in which the equipment was located. Each of the three 770-ton trane chillers were shipped in two pieces in order to fit them through the double doors and lowered onto the depressed slab equipment curbs. Additional equipment installed during the renovation were two primary chilled water pumps, two secondary chilled water pumps, one plate and frame heat exchanger and a refrigerant monitoring system. The piping system consisted of 100-percent welded carbon steel pipe and fittings. All equipment connections came off of the main header on a lateral 45-degree angle thus taking away turbulence at equipment connections. The project was completed on time and within budget.
IMCOR initiated and led the 3D coordination process with the other trade contractors and design team during the pre-construction phase. During this phase, IMCOR coordinated more than 1.5M pounds of ductwork, 50 large AHUs, 11 miles of hydronic pipe and 41 miles of plumbing pipe with the structure and other trade contractors. IMCOR identified hundreds of conflicts during this phase, many of which were resolved without cost impact. Most notably, IMCOR was able to identify steel modifications required to allow AHU sections to be installed within the building. This conflict was identified and presented using a 3D model in NavisWorks prior to any steel being erected, saving the owner a substantial amount of money. IMCOR pre-fabricated nearly 90 percent of the in-wall plumbing for all the fixture groups located for this phase, which included 450 water closets. IMCOR additionally pre-fabricated all of the coil connections to each AHU. This piping and plumbing pre-fabrication, along with its ductwork fabrication significantly improved the quality of the work installed and significantly improved schedule milestones for IMCOR and other trade contractors.
9. Sky Harbor International Airport Federal Aviation Administration Air Traffic Control Tower Owner: City of Phoenix General Contractor: Jacobs Construction Services Architect: Jacobs Facilities Location: Phoenix Value: $89M Project start and completion dates: April 2004 to Feb. 2007 This unique, mission-critical project consists of a 330-foot air traffic control tower, central plant, base building and terminal radar approach control (TRACON) building. Classified as an essential building, this project required special attention to
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Bonds of Steel The Unified Group membership melds businesses cross-country By Amanda Ventura
I
nterstate Mechanical (IMCOR) was sandblasting a cooling tower for a client of Chicago-based company Air Comfort when IMCOR employee Jeremy Ettesvold realized the metal was in worse shape than it looked from the outside. He contacted Air Comfort, sent a revised proposal with a change order and then rerouted a few IMCOR employees to pull and replace one of the tower’s metal panels by the end of that same work week. This is the kind of integrity that defines the partnerships between The Unified Group (TUG) members such as Air Comfort and IMCOR. TUG is a group of 50-plus U.S. companies that share best practices by way of digital and in-person forums. Kim O’Connor, service operations manager at Air Comfort Corporation, has been in the HVAC business for nearly 20 years. When she was promoted to her current position, she had a lot of industry experience but had never held a management position before filling the vacancy at her company. “The first TUG forum I attended was a management forum,” O’Connor says. “After the speaker introductions, we went around the room and told what company you were with, your position and
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a little about yourself. I did this and mentioned my new position and that I had no management experience. During the breaks and at the group dinners throughout the three-day forum, the members took turns coming to me and offering support. My last day there, as I was looking around the room, I realized how fortunate I was to attend this forum. Where can you get 20 or 30 mentors in your exact field at one time?” Air Comfort is one of the founding members of TUG. It has worked with IMCOR for five years, O’Connor says. “Their response time to emergency calls along with the quick response time for providing quotes or updates on repairs has always been fantastic,” she says. “IMCOR has several maintenance agreements in place for Air Comfort customers. “Air Comfort is 100 percent comfortable with all of The Unified Group members when calling upon them for assistance,” O’Connor says. “TUG members have a commitment to training which allows not only their technicians – but all their employees to provide topquality service.” O’Connor says it takes only a few minutes after an e-mail to all
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Below Left : Top: Seated, left to right, Jim Bartolotta, Julie Bishop, Matt Todd, Kevin Almond, and IMCOR’s Dave Dickens, standing, at a TUG conference. Below Right : Left to right: Kevin Almond, IMCOR’s Jeremy Ettesvold, Bill Flynn, and Tom Rowles. C
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the members to get a response or solution to any question sent out. “When we look for potential members, we’re looking for companies who do exceptional work and are constantly striving to become even better,” says Allison Rodgers, marketing coordinator for The Unified Group. “Participation is critical to The Unified Group. Participation can take the form of attending meetings or training sessions, we typically have four to six a year, actively sharing ideas and best practices with other members, utilizing the resources and e-mail tools, and getting as many people within the organization involved and engaged with the group.” Membership in The Unified Group is geographically exclusive, there’s strength in an environment where companies can share best practices without fear of a competitor in the room. “The goal with this partnership was to ultimately grow our business but we also grew our team and extended our footprint,” says Dave Dickens, who handles service sales at IMCOR’s Facilities Service Group Division. Dickens estimates IMCOR was awarded eight major projects and gained 10 new customers through its Unified Group participation. The projects include cooling tower refurbishments, storage tank replacements, rooftop unit retrofits and HVAC and plumbing services. “Working with Air Comfort has connected us to Jones Lang LaSalle and select properties that fall under their portfolio,” Dickens says. “They have used us for HVAC/plumbing service and special projects. We have also built phenomenal relationships with other members like Pacific Rim Mechanical (southern California), Yale Mechanical (Minnesota), Innovative Service Solutions (northern Florida), Tweet Garot (Green Bay), Vital Mechanical (Seattle) and many more that have led to new customers that we are still working with today.” Many IMCOR employees have had the opportunity to attend service management classes, sales forums, leadership training, as well as owner and customer service meetings over the last five years, says Dickens. The meetings address industry trends, best practices and working in collective groups to find better ways to take care of customers and grow business. “We like that each meeting pushes you to be attentive and affords you the opportunity to immediately implement your new found knowledge in a presentation or role play setting,” he says. “Each meeting has provided us many take-a-ways that have been implemented into our overall go to market strategy thus driving business and gaining market share.”
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Congratulations
imcor
years
of delivering results, reliability, safety & rock solid dependability to the Southwest! 75
IMCOR TIMELINE
1980
1987 Interstate Air
Karber Air Conditioning completes first high-rise project, Pepper Place Tower apartments
1986
1974
Brothers Merle and Michael Karber found Karber Air Conditioning Company
Interstate Air Conditioning wins visual improvement award, presented by Phoenix City Council for enhancement of the community
1985 Karber Air Conditioning Late 1970s
Karber Air Conditioning completes first large school project, Mercury Mine Elementary
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merged with Interstate Air Conditioning
Conditioning begins long-standing relationship with Sundt Construction with completion of City of Chandler Parking Structure
1987 Interstate Air Conditioning selected to work on Terminal Two baggage claim. This is its first airport project of many, including the air traffic control tower at Sky Harbor International Airport in 2004.
2004
1989 Interstate Air
IMCOR works on the first two phases of the Phoenix Convention Center
Conditioning and Allied Plumbing merge to form IMCOR
2011 IMCOR builds its own manufacturing plant
2014
IMCOR celebrates 40 years
1988 Interstate Air Conditioning begins longstanding relationship with Hunt Construction with completion of Havasu Regional Hospital
1993
IMCOR establishes Michael L. Karber Craft Apprenticeship Program in memory of the company’s co-founder, who passed away in 1990.
2011 IMCOR begins work on multiple Intel projects over a three-year period
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IMCOR PARTNER PROFILES
Chuck Salt, Area Manager, Sundt Construction “Arizona Public Service had a critical schedule and needed to renovate the HVAC systems in an operations space on its campus. Evaluating the schedule, scope and familiarity with the space, Sundt partnered with IMCOR for the project, fast-tracking equipment procurement, scope coordination, fabrication and the crane plan,” says Sundt Construction Area Manager Chuck Salt about one of its most memorable partnerships with IMCOR. “The project involved hoisting new HVAC equipment over a live 24/7 operation center, requiring a 300-ton crane to hoist the 8,700-pound units a distance of 274 feet. The Sundt/ IMCOR team cut through the roof to install new HVAC openings while the APS operations staff stayed live in their critical space. Sundt teams with IMCOR on mission critical projects like this when the client’s required outcome is perfection and requires the best and brightest team available.”
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Tim Smith, Vice President, Hunt Construction Group “IMCOR and Hunt Construction Group have maintained a strong working relationship for nearly 30 years, which has resulted in the successful delivery of dozens of projects across nearly every sector of the local construction market...We have been fortunate to have delivered many memorable projects with IMCOR (Gould Manufacturing, The Esplanade, Scottsdale Mayo Clinic expansion, Phoenix City Hall, Bank One Ballpark (Chase Field), The Phoenician, Sky Harbor Terminal 4 and the Phoenix Convention Center expansion among them). For me, the Phoenix Convention Center project is at the top of the list as it was delivered in phases over the course of five years and was one of the largest commercial projects in the state...IMCOR was [Hunt-Russell-Alvarado's] partner for each phase and executed more than $45M worth of plumbing and HVAC work. Their efforts at preconstruction planning, MEP coordination, QA/QC and start-up were instrumental to the success of the project.”
Rich Farrell, Senior Director, Facilities Department, Desert Schools Federal Credit Union "(IMCOR) has been one of our primary day-to-day HVAC maintenance contractors since 2001. In addition to providing preventative maintenance and service support, we have worked with them on a wide variety of projects from routine unit replacements to complex cooling tower and chiller replacements...The first and one of the most complex projects I recall working with IMCOR on was for a broken blower wheel driveshaft on a building air handler at one of our multi-use office buildings. It was the only source of air conditioning for the entire building...The replacement shaft had to be produced and installed in sections because of its size and accessibility to the basement. IMCOR was able to get the shaft locally produced and our system back up and cooling in a very short time... It’s not just the commitment to work, it’s the people that run IMCOR that makes it different. The relationship that has developed over the years is genuine."
People of IMCOR
Jeremy Ettesvold Director of Business Development
Brian Greer
Senior Project Manager
Les Jaeger
Preconstruction Services
Cary McNutt
Plumbing Foreman
Steve Shutack
Field Operations Manager
IMCOR employee for 23.5 years
IMCOR employee for 18 years
IMCOR employee for 28 years
IMCOR employee for 30+ years
What’s the best part about working at IMCOR? The vast knowledge and skill set of all the IMCOR team members. The ability to perform so many different types of projects within the industry. Being creative and thinking outside the box to give the owners and general contractors the best possible end result that’s quality work performed safely, in a timely manner and within budget.
What’s the best part about working at IMCOR? The people.
What’s the best part about working at IMCOR? Knowing they have your back whether at work or personal. They have always been there for me.
What’s the best part about working at IMCOR? All the great people I’ve had the opportunity to work with.
IMCOR employee for 10.5 years What’s the best part about working at IMCOR? The teamwork concept. After spending eight years in the Air Force, working in the HVAC trade, I wasn’t sure how the transition would be into the civilian world. Ten-plus years later, the camaraderie and teamwork still exist in my life. What’s the most memorable project you’ve worked on at IMCOR? The replacement of two 350ton evaporative condensers in a package central plant at Desert Schools Federal Credit Union’s corporate office. Faced with an unfortunate system failure, our team scheduled back-to-back weekend shutdowns with precision crane lifts required to return their cooling system to 100 percent operation. What is your proudest professional accomplishment? Being given the liberty to build a service department and sales team like it was my own company. Being an employee of an ESOP company, I have appreciated every opportunity IMCOR has given me over the past decade and I’m very proud to be part of this team.
What’s the most memorable project you’ve worked on at IMCOR? It’s very difficult to pick just one, as I have had the pleasure to work on several stellar projects for IMCOR. The top three are JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort, Sky Harbor FAA Air Traffic Control Tower & Tracon Building, and phase one of the Northwind Central Plant No. 2. What is your proudest professional accomplishment? Mentoring young up-andcoming project managers to be the best managers they can be. What is one thing people would find surprising about you? I like to photograph wildlife and flowers.
What’s the first and most recent project you’ve worked on? My first project was a prime bid at the ASPC Eyman Prison. My most recent was the VA Outpatient Hospital design assist project. What’s the most memorable project you’ve worked on at IMCOR? Phoenix Convention Center, phases one and two. What is your proudest professional accomplishment? Giving to the community. IMCOR provided the plumbing and HVAC systems and installation free of charge to the Teen Wellness Community facility, a facility that houses young men and women who are recovering from severe illness treatments. Giving back to the community in that way is as great as landing the biggest jobs. What is one thing people would find surprising about you? I completed two Ironman Triathlons.
What’s the first and most recent project you’ve worked on? First project was Barry Goldwater High School. Most recent project was North Scottsdale Surgery Center. What’s the most memorable project you’ve worked on at IMCOR? Phoenix Convention Center, phase two. The job was not easy, but we made it through. PCC was the job I was on when I lost my wife to cancer. What is your proudest professional accomplishment? Longevity! Not too many people can say they have come this far with a single company, especially in the business we are in. What is one thing people would find surprising about you? I’m not as tough as I act. Most people would be surprised of how often I do have their back.
What’s the first and most recent project you’ve worked on? St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center remodel was my first and I am currently working on the Del Webb central plant. What’s the most memorable project you’ve worked on at IMCOR? One would be the Phoenix Convention Center. It was interesting and challenging. What is your proudest professional accomplishment? Working 30 years at IMCOR. What is one thing people would find surprising about you? I like to snowboard. I started snowboarding five years ago and enjoy Sunrise Ski Park in the White Mountains and Tahoe.
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Building the Southwest since 1974 with major commercial, industrial, civic and medical projects
HVAC • Sheet Metal • Plumbing • Process Piping Building Automation Systems • CAD / BIM Design General Commercial Contracting
interstate mechanical corporation 1841 East Washington Street . Phoenix, AZ 85034 602-257-1319 . 800-628-0211 . Fax 602-271-0674 www.imcor-az.com
General Contracting B-01 ROC094734 • AC & Refrigeration L-39 ROC073195 • Sheet Metal L-45 ROC073196 • Plumbing L-37 ROC084435 • Process Piping L-04 ROC084436
The Arizona Builders’ Alliance exists for the purpose of advancing the productivity and profitability of our members and the industry.
2014 PUBLISHED BY
It accomplishes this purpose by helping create and educate a more productive workforce and management, and by proactively promoting and protecting free enterprise and merit shop principles of the freedom to choose. As an advocate for its members, the Alliance provides a network association which will result in a more cohesive, productive and profitable industry. azbuilders.org
ABA Executive Letter
READY FOR THE REBOUND! By ABA Executive Director Mark Minter and ABA President Rob Caylor
A
s the U.S. and Arizona markets improve, commercial contractors remain optimistic about the pending rebound. In anticipation of that growth, the Arizona Builders’ Alliance (ABA) has retooled its strategic plan to focus on a more modern, streamlined approach to membership services. Founded in 1994, by the merger of the Building Chapter of the Associated General Contractors and the Associated Builders and Contractors, ABA has focused on management education, craft training and government relations since its inception. Last year, the ABA’s board of directors spent six months developing a more modern approached to services. While the core of services has not changed, the delivery system, approach and coordination of programs and events has undergone a radical transformation. Recognizing the need for a more effective system of delivering educational programs the ABA is now using webinars for programs on a monthly basis. The webinar format
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allows presenters and attendees to be located anywhere and still able to participate in a program. Employees on remote job sites, offices in other towns and anybody not wanting to fight cross town traffic can now participate in events. Attendance at events is up and more members and different levels in firms are involved. Craft training is on the rebound as specialty contractors rebuild their workforce. More emphasis is now being placed on recruitment and retention. An open house last fall at GateWay Community College exposed more than two dozen contractors to the classroom training efforts of ABA. Individual visits with contractors are getting the word out on craft training. ABA has begun to coordinate workforce development efforts with its member firms. Individual ABA members are “adopting” neighborhood high schools and spending time there in the classroom, lecturing students or taking students on tours of nearby job sites. In the government relations arena, ABA recently hired one of Arizona’s top lobbying firms to represent it with state and local government. Triadvocates is now
Mark Minter
Rob Caylor
representing ABA and the timing of its hiring turned out to be perfect. Triadvocates helped pass legislation in the 2014 session that will assure Arizona retains control of OSHA inspections and not lose that authority to the federal government. With all the new activities and approach also comes a new look: The ABA’s website has been retooled and brought up to date. There is now more information in a more presentable format. The new website allows members to register and pay for events, download old webinars, research legal issues and follow trends. Follow the commercial construction industry by visiting azbuilders.org.
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ABA
ABA MEMBER
PRIZED PROJECTS The Arizona Builders’ Alliance is a partnership between the Arizona Chapters of the Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC) and the Building Chapter Associated General Contractors (AGC). It represents more than 350 contractors, suppliers and professional service firms in the commercial construction industry. Every year, the ABA highlights its members’ projects throughout Arizona that are submitted or nominated by other members.
1. 5060 Building Renovation Owner: Alliance Project Advisors General Contractor: DPR Construction Architect: RSP Architects, LTD Location: 5060 N. 40th Street, Phoenix Size: 16KSF Value: WND Start/finish: January to July 2013 2. Arizona State Prison Complex Lewis Facility Expansion Developer: State of Arizona General Contractor: JE Dunn Construction Architect: DLR Group Location: Buckeye, Ariz. Size: 110KSF Value: $50M (design & construction) Start/finish: April 2013 to 4Q 2014 Subcontractors: No subcontractors selected by press date
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Architect: MultaTech Location: Gilbert, Ariz. Size: 79,835 SF Value: WND Start/finish: WND Subcontractors: WND 4. The Colonnade Senior Living Campus – Bldg. 3
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3. AutoNation Chevrolet Gilbert General Contractor: Johnson Carlier, Inc.
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Owner: Sun Health Services General Contractor: The Weitz Company, LLC Architect: Orcutt | Winslow Location: 14764 W. Goldwater Ridge Dr., Surprise, Ariz. Size: 92KSF Value: $7.93M Start/finish: December 2014 ends October 2015 Subcontractors: Hilty’s Electrical, RKS Plumbing, K.C. Air Conditioning, Self Performing Framing, Maximum Fire Protection, Southwest Integrated Solutions, Pete King
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5. Friendship House at Royal Oaks Memory Care Facility Developer: Royal Oaks A Lifecare Community General Contractor: Sundt Construction, Inc. Architect: Todd & Associates, Inc. Location: 10015 W. Royal Oaks Rd., Sun City Size: 53KSF Value: $13.6M Start/finish: Nov. 2013 to Feb. 2015 Subcontractors: JFK Electric, JD Sun Mechanical, AmFab Steel, RKS Plumbing, MKB, Brothers Masonry, Jones Concrete
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6. Harley Davidson Developer: YAM Holdings General Contractor: hardison/downey construction Architect: K/G Architects Location: Northsight Boulevard & Hayden Road, Scottsdale, Ariz. Size: 150KSF Value: WND Start/finish: May 2014 to February 2015 Subcontractors: Dickens Quality Demo, Blount Contracting, Hersey Aerni & Associates, Native Resources, Apache Pipelines 7. Horne Kia Owner’s Representative: Tally CM General Contractor: Johnson Carlier, Inc. Architect: John Mahoney Architect, LLC Location: Gilbert, Ariz. – San Tan Motorplex Size: 55,181 SF Value: $6.2M Start/finish: June 2014 to February 2015 Subcontractors: WND 8. Maricopa Community College Chandler-Gilbert Coyote Center Developer: Maricopa Community College General Contractor: Sundt Construction, Inc. Architect: Dick & Fritsche Design Group Location: 2626 E. Pecos Rd., Chandler Size: 75KSF Value: $21.6M Start/finish: March 2013 – July 2014 Subcontractors: Comfort Systems, Echo Canyon Electric, Complete Fire Protection, Foley Masonry, Sunland Asphalt, KT Fabrications, Kovach, Milling Machinery, Sundt Concrete, NKW, Nickle Contracting
9. McCord Hall at Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business Owner: Arizona Board of Regents General Contractor: DPR Construction Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates | RSP Architects Location: 450 E. Lemon Street, Tempe, Ariz. Size: 129,245 SF Value: $41M Start/finish: October 2011 to June 2013 Subcontractors: Dickens, North Star, Ace Asphalt, Suntec, Rhino Masonry, Bel-Aire, Kearney, Walters & Wolf 10. Phoenix Fire Dispatch Center Developer: City of Phoenix General Contractor: FCI Constructors, Inc. Architect: HDA Architects, LLC Location: 2425 W. Lower Buckeye Rd., Phoenix
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Size: 40KSF Value: $9.6M Start/finish: 2010 to Oct. 2013 Subcontractors: JFK Electrical, MidState Mechanical, J+S Glass, G+G Enterprises
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11. Phoenix Sky Train - Stage 1A Developer: City of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport General Contractor: McCarthy Kiewit JV Architect: Gannett Flemming Location: 3400 Sky Harbor Boulevard, Phoenix Size: 2,992 linear feet extension of Sky Train Guideway system from Terminal 4 to Terminal 3, Terminal 3 station 37,500 SF and Terminal 3 connector bridge over Sky Harbor Blvd., Core Network Bldg – 5,100 SF; Terminal 3 Renovation 15,000 SF, Nine CIP retaining walls totaling 2,795 lf, Two 80 lf taxiway bridge extensions. Value: $124M Start/finish: October 2011 to July 2014 Subcontractors: McCarthy/Kiewit JV, Malcolm Drilling Co., Inc., CSW Contractors, Case Foundation, Suntec, TPAC, Schuff Steel, Progressive Roofing, Kovach, Walters & Wolf, NKW, ThyssenKrupp, Midstate Mechanical, Delta Diversified, TP Acoustics, ISEC, Rolling Plains, Jones Concrete, Endo, Michael Valente, Sun Valley Masonry, Rite Way Thermal, AK&J Sealants, Aero Automatic, WJ Maloney, Rhino Contracting, Bell Steel, Misc T Metals, Phoenix Pipelines, Straightline Utilities, Rural Electric, USA Shade, Advanced Concrete Cutting, American Cleaning Systems, Apache Concrete Cutting, Arizona Desert Brooms, Arizona Restaurant Supply, Atlas Construction, Altered Element Tint, Buesing, Century Sign Builders, Classic Roofing, Compass Dartez, Corradini Corp., Creative Paving Solutions, DH Pace, Dickens Quality Demolition, Diversified Interiors, Falcon Contracting, Firestop SW, Glassco Milam Glass, Graef Construction, Ikon Steel, ISEC, K&F Electric, JL McDaniel, L&L Asphalt, Landscape Forms, M&P Trucking, Miner SW, Mountain States Specialties, Off Site Sweeping, Overhead Door, Oxford Electronics, Paul M Wolf, Pegasus Utility Locating, Performance Contracting Inc., Pete King, Phoenix Fence, Raven Concrete, Roadsafe, Roadway Electric LLC, Sentinel Fence, SGSI Glass & Glazing, SKF Tile, Smithcraft, Specialized Services, Sunburst, TF Valdez, The Ground Level 12. Pima County Downtown Courts Complex Developer: Pima County General Contractor: Sundt Construction, Inc.
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Architect: AECOM Location: 240 N. Stone Ave., Tucson, Ariz. Size: 290KSF (building) & 243KSF (parking structure) Value: $90M Start/finish: Feb. 2012 to April 2015 Subcontractors: Sun Mechanical, RG & Sons Plumbing, Walters and Wolf, Kovach, Wilson Electric, Cascade Electric, Pete King, Coreslab, Sundt Concrete, Able Steel, Blount Excavation 13. Precision Toyota Owner’s Representative: Tally CM General Contractor: Johnson Carlier, Inc. Architect: M3 Engineering Location: 700 W. Wetmore, Tucson, Ariz. Size: 130,533 SF Value: $14.4M Start/finish: March 2014 to September 2015 Subcontractors: WND 14. River View Hotel & Convention Center Developer: River View Hotel, LLC General Contractor: The Weitz Company, LLC Architect: Eric Miller Architect Location: 860 N. Riverview, Mesa, Ariz. Size: 158,885 SF (Hotel: 128,275 SF; Convention Center: 30,610 SF) Value: $18,529,000 Start/finish: April 2014 to February 2015 Subcontractors: Sun Valley, SECON, Tempe Mechanical, JBS Plumbing, Hobbs Masonry, ALR Construction 15. Sagewood — Casitas Developer: L.C.S Development, LLC General Contractor: The Weitz Company, LLC Architect: SmithGroupJJR Location: 4555 E. Mayo Blvd., Phoenix Value: $5.2M Start/finish: February to September 2014 16. Sierra Vista Regional Health
YOUR STEEL BUILDING SPECIALIST WestWorld Project
Ranked in the Top 50 Steel Building Contractors in the U.S.A. P: 480.967.0969 | www.azcorporatebuilders.com 1555 W. University Dr., Suite 108, Tempe, AZ 85281
Our Clients… their motivation is our motivation.
www.JHC-LAW.com 2800 N. Central Ave., Suite 1800 Phoenix, Arizona 85004 • 602.234.7800 Appellate Business Bankruptcy Business Law Commercial Real Estate Construction Law Creditors’ Rights Employment Law Environmental Law Estate Planning Trusts & Probate Liability & Insurance Defense Litigation Mediation & Arbitration Municipal Law Personal Injury & Wrongful Death Surety & Fidelity Law
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ABA Center Replacement Hospital Developer: RegionalCare Hospital Partners General Contractor: JE Dunn Construction Architect: Gould Turner Group Architects Location: State Route 90 and Colonia De Salud in Sierra Vista, Ariz. Size: 175KSF Value: $55M Start/finish: Dec. 2013 to 1Q 2015 Subcontractors: Advanced Technology Group, Inc., All Commercial Floors, Inc., Architectural Millwork Design, Inc., Desert View Painting, Hardy Hole Drilling, Nexus Steel, Old Dominion Firestopping, Re-Create Companies, Sun Mechanical Contracting, Suntec Concrete, Teldata Corporation, Wilson Electric, Wylie Steel Fabricators, Inc. 17. Tony Nelssen Equestrian Center Owner: City of Scottsdale General Contractor: Howard S. Wright Construction, a Balfour Beatty Company Architect: Populous, Inc. Location: 16604 N. Pima Road, Scottsdale, Ariz. Size: 310KSF Value: $47M Start/finish: Completed Dec. 23, 2013 Subcontractors: Arizona Corporate Builders, LLC, Castle Steel, Inc., Anchor Contracting, Mark’s Valley Grading, Suntec Concrete, Stone Cold Masonry, Rosendin Electric (Phase I), Wilson Electric (Phase II), Coleman Plumbing (Phase I), Masseur Plumbing (Phase II), Comfort Systems, Aero Automatic Sprinkler Systems (Phase I), Complete Fire Protection (Phase II), Metal Works, Inc., Norcon Manufacturing, Cookson Manufacturing
Value: $4,953,000 Start/finish: April 2013 to Dec. 2013 Subcontractors: Newgaard Mechanical, Comfort Systems Southwest, Landmark Metal Builders, Inc., Magnum Paving, Kelly Energy, Geronimo Limited, Eagle Roofing, Nelson Greer Painting, Avila Concrete, Kerr Masonry, Hallmark Landscape and Design, Wall Systems, A-AAA Fire Protection, A&M Fencing, IFS Flooring, American Made Acoustics, LA Force and Gen3 AZ 19. University of Arizona Old Main Renovation Developer: University of Arizona General Contractor: Sundt Construction, Inc. Architect: Poster Frost Mirto Location: 1200 E. University Blvd., Tucson, Ariz. Size: 12KSF Value: $10M Start/finish: Feb. 2013 to Aug. 2014 Subcontractors: Sturgeon Electric, Sun Mechanical, Cox Masonry, MKB steel stud, drywall, stucco and plaster, Le Blanc Wood Framing, Kovach Metal Roofing
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21. West Valley Hospital Patient Tower Expansion and Renovation Owner: Vanguard Health Systems, an affiliate of Abrazo Health Care General Contractor: DPR Construction Architect: Earl Swensson Associates, Inc. Location: 13677 W. McDowell Rd., Goodyear, Ariz. Size: 63,038 SF Value: WND Start/finish: September 2012 to September 2013 Subcontractors: TD Industries, Enterprise Electric LLC, Sun Valley Masonry, Accel Fire Protection, Diversified Interiors, Jones Concrete, Saguaro Steel
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18. Tucson Subaru Developer: DiChristofano Real Estate Group, LLC. General Contractor: Concord General Contracting, Inc. Architect: Acorn Associates Architecture, LTD. Location: 4901 N. Oracle Rd., Tucson, Ariz. Size: 30KSF
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20. Western Maricopa Education Center (West-MEC) Northeast Campus Developer: Western Maricopa Education Center General Contractor: McCarthy Building Companies Architect: DLR Group Location: 1617 W. Williams Drive, Phoenix Size: Remodeling 84KSF; Adding two buildings totaling 40KSF Value: $20M Start/finish: October 2013 to July 2014 Subcontractors: Hawkeye, Irontree, S+H Steel, Stone Cold Masonry, Progressive Roofing
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ABA Members of the Alliance The Arizona Builders’ Alliance has members from more than 350 contractors, suppliers and professional service firms in the commercial construction industry. Its members are among some of the most experienced professionals in their respective fields. Whether they’re attending a mixer, chairing a committee or exchanging ideas at the annual conference or in a leadership class, every ABA member agrees you get what you put in — and then some!
Ruth Brown
Project Development Manager, Hensel Phelps Years in commercial construction: 30 Why did you get involved with ABA? ABA is obviously the most visible voice and advocate for Arizona’s construction industry. The culture of the ABA, including membership diversity, representation in local and state issues and community interests are a fit for our organization. We chose to participate in the ABA to foster our industry relationships and contribute the strength of Hensel Phelps leadership to support the goals of the ABA and influence matters of importance in our industry. Have you participated in any leadership programs or classes? My primary leadership role in the ABA was as 2010-2011 Chairman of the southern Arizona chapter. I am entering my third year representing Hensel Phelps as a director on the ABA State Board. I grew personally and professionally through this leadership experience in the valuable input and mentoring from our more tenured leaders. Twenty-ten was one of many economically devastating years for the construction industry in Arizona. The opportunity and challenge to lead an organization and encourage membership
Bryan Dunn
Senior Vice President, Adolfson & Peterson Construction Years in commercial construction: 18 Why did you get involved with ABA? The ABA has an exceptional reputation. They do an excellent job advocating and educating the construction industry. Have you participated in any leadership programs or classes? If so, why is it important to take a leadership role with ABA? I have participated in the Leadership Development Forum (LDF) and the Senior Executive Program (SEP). The ability to work collaboratively with industry peer groups is invaluable.
during this time; while furthering the goals of the ABA was a character building experience. Hensel Phelps also endorses participation in the ABA LDF program. The result for Hensel Phelps is a more defined and refined future leader for our organization. How important to the success of the business is being an ABA member? The third word in the ABA name is “alliance.” Alliance represents strength in pursuit of common goals. Being a part of an alliance creates a vehicle to influence issues that affect success of our industry in Arizona; this influence is not attainable autonomously. Success for our industry affects opportunity and profitability for construction related firms. What is one of the biggest obstacles for the construction industry in 2014 and how can it be overcome? One of the obstacles for the construction industry, specifically in Arizona, is the lack of prospects and opportunity in commercial building. It can be overcome by: • Our state and cities creating economic incentives for out-of-state corporations to relocate their operations and personnel • State and cities allocating more funds promote the obvious industry development potential for aerospace and defense, solar, healthcare/bioscience partnerships and border corridor manufacturing with Mexico (Much like San Diego in the Otay Mesa industrial development) • Alliance organizations such as ABA create and endorse legislation for tax-base funding geared toward economic development • State and city governments to eliminate or revise onerous development, environmental and building mandates and restrictions • Support bonds and funding for capital improvement programs for Arizona’s largest employer, the universities.
ABA New Member Spotlight
Tom Canada Senior Electrical Project Manager, RP Companies Inc. Joined ABA: April 2014
Why did you get involved with ABA? I was involved in the ABA from 2006 to 2012 with another company, and I personally attended many mixers, seminars, president’s dinners and conventions. I am an LDF graduate as of 2009. The ABA is a great organization, and being part of the ABA contributed to my personal and professional growth. I exposed my new company to the ABA, so it can be part of this great organization. Do you intend to participate in any of the programs, committees? At this moment, the company is just getting its feet wet with its first mixer. I’m sure that we will be participating in some of the programs.
How important to the success of your business is being an ABA member? The ABA has been pivotal in developing some of our top leaders for the past decade. Graduates of the ABA programs excel in leadership roles at Adolfson & Peterson.
Has being a member already contributed to the success of your business? It’s too soon to tell, but, from my past experience, being a member of ABA will contribute to the company’s success as long as we take advantage of what the ABA has to offer.
What is one of the biggest obstacles for the construction industry in 2014 and how can it be overcome? The recession was much longer than all experts predicted. This lag has created subcontractor failures, labor shortages and cost escalations. These factors have created an immense amount of risk in our industry. This can be overcome by improved consumer and investor confidence in the Arizona market. Once this happens for a sustained period, it will force companies to begin hiring and investing back into the market.
What is one of the biggest obstacles for the construction industry in 2014 and how can it be overcome? I will tell you that in today’s market and economy, key relationships are vital and continuing to make new relationships a must if you want to survive in this industry.
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Thank you Arizona Builders Alliance for providing the tools and resources to build a better, more qualified construction community.
D.P. Electric
www.dpelectric.com | 480.858.9070 | 6002 S. Ash Ave., Tempe AZ 85283 | ROC 111176, ROC 111170, ROC 289783
DEPENDABLE PEOPLE DEPENDABLE PERFORMANCE
91
ABA Terry Keenan
President, Climatec Years in commercial construction: 30 Why did you get involved with ABA? I initially got involved with the ABA through the Leadership Development Program (LDF) which really opened my eyes to the organization. Even before completing the program I decided to get more involved in ABA functions and participated in mixers and larger events, training programs and really got committed after convention the first year. After LDF, I joined a couple of committees, participated in community outreach and judging LDF. In the end, I got involved to take my career to another level and it worked! Have you participated in any leadership programs or classes? If so, why is it important to take a leadership role with ABA? I’ve graduated from LDF, SEP and participated in numerous classes over the years. ABA has given ABA New Member Spotlight
Pat Johnson
President, Chestnut Building & Design, Inc. Joined ABA: 1999 Why did you get involved with ABA? My previous experience with the ABA has been rewarding throughout the years. There are unlimited educational benefits to a construction company’s entire staff. The community involvement is personally rewarding and the ABA’s ongoing political involvement has maintained the integrity of our industry. Do you intend to participate in any of the programs, committees? Safety, business and legal seminars as well as Volunteer Day. Has being a member already contributed to the success of your business? Absolutely. Being affiliated with such a reputable organization gives recognition to my own company’s integrity. What is one of the biggest obstacles for the construction industry in 2014 and how can it be overcome? I have concerns related to the TPT changes planned for January 2015. What’s in store for Chestnut over the next 12 months? Growth and community involvement!
92 | July-August 2014
tremendously to our industry, the industry has given to each of us, and we have a responsibility to give back as much time as we are able to give. How important to the success of your business is being an ABA member? First and foremost, ABA has helped our company grow and develop leaders. Solid leadership is the foundation of our culture that is largely formed on skills developed, and relationships built through involvement in ABA. What is one of the biggest obstacles for the construction industry in 2014 and how can it be overcome? Construction backlogs are still not at healthy levels in the Arizona and we have not experienced the growth some larger markets are beginning to see. We have to continue to be innovative and look for opportunities outside of traditional new construction that keep us active until we begin to rebound.
Rick Reichenberg
Director of Business Development, Coreslab Structures Years in commercial construction: 21 Why did you get involved with ABA? Building strong relationships is the goal of every successful company, especially for those of us in the construction industry, and the ABA provides a forum for its members to interact and to share new ideas that helps us to maintain our existing relationships and also allows us to create new relationships for the future. Have you participated in any leadership programs or classes? If so, why is it important to take a leadership role with ABA? The ABA leadership and its members understand the need for innovative collaboration between building contractors, designers and the government to provide the owners, and the developers, the best possible experience in constructing their project. The ABA is very influential in pushing that level of collaboration through education programs, industry related forums and through their legislative efforts. Several of our employees have been through the LDF class that the ABA offers and all have gained from the experience. How important to the success of your business is being an ABA member? We understand that for us to succeed, the local construction industry has to be strong, united and focused on continuous improvement. As a long standing member of the ABA, we know that the ABA is completely committed to the success of its members and to the future of the construction industry in Arizona. What is one of the biggest obstacles for the construction industry in 2014 and how can it be overcome? The construction industry has always been a challenging and competitive business with many obstacles, but with the economy slowly improving, one of the more pressing challenges for us, and for the construction industry as a whole, will be in rebuilding our work force with skilled labor. The economic downturn caused many people to either leave the area or pursue another line of work and we as an industry need to come together and promote the training and career opportunities that the industry offers.
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CTCA’s new CEO says research will reduce fear for cancer patients By MICHAEL GOSSIE
P
ersonal experience led Matt McGuire to begin a career at Cancer Treatment Centers of America. “I’ve lost three of my four grandparents to cancer,” said McGuire, who was named CEO of CTCA at Western Regional Medical Center in January. “I remember when I was 13 years old, my mom told my brother and I that Grandma had cancer and I could just see the fear in my mother’s eyes.” To help ease some of that fear for patients, McGuire is leading CTCA at a time when the hospital is taking an aggressive role in cancer research. Most recently, CTCA was part of of study that found two cell surface receptors that might be responsible for the most common form of lung cancer spreading to other parts of the body.
What have been the biggest challenges of ctca’s increased focus on research? We had to essentially build the program from the ground up. The hiring of (Director of Clinical Research) Dr. Glen Weiss and the progress he has led has been extraordinary. We have to be more responsive to new ideas. We have 14 people now on the research team and it’s been a challenge to find those people and to learn the complexities and regularities of the pharmacy industry.
NazNeeN aziz, Ph.D Senior Vice President and Chief Research Officer Phoenix Children’s Hospital
Why did you decide to add research? The primary driver is that it brings additional hopeful options to patients. As personalized and genomic medicine takes hold as we look into the future, having the most recent targeted therapies available for our patients is so in line with our mission that we knew it was time.
What qualities does an effective ceo need to possess? Good communication skills. A clear vision and an ability to rally people around that vision. Energy and passion. The last thing is they need to be resilient. The perseverance that is needed to adapt in this ever-changing world is absolutely fundamental. I try to put relationships front and center. I want our stakeholders to know that their voice and concerns will always be heard.
Photo by SHAVON ROSE, AZ BIG MEDIA
SETTING PRIORITIES: “the founding principal of ctca is putting patients first in everything we do and being on a constant quest to bring them hope,” says ceo Matt Mcguire. “they push us to innovate.”
What are your goals as ceo of ctca? We have to be the leader in the delivery of personalized cancer care. We are going to be the leader in how genomics medicine will change the way we administer cancer care. With what we are starting in our research program, it’s going to be an amazing evolution about how cancer care is delivered. We have to lead in that space. I expect that 10 years from now, because of innovations that are going to come, the cancer diagnosis won’t be nearly as fearful as it is today. It will be hopeful because people will know there are places like CTCA and other cancer care providers who can help. I liken it to how the ACL injury was a career-ending injury in sports 10 or 15 years ago. Now, you have Adrian Peterson leading the NFL in rushing after an injury that would have ended his career 10 years ago. I think we’re going to look back 10 or 15 years from now and say, “Back then, cancer used to scare people.”
14 AB | May-June 2014
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93
ABA Mark Riggi
How important to the success of your business is being an ABA member? Joining the ABA immediately elevated our reputation. We now survive on our reputation, which brings repeat business and an increase in negotiated work.
Have you participated in any leadership programs or classes? I served as ABA’s southern Arizona chairman. It was both a duty and a honor.
What is one of the biggest obstacles for the construction industry in 2014 and how can it be overcome? Skilled labor is a constant struggle. Apprenticeship programs, getting involved in the high schools letting them know
Owner, Millwork by Design, Inc. Why did you get involved with ABA? Networking, community and volunteer work and a voice in our state legislature.
ABA New Member Spotlight
Matt Rogers
Senior Project Manager, Suntec Concrete Joined ABA: 2012 Why did you get involved with ABA? The ABA is a great organization where many of the best construction companies in Arizona come together on legislation and where there is huge focus on continuing education. The ABA has a wide spectrum of members from all aspects of the construction industry in Arizona with events that are really time well spent.
The Arizona Builders’ Alliance released its 2014 to 2018 Strategic Plan, which focuses on five key concepts: 1. Education and Training 2. Branding 3. Industry Influence 4. Retention and Growth (within ABA) 5. Board Responsibilities 94 | July-August 2014
Do you intend to participate in any of the programs or committees? Yes. I want to be involved where I can bring the most value to the ABA and the industry. Has being a member already contributed to the success of your business? Yes, in addition to educational resources, the organization is a great way to continually network with suppliers,
TOP THREE MEMBER EVENTS Member mixers (71%) President’s dinner (60%) Annual convention (49%)
51% of respondents in a recent survey attributes ABA membership to getting new business
TOP OF THE CLASS Kortman Electric takes ABA leadership into boardroom By Amanda Ventura
T
he Arizona Builders’ Alliance represents the collective knowledge of more than 350 contractors, suppliers and professional service firms who work in the commercial construction industry. Membership means the ability to tap into and grow with fellow leaders in the industry. For one Arizona company, ABA’s leadership classes are a family affair. The four owners of Kortman Electric (KEI) are three brothers — Ken, Kerwin and Karl Kortman — and their brotherin-law Fran Martin. They have worked in the industry between 19 and 32 years each and have been members of the ABA since October 1995. The co-owners have made an example of enrolling in ABA’s educational opportunities to the benefit of their company as well as their leadership roles in the ABA. KEI’s owners and several employees have been through ABA’s management education classes — the year-long Leadership Development Forum (LDF) and quarterly Senior Executive Program (SEP) — and attended numerous seminars and webinars. Several of KEI’s field employees have also participated in ABA’s electrical apprenticeship training program.
LDF
meets first Friday of the month
SEP
classes are offered four times a year PROJECT MANAGER seminars are held year-round ABA membership, the Kortman brothers say, has contributed to the success of the company due to employee involvement in leadership and apprenticeship programs. The networking events and the association’s commitment to advocating for members through legislation are additional benefits, they say. “I had heard about the LDF program for many years, but when I attended the first graduation luncheon back in 2007 and saw how many alumni there were,
and the impact it was having on their companies, I knew we needed to get involved in the program,” says President and CEO Ken Kortman. The LDF is a 12-week course that meets on the first Friday of every month. Enrollment is limited to 30 registrants and only one person per firm may be enrolled per year. The class is designed to prepare industry professionals for future leadership roles within their companies and the ABA. It addresses topics such as public speaking, construction finance, dealing with difficult people and legislative and political process. Karl Kortman, CFO of KEI, is currently enrolled in LDF and the only one in the family who hasn’t completed the program. Ken has worked in commercial construction for 32 years. As the mostexperienced brother, he has completed the LDF and SEP programs and is a current ABA board member. “The 2013 SEP class provided some great insight into visionary thinking, communication, delegation, leadership and succession planning,” he says. Familial competition “never” comes up. “Except bragging rights for winners of the LDF presentation!” says Ken. Kerwin Kortman, vice president and director of business development, is quick to add that he and Martin were on the winning team. “I suppose that there may be a little unspoken competition,” Karl says. “I know that both Kerwin and Fran were in the winning groups for the LDF case project. Ken’s group didn’t win, so I know win or lose, I won’t be alone.” Kerwin, who has 29 years of experience in commercial construction, completed the LDF classes in 2011 and has plans to attend the SEP program. He also served on the ABA Legislative
PHOTO BY SHAVON ROSE, AZ BIG MEDIA From left to right: Fran Martin, Ken Kortman, Kerwin Kortman and Karl Kortman
Committee and Community Services Board. Similar to Ken, Kerwin found the LDF class most useful. “The subject matter that was presented throughout the year-long class was presented in such a way that you could apply it to your own career regardless of the size or your position within your company,” he says. Martin, director of safety for KEI and member of ABA’s Safety Committee, has been in commercial construction for 19 years. He completed his LDF class in 2013 and plans to attend and SEP session. “So far, the LDF class has been the most useful,” Martin says. “It helped me understand how different personalities can shape and mold a business in their own unique way.” “KEI is much more involved in the ABA after going through the leadership class,” Kerwin says. “We recognize the more you participate serving on different boards and committees, the more you gain. Being involved in the ABA has been a great way to build long-lasting, valuable relationships with other members and we continue to benefit each year.” 95
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BUESING CORP 2014
BUESING
98 | July-August 2014
Down to
Maricopa County Court Tower project
“There is this energy that happens on the job site when you put companies together that really can make something happen. It is a lot of fun to be around.”
D
— Jerry Barnier, President of Suntec Concrete
rivers along Central Avenue, between Washington and Jefferson streets, probably don’t know they’re commuting over an underground garage that acts as a bridge. In fact, a lot of downtown Phoenix's underbelly has, unbeknownst to the average pedestrian, excavated or filled in some capacity by earthwork contractor Buesing Corp. The company has performed 10 digs in the vicinity of CityScape alone and even built an underground tunnel across Monroe that connects the Fourth Avenue Jail and Maricopa County Court Tower.
Five Decades of Dirt
Earth
The 50-year-old company’s mission statement is to be “simply the best.” A company with a notorious appetite for challenging projects began with an entrepreneurial 16-year-old Jerry Buesing in a Minnesota basement. After receiving his license as a teen, Buesing began driving trucks and operating equipment for a construction company in high school. In college, he began working for his father’s friend in Twin Cities, Minn. Shortly thereafter, he decided to start his own company. It was spring 1965 when Buesing and his brother, Tom, founded Busing Corp. What started with two pieces of equipment grew to a much larger fleet in just a few years. Three years into their business, the Buesings completed their first basement garage with shoring, which set the stage for the coming years of basement and garage projects that led to mass excavation, belly dump trucking and work for the Minnesota Department of Transportation. In 1973, the Tom and Jerry decided to split the business; Tom moved to Colorado Springs, Colo., and started a construction company, while Jerry stayed in Minnesota and grew the existing business. After winning bids on many projects in Phoenix — where the construction season is much easier to navigate than Minnesota — Buesing decided to move to the Southwest. In 1986, Buesing moved its headquarters to Phoenix. As it happens, its first project as an Arizona-based company was a basement garage. The company quickly became a leader in commercial basements while taking
Buesing’s 50-year legacy runs deep By Amanda Ventura 99
BUESING on a range of projects in the Phoenix Metro. In 2001, Buesing began a concrete and recycling plant in Chandler to produce ABC. In 2003, Buesing moved into self-performing shoring, drilling and earth retention. In 2009, Buesing began selfperforming shotcrete and site development for solar energy projects. As of 2013, Buesing performed more than 95 shoring projects. Now based primarily in the Southwest, the company builds in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Texas. Buesing currently provides the following services: mass excavation and site development, material transport (import and export), shotcrete walls, shoring and drilling, recycling of concrete and asphalt and solar and wind energy projects. “We do not shy away from any type of project, however we do excel at projects that require a more technical background and quick turnarounds,” says Buesing Corp.’s Executive Vice President of Construction, Bryon Matesi.
“I don’t think [what sets Buesing apart] is just one job. The guy’s been doing it for 50 years. That’s just the cloth he’s cut from. That’s the kind of operator he is. That goes through a company. The reason people work for him is because they trust him.” — John Largay, President, Wespac Construction
Digging a Way to the Top The true essence of a good subcontractor is more than a number of projects or revenue. It’s about being a team player, says Wespac Construction President John Largay, who has known Jerry Buesing for 30 years — Largay’s entire career. “He’s one of the best at complicated excavations and shoring on difficult in-fill sites,” Largay says. “That’s generally when we lean on his expertise.” Largay notes that while Buesing’s speciality is difficult digs, the company is also efficient. For instance, it’s taking the dirt excavated at its Tempe-based Marina Heights project and transporting it to Wespac’s Liberty Center at Rio Salado, which is a fill site. After three phases, Buesing will have transported approximately 400,000 cubic yards of dirt between the sites, which are about three miles apart. According to Buesing’s Vice President of Estimating and Business Development, Kevin Somerville, the work is equivalent to 28,600 truckloads. It’s not just the work Buesing has done with Wespac that Largay says is noteworthy. He’s “just a good guy.” “I don’t think [what sets Buesing apart] is just one job,” Largay says. “The guy’s been doing it for 50 years. That’s just the cloth he’s cut from. That’s the kind of operator he is. That goes through a company. The reason people work for him is because they trust him. I’m no different as Wespac. I’ve got 70 people and I’m only as good as the people who work here.” If Chuck Carefoot, vice president of construction for Ryan Companies’ Southwest region, had to summarize his company’s relationship with Buesing it would be in one word: “Teamwork.” Ryan Companies has worked with Buesing since it moved to the Valley 28 years ago. In 2003, Ryan Companies designed and built Buesing’s corporate headquarters at 7th Street and the Salt River, and the partnership is marked by a medallion placed in the hardscape near the entry to memorialize the project. Buesing also partnered with Ryan Companies on what Carefoot called the most significant project at the time, the Phelps Dodge Tower (now One North Central) on the NEC of Central and Washington streets in downtown Phoenix. “The project was Ryan’s most significant project to date in Arizona and having the opportunity to work with Buesing to design and build the four-story, below grade excavation and retention system necessary to accommodate the below grade 100 | July-August 2014
PHOTO BY SHAVON ROSE, AZ BIG MEDIA
parking was a significant advantage for the project in terms of cost and time,” he says. “Because Buesing is a true collaborator, we were able to partner with other trade contractors that needed early access to the site and retention systems that allows for success for all parties involved in the project.” The two are currently working together on Ryan Companies, ASU and Sunbelt Holdings’ monumental Marina Heights, a 2MSF and 9,000 stall office and retail development in Tempe. It’s Ryan’s largest project in the Southwest. This is a quality Suntec Concrete’s President Jerry Barnier has also noted. “From Esplanade, the Phoenix Convention Center, CityScape, to Mayo and now Marina Heights, Buesing is always in front on the intense jobs,” he says. Suntec Concrete and Buesing have worked together for more than 15 years. "There is this energy that happens on the job site when you put companies together that really can make something happen,” says Barnier. “It is a lot of fun to be around.” Bo Calbert, president of McCarthy Building Companies’ Southwest Division, agrees. “Great partnerships make great projects. Anytime you start digging, unexpected issues arise and challenges begin,” he says. “Since Buesing views themselves as partners on our projects, we work together to address the challenges and issues and get it done for our customers.” McCarthy and Buesing have worked together for three decades on many technical projects. Calbert explains that when Buesing worked on The Esplanade and 4th Avenue Jail, it was on a zero lot line that required coordination and multi-tasking to keep the projects on schedule. Hayden Ferry Lakeside, he says, was another tight site with a “significant” amount of excavation. “They always live up to their commitments and are willing to work through problems to find a solution that works for all, and helps to make the project work for the client. Because we both focus on being reliable, we work well together,” Calbert says.
ANATOMY OF A DIG There's more to dirt than meets the eye. Though every project Buesing takes on presents unique challenges, the typical "big dig" looks a little like the diagram below.
Sloped excavation Existing utilities Street Sidewalk
Pipe cantilever behind shotcrete Anchor drill
Buesing's Construction Manager, Bob Pettit, shared with AZRE the anatomy of a dig and the heavy machinery Buesing puts to work a few dozen feet into the soil strata.
Loader
Dump truck
Overburden (Strata 1) Strata 2 - SGC (Sand, Gravel, Cobbles )
Soil nails
Strata 3 -SGC continues, cobbles get larger 101
BUESING
Q&A Jerry Buesing:
The Man Beneath Arizona’s Foundations
By Amanda Ventura
J
PHOTO BY SHAVON ROSE, AZ BIG MEDIA
erry Buesing, president and CEO of Buesing Corp., began working in the construction industry at 16 years old in Minnesota. After years in the industry, he and his brother founded Buesing Corp., which he later moved to Arizona, developing a reputation for taking on difficult projects.
their families from Minnesota to Arizona. After the rough weather conditions continued in Minnesota, it was time for Buesing Corp. to be permanently based in Arizona. In 1988, we completed all contracts in Minnesota and the company officially moved.
on their project site. If that material cannot be crushed and used on site for that particular project, it can be taken to Buesing Corp. Plant II and dumped for a fraction of the price that it would cost at a landfill. That material will later be crushed at the plant and used on a different project.
Buesing Corp was founded in ’65 in Minnesota and moved to Phoenix a little more than twenty years later. Why Arizona?
Surely, the type of equipment and machines Buesing uses has changed a lot since the ‘60s. What are some of the biggest evolutions of note?
Of what project or business achievement are you most proud?
In the early ‘80s, Buesing Corp. was doing well despite the construction recession that was devastating a lot of businesses. However, the majority of Buesing’s work was in northern Minnesota. The years 1983 and 1984 provided the Midwest, particularly northern Minnesota, extremely short construction seasons due to terrible weather. The soil conditions were so poor because of the rain, snow, and sleet that work was being postponed until the summer months. Buesing Corp. received the opportunity to bid a project in Phoenix for a Denver-based company. We were awarded the project and began work on our very first Phoenix project: the 91st Ave. Wastewater Treatment Plant. Following this project, Buesing Corp. was awarded many projects through this Denver-based contractor and others in the Phoenix Metro area. In fact, there were so many opportunities, Buesing made the decision to start a division in Phoenix. I moved about 25 employees and 102 | July-August 2014
The equipment we use has definitely changed over the years, primarily in the production and fuel burn. Manufacturers now focus more on horsepower balance, weight and electronics. In regards to fuel burn, equipment is much more fuel efficient now than it was in the past. All of these changes allow us to pass savings along to our customers and make our pricing much more competitive. In addition to equipment being more cost efficient, we are seeing a lot less downtime.
Buesing Corp offers diverse services, though recycling has played an important role throughout. What is Buesing’s commitment to recycling? Buesing Corp. feels an environmental responsibility to reuse material rather than fill a landfill. In addition to doing what is right for the environment and air quality, we are able to save our customers money by reusing material that is already
I am proud of all our projects, really, because they have all been completely successfully and safely. From our early projects, such as Bank One Ball Park (now Chase Field) and America West Arena (now US Airways Arena) to our most current projects, such as Marina Heights and the Liberty Center at Rio Salado in Tempe, Ariz., Buesing Corp. has worked as a team to be part of the everchanging Phoenix Metro area.
What sets Buesing apart? Two things: The quality of people we hire and the reputation we have built with team effort over the years.
WhaT's A SURPRISING FACT ABOUT YOU? I’ve achieved all this in my 40 years of age (wink-wink). On a serious note, we have survived and accomplished so much regardless of the ups and downs of the construction industry, and I credit that mostly to the quality of people that make up Team Buesing. They truly make Buesing Corp. “Simply the Best.”
BUESING TIMELINE
1968
Buesing completes first shoring project
1965
Jerry Buesing started his business in Minnesota
2001
2014
Buesing begins to celebrate 50 years in earthwork industry
1986
Buesing completes first project in Phoenix
BUESING CORP 2014
2009
Buesing opens first concrete recycling plant in Phoenix/Chandler to produce ABC
Buesing began pile installation and site development for solar energy projects
2003
Buesing began self-performing shoring
103
Q&A
BUESING
PHOTO BY SHAVON ROSE, AZ BIG MEDIA
Rule of Three:
BUESING’S STRATEGIC GROUP REPLACES ‘BOARD’ By Amanda Ventura
Buesing Corp. recently replaced a dissolved board of directors with its strategic leadership group. The group is comprised of CFO Ken Zinser, Executive Vice President of Construction Bryon Matesi and Vice President of Estimating and Business Development Kevin Somerville. The group meets twice a month to discuss and make operational decisions.
» Kevin Somerville, started
» Ken Zinser, a relatively
What would people be surprised to know about soil in Arizona?
How have recently rising construction costs affected Buesing? How is the company overcoming that obstacle?
his career at Buesing Corp. as chief estimator. In his current role as vice president of estimating and business development, he oversees a team of 12 estimators and is responsible for project lead development, budget and bid opportunities and detailed cost basis for Buesing’s services.
The geologic conditions and geotechnical properties of soil in Arizona are widely varied and changes from site to site and with depth. Thus, the importance of studying and knowing the soils report for the project and being able to draw upon the invaluable experience of performing work in similar soils or next door. Often we can have a good indication of what to expect for the budget or beginning process of an estimate just by knowing the cross streets of the job, given the hundreds of projects Buesing Corp. has been involved in.
How have construction costs affected Buesing's projectS? The impact of the cost of construction materials, labor and equipment is felt by Buesing and our competitors generally alike. We are innovative and looking at ways to remain competitive despite these rising costs and are always looking for the “edge.”
What does the future hold for Buesing? Buesing Corp. is cautiously optimistic about the construction market in Arizona and we believe opportunities will be somewhat sporadic but with a continued rise in confidence and growth within Arizona construction and the economy in general. 104 | July-August 2014
recent addition to the Buesing team, brought three decades of accounting and financial management experience in the construction industry to Buesing Corp. as the company's chief financial officer. Zinser has an MBA from Michigan State University and is CPA and LEED accredited.
Because we own such a large fleet of trucks and heavy equipment, we are less impacted by fluctuations in the rental market. We also have a highly trained team of professional drivers and operators, with significant tenure, so we are not at the mercy of fluctuations in the labor market. This makes us much less impacted by rising costs and economic cycles.
What are Buesing’s long-term goals? Simply put, Buesing Corp.’s long term goals are to be the industry leader, sustain profitable growth, further develop our team, be responsible corporate citizens and continue to be “Simply the Best.”
Giving back to the community is important to buesing. Instead of donating money, though, the company opts for pro bono work. what was Buesing's most recent charitable project? It was the Move It project with the Phoenix Children’s Museum. Buesing Corp. donated material and labor valued at $54,500. Buesing Corp. enjoys contributing to projects that better our community.
»
Bryon Matesi, Buesing’s executive vice president of construction, has worked in the heavy civil construction business for 25 years. For the first 16 of those years, he worked mainly on public works and Department of Transportation projects. The last nine years have been on commercial projects. He joined Buesing in 2005. What kind of recent technology has had the greatest influence on the way Buesing digs? The implementation of GPS Machine Control technology, which allows Buesing Corp. to be more competitive in the market place by greatly increasing our operator efficiency and reducing operating cost.
How did Buesing fare and weather the LATEST Recession? By recognizing the demand for alternative energy projects early-on in the downturn, Buesing was able to position itself to take advantage of these new opportunities. The recession was not without pain however through the hard work and dedication of all Buesing employees we were able to expand our business while most were downsizing.
What has affected thE Scale of Buesing's projects over the years? In the past year, we have completed
projects ranging from $2K to $20M. The type of work that Buesing has historically worked on has changed with the economy. Currently we are seeing a resurgence in the commercial excavation and shoring market that took a downturn when the real-estate market collapsed.
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NOTABLE PROJECTS
PROJECT PROFILES 1. Agua Caliente Solar Plant
Owner: NRG Energy, MidAmerican Solar Developer: First Solar, Inc. Location: Dateland, Ariz. Start/completion dates: October 2010 to November 2011
By Kevin Somerville
2
Project description:
At one point in time, this project was one of largest solar plants in the world and still likely offers some of the largest megawatt capacity in Arizona. The project schedule was fast-tracked and required robust crew sizes, multiple crews and extended hours and Saturdays to meet the milestone dates.
Buesing’s role:
Buesing Corp. performed the civil site development for the solar plant that included clear and grubbing, laydown areas, mass cut/ fill and grading for the solar arrays, storm water control retention basins and channels, rip rap, storm drain culverts and aggregate (ABC) roads. Additional work included developing a storm water diversion berm and storm water stilling basin and crushing 1 concrete debris for rip rap.
By the Numbers Size of plant: 290 MW (enough electricity for ±150,000 to 225,000 homes) System type: Ground mount, utility scale, fixed racking and panel Number of PV panels (modules): 5.2M Estimated cost: $967M to $1.2B Buesing Scope By the Numbers Project Land Area: 2,400 acres Volume of cut/fill dirt: 1.3M cubic yards
1
2. Confidential Solar Project
Developer: LS Power Engineer: Fluor Corp. Location: East of Buckeye, Ariz. Start/completion dates: October 2012 to September 2013
Project description:
This project is one of the largest solar plants in Arizona in terms of megawatt capacity. The schedule was fast-tracked and required robust crew sizes, multiple crews and extended hours and Saturdays to meet the milestone dates. Buesing Corp. bid and was awarded the multiple scope project with Fluor Corp., one of
the top-five largest power plant contractors in the world. It was the second-largest dollar value contract by Buesing Corp. in its 50-year history.
Buesing’s role:
Buesing Corp. performed civil site development for the solar plant that included clear and grubbing, main site access road, laydown areas, mass cut/fill and grading, storm water control retention basins and channels, rip rap, storm drain culverts, shotcrete lining on diversion channels and aggregate (ABC) roads. In addition, Buesing Corp. performed the installation of driven piles for the solar arrays.
Project By the Numbers Size of plant: 127 MW (enough electricity for 32,000 to 40,000 homes) System type: ground mount, utility scale, single-axis tracking (SAT) racking and panel Estimated cost: $500M Buesing Scope By the Numbers Access road: 1.1 miles Project land size: 970 acres Volume of cut/fill dirt: 1.9M cubic yards Number of driven piles: 135,342 each
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4. CityScape
Developer: RED Development General Contractor: Hunt Construction Group Architect: Callison Location: Central Avenue and Washington Street, 1st and Jefferson streets, Phoenix Start/completion dates: January 2008 to April 2010
3. Chase Field (Bank One Ballpark)
Owner: Maricopa County Stadium District General Contractor: Huber Hunt Nichols / Perini Building Company JV Architect: AECOM, Wyatt/Rhodes Architects, Castillo Company,
Cox James Location: 7th and Jefferson streets, Phoenix Start/completion dates: 1995 to 1997 Project description:
This stadium project, constructed in the middle of downtown Phoenix, was fast-tracked, and at its peak of construction had more than 2,500 workers on-site at one time. The schedule demanded multiple shifts of work and, many times, 24-hour construction activities. The project schedule required the collaboration of two general contractors, Huber Hunt Nichols and Perini, in addition to two earthwork contractors, including Buesing Corp. After demolition and clearing, the first order of business was for the surveyor to map the exact location of home plate. A temporary plate was installed at the correct orientation and was protected and used as a reference point throughout construction.
BUESING’S ROLE:
Buesing Corp. performed the structural excavation and backfill, export of excess soils, furnish and install of aggregate (ABC) and grading for structures. The mass excavation scope was performed by another contractor.
Project By the Numbers
Structure: Dome stadium 255 ft. high Estimated cost: $354M Seating: 48,633 Interesting features: Retracting roof, natural grass field
Project description: The dollar value of this project is one of the top single commercial and building development projects built in the metropolitan Phoenix area. Buesing Corp. was asked to implement a fast-track schedule, which required multiple crews and extended hours and multiple Saturdays to achieve key milestone dates to allow the concrete trade subtractor to begin its work and meet the overall project schedule. The below-grade garage was constructed using podium construction methods, where the footprint of the garage is larger and extends outward beyond the footprint of the building(s). In the case of this project, there are two high-rise buildings (one office/retail and one hotel/condo/retail) spaced throughout the garage footprint. This project consisted of three different types of shoring systems to meet the project constraints and the permit agency requirements. The three systems were: soil nails using hollow core steel bars, steel beam cantilever and steel beam with tiebacks. Buesing’s role: Buesing Corp. performed clear and grubbing, surface demolition, sorting and screening debris from previous structures in the upper 10 feet, mass excavation for a below-grade garage five levels deep, wall line shoring and shotcrete finish walls for the garage. Project By the Numbers Buildings: 2 (28-story office tower, 25-story hotel) Estimated cost: $900M Building area: 1.2MSF Parking stalls: 3,000 Completed: 2011
Buesing Scope By the Numbers Project land area: 2.6 acres Garage footprint: 89,820 SF Depth of excavation: (5 levels of garage) Varied 57 to the floor and 70 feet deep to bottom of mat foundation Mass excavation and haul off: 248,000 cubic yards Truck loads: 17,715 Shoring: 87,831 SF (21 miles of soil nails in total length) Shotcrete finish walls: 66,000
5. Hospice of the Valley
General Contractor: Arthur Porter Location: Flower and 16th streets, Phoenix Start/completion dates: August 2009 to February 2010 Project description: This project was almost fully funded by private donations, so the subcontractors were asked to keep costs down wherever possible. The timing of this project was a positive ray of hope during the economic downturn. Buesing Corp. elected not to employ an internal ramp to the bottom of the excavation. Instead, it used a conveyor system to convey soil out of the hole and directly into its belly dump trucks. The bottom of the excavation was cemented soils, therefore hydraulic hammers on trackhoe equipment were required to finish the excavation and assist with the foundation excavation. Buesing’s role: Buesing Corp. performed surface demolition, clear and grubbing, mass excavation for a below-grade garage that was three levels deep, wall line shoring and shotcrete finish walls for the garage. Buesing Scope By the Numbers Project land area: 1.8 acres Garage footprint: 35,000 Depth of garage: 34 ft. (3 levels) Volume of mass excavation and haul off of dirt: 55,500 cubic yards Shoring area: 35,097 SF (wall line) Shotcrete finish walls area: 33,770 SF 107
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6. Marina Heights
Developers: Ryan Companies, Sunbelt Holdings Architect: Davis Location: Rural Road & Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe, Ariz. Start/completion dates: July 2013 to November 2014 Project description: The dollar value of this project is one of the top single commercial and building development projects built in the Phoenix Metro. It will attract approximately 8,000 people to work in the upcoming two to four years. To add to this number, there are projections that Marina Heights and a couple others nearby will spur additional development on both sides of Tempe Town Lake. This project was somewhat unique in that the shoring design and the below-grade garage were subject to review and approval and permits by multiple agencies such as the City of Tempe (COT) and the Flood Control District of Maricopa County (FCDMC), which required multiple permits and levels of planning and approvals. Buesing Corp. was asked to implement a fast-track schedule, which required multiple crews and extended hours and multiple Saturdays to achieve key milestone dates to allow the concrete trade subcontractor to begin its work to meet the overall project schedule. The below-grade garage was constructed using podium construction methods, where the footprint of the garage is larger and extends outward beyond the footprint of the building(s). In the case of this project, there are five office and retail buildings spaced throughout the garage footprint. This project consisted of three different types of shoring systems to meet the project constraints and the permit agency requirements. The three systems were: soil nails using hollow core steel bars, soil nails using hollow core fiberglass bars and steel beam with tiebacks. Buesing’s role: Buesing Corp. performed surface demolition, clear and grubbing, 108 | July-August 2014
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mass excavation for a below-grade garage three levels deep, wall line shoring and shotcrete finish walls for the garage. Project By the Numbers Buildings: 5 Estimated cost: $600M Building area: 2MSF Parking stalls: 8,200 Expected completion: 2017 Buesing Scope By the Numbers Project land area: 26 acres Garage footprint: 82,840 SF Depth of excavation: Varied, 20 to 27 feet deep Mass excavation & haul off: 426,000 cubic yards Truck loads: 24,600 Shoring: 106,000 Shotcrete finish walls: 95,000
7. Phoenix Convention Center
Owner: City of Phoenix General Contractor: Hunt–Russell-Alvarado triventure Architects: Populous and Leo A. Daly Location: Central Avenue & Washington Street, Phoenix Start/completion dates: 2005 to 2008 (two phases) Project description: The Phoenix Convention Center was a total replacement of the old City Civic Center (North Hall) on the north side of Washington Street and tripled its facility size. The original South Hall on the south side of Washington Street is also still being used. The convention center expansion was integral to the renovations to the adjacent Symphony Hall and construction of Phoenix’s 19-mile light rail system. Buesing performed work on the phase 1a scope package that included mass excavation and shoring associated with a narrow
temporary ramp to the bottom of the excavation for phase 1 activities. Another contractor performed the mass excavation and haul off of dirt for phase 1. The excavation of the garage encompassed a city block. The shoring contractor was retained by the general contractor directly, which required close coordination. Buesing was responsible for building a temporary ramp that could be used for its trucks (to haul off dirt), but also other trade subcontractors for about eight months. The garage walls were constructed by another trade subcontractor using slip form cast-in-place (CIP) methods. Buesing’s role: Buesing Corp. took receipt of the concrete demolition debris from the old City Civic Center structures at an off-site location and crushed and screened to produce an aggregate (ABC) to meet MAG. The ABC material was then transported back to the site later on for use under the garage floor to obtain LEED credit. Buesing Corp. performed the mass excavation and haul off for the below-grade garage that was equivalent to three levels deep. Project By the Numbers Structure: 1 (Below- and above-ground convention and meeting space) Building area: 868,300 SF (new facility only) Total convention area: 2.7MSF (after expansion) Estimated cost: $600M Buesing Scope By the Numbers Project land area: 11.5 acres Garage footprint: 397,700 SF Depth of excavation: (3 levels) 33-feet average and deeper at foundations Volume of mass excavation and haul off of dirt: 548,800 cubic yards (phase 2 activities)
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8. Sheraton Hotel
Developer: Downtown Phoenix Hotel Corporation General Contractor: Perini Building Company Architects: Arquitectonica and RSP Architects Location: 3rd and Van Buren streets, Phoenix Start/completion dates: 2006 to 2008
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Buesing’s role: Buesing Corp. performed surface demolition, clear and grubbing, mass excavation for a below-grade garage that is two levels deep, mat foundation excavation, wall line shoring and garage wall backfill. Project By the Numbers Structure: 1 Building area: 868,300 SF (new facility only) Number of rooms: 1,000 Number of floors: 31 Estimated cost: $350M Buesing Scope By the Numbers Project land area: 3.4 acres Garage footprint: 87,259 SF Depth of excavation: (24 ft. typical and 32 ft. at mat foundation) Volume of mass excavation and haul off of dirt: 86,429 cubic yards Shoring area: 39,300 SF (wall line) Shotcrete finish wall area: 33,500 SF
9. UniSource
Developer: UniSource, subsidiary of Tucson Electric Power (TEP) General Contractor: Ryan Companies Architect: Davis Location: Broadway Road and 6th Ave, Tucson, Ariz. Start/completion dates: June 2011 to February 2012 Project description: This project was not only a high-profile, signature type of project for downtown Tucson, but it also occurred in the middle of an economic lull.
Buesing Corp. performed three major scopes for this project, including mass excavation and haul off, shoring and shotcrete finish walls. This was one of the largest commercial building and below-grade garage projects Buesing Corp. has ever performed in the Tucson area. Buesing’s role: Buesing Corp. performed surface demolition, clear and grubbing, mass excavation for a below grade garage that was three levels deep, wall line shoring and shotcrete finish walls for the garage. Buesing Scope By the Numbers Project land size: 2.2 acres Garage footprint: 60,255 SF Depth of excavation: 36 ft. to bottom of mat foundation (3 levels) Volume of mass excavation and haul off of dirt: 61,054 cubic yards Shoring area: 33,712 SF Shotcrete finish wall area: 30,522 SF
10. Valencia Heights Residential Developer: Lennar General Contractors: Buesing / Lennar
Civil Engineer: Coe & Van Loo Consultants Location: Mesa, Ariz. Start/completion dates: March to April 2014 Project description: This project is one of many residential projects ongoing in the Valley during a hot-and-cold buying market. With this fluctuating market the bid opportunities are equally up and down. This site was recently an orchard, so deep over-excavation was required to mitigate the disturbed soil where more than 1,100 tree root balls once were. Buesing’s role: Buesing Corp. performed civil site development for the residential community that included clear and grubbing, mass cut/fill and grading, over-excavation and re-compaction, and fine grading for single-family home lots and interior roads. Buesing Scope By the Numbers Project land area: 11.2 acres Number of home lots/pads: 52 Volume of cut/fill and grading dirt: 39,320 cubic yards Import and export of dirt: 1,100 cubic yards 109
BUESING
Digging Deep Buesing’s unique, character-building projects By Amanda Ventura
Left, Northern Arizona University's Skydome; Above, Phoenician ballroom expansion.
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hen Buesing isn’t excavating for some of the biggest projects in the state, its building tunnels beneath Phoenix or working on flood control projects. The company has a reputation for taking on difficult digs — ones that require more than the big Caterpillar equipment and shoring walls. Whether it’s cutting into a butte and creating a tunnel at Phoenix International Raceway just two months before a big race or disassembling and carrying equipment through a theater to build an underground elevator, Buesing’s varied role in Arizona’s commercial construction is sometimes best defined by its lesser-known feats. “The work we did at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts project wasn’t the start of a skyline changer or a large grading job like many of our projects are, but it was a complex job that required experience and outside-the-box thinking to accomplish,” says Construction Manager Bob Pettit. Buesing’s team excavated 28 feet deep
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in a small area inside an existing facility, making the movement of equipment and the dig’s spoils challenging. However, it’s not the first — or even the most challenging — indoor dig Buesing has taken on. When Northern Arizona University wanted to add sky boxes to its Skydome athletics facility, Buesing took on the difficult project that was bound by an academic schedule, working indoors and the unpredictability of installing micropile foundation in bedrock that, based on location in the arena, could vary in depth from 14 to 70 feet. “It’s hard to know how much material to order with no idea how long the micropile will be,” says Pettit. “It is also hard to say when the work will be complete with no idea how much work there is to do. This was another project with a rigid schedule – students were showing up and the project needed to be done before they got there so we had to make it happen despite the challenges.”
Buesing worked closely with suppliers to ensure materials would be available and shipped on short notice. The company also had three crews on the job and ran the drill nearly 24 hours a day for the duration of the project. Hitting walls — and plowing through them — is what Buesing’s good at. In 2009, the company took on the ballroom expansion at the Phoenician resort, which needed to be built right into Camelback Mountain. Blasting within the resort was off the table, Pettit says. “The shoring was pre-designed by others using long soil nails which weren’t the best option for the conditions,” he adds. So, Buesing approached the mountain with hammer hoes, a D-9 dozer and excavators with rock buckets. To amend the long soil nail pre-design issue, Buesing worked with the project team to redesign the shoring system with rock bolts. On a more delicate note, Buesing has also endured projects in which soil couldn’t stand on its own, making a dig more difficult, such as when it dug a trench for the El Paso Natural Gas line in 2006. And, again, when Buesing installed a secondary protection wall for Ashurst Dam by way of installing sheet piling (which is rare in Arizona, due to soil type). Buesing had to avoid damaging a historic wall built in the early 1900s. “We used installation equipment that allowed adjustment of the speed and frequency of vibration, closely monitored the wall, and adjusted installation as necessary,” Pettit says.
DIGS Buesing!!
Congratulations on turning 50.
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