PhoenixMart

[combusean]

Yeah, I'd like to see more updates as well. It's interesting you mention this in relation to the Sun Corridor--i've always thought that was long ago written off, especially given the more likelihood of growth towards San Tan Valley.

One of the implicit necessities of the Sun Corridor to exist is that Casa Grande must emerge as more than a lazy bedroom community between Chandler and the outskirts of Tucson. I'm still skeptical this will pan out to its entirety as few things in Arizona ever have, but if it actually does, I'd like to know more of what could be a game changer in the fabled Sun Corridor's growth, and for Casa Grande.

[Leo the Dog]

I wonder if Tucsonians are upset/bothered that Phoenix branding is edging into their neck of the woods/creeping down the 10, with the name "Phoenixmart".

You know, how Phoenix mooches off the Scottsdale brand along Scottsdale road.

[sh9730]

Com and Leo -

Interesting you both mention CG in relation to Tucson - I ve been here about 8+ years now and I definitely get the feel tha CG residents consider them related to PHOENIX more than Tucson.

Even in distance we are closer to downtown Phoenix than to Tucson (45 miles to downtown PHX vs 60 to downtown TUC), especially when you consider how quickly you enter the Phoenix metro (Chandler/Ahwatukee) vs Tucson (Marana doesn't have nearly the metro feel of Chandler).

I get that the Gila River reservation makes it SEEM like CG is so isolated - that is likely not going to change much (sun corridor or not) - much like San Diego/Orange Co/LA will never actually all merge because of Camp Pendleton.... but I have noticed others in Phoenix and elsewhere thinking that CG is more aligned with Tucson than Phoenix and that has just not been my experience.

Leo - I know this thread is getting a little long now - but we discussed the name way back when - SUPPOSEDLY the name is more related to the "Phoenix Rising" reference, than the nearby city.....seems like an awfully big coincidence....but that's the marketing spin being put on it....

Anyway - I ll keep posting updates - This final part of 2014 will be a key to the eventual reality of this thing I think. They really have been working behind the scenes (I know this through contacts at the city etc...) and the infrastructure agreements WILL be done by year end - so then there will be nothing holding them back from actually starting construction.....

[sh9730]

Monthly update here - The zone change Phoenixmart is requesting moved through the 1st public hearing at the planning commission this week. I was unable to attend the meeting this time but here is an article link:

http://www.trivalleycentral.com/casa...21ea0c764.html

They are reducing their original intent of a significant amount of housing in later phases to use that land as warehouse/logistics instead.

There will be a little bit of blowback from the planning commission as the article indicates. But - they never really liked the density for the housing component the project originally proposed anyway so I think this will still pass through the hurdles of both planning and council. This is all later phase stuff anyway but...

As for the project itself - the article says they are hoping to get heavy equipment working the site next month - but final completion is moving to early 2016 now....

[sh9730]

SO - the first of the real tangible items being brought to the CG planning commission at their November meeting.

http://www.casagrandeaz.gov/files/20...14_meeting.pdf

Looks like Layton Construction will be the point with the City as far as permitting etc goes. As such they are the ones presenting the Major Site Plan/Final Development plan to the commission. This will also require a Council approval so that would be follow in December at the earliest - IF approved by Planning.

Looks like the final size is 1.5 million Sq Ft - will be interesting to see the final renderings (which aren't online yet but should be soon as part of the planning department presentation to the commission).

Also remember that Phoenixmart has its second "special" meeting tonight to get some of the original zoning on the periphery (about 100 acres or so) from the original residential designation to an commercial/industrial. This is so they can set up more logistics operations that they hope will come out of the Phoenixmart project itself - warehouses and the like.

There is another item on the P&Z agenda in November that may be a tangent of Phoenixmart. The owners of the large P A D adjacent to the Phoenixmart P A D are asking for approval of some land use changes and better use designations. Looks like this nearby P A D still will be mostly residential - just some changes in specific uses on the already approved P A D.

Anyway - good to see the Site Plan finally get out there - it goes with the "At Risk" grading Phoenixmart says they hope to start in November...

[sh9730]

SO - here is the City Staff report for the Phoenixmart building itself - this hearing is to approve the building itself - not the road network around it etc. although that infrastructure IS discussed in the report.

http://www.casagrandeaz.gov/files/20...A-13-00121.pdf

Unfortunately as of yet - the EXHIBITS - which appear to include at least some elevation drawings as well as some possible better renderings as well - are NOT online - at least yet. I did contact the City Planner and the associate handling the project is supposed to contact me, and hopefully provide me with some of the other exhibits and if/when I get anything electronic I will provide those.

This report is large and detailed - but nothing super new other than some more detail of the road network, building details etc. It appears the majority of the building will be 40' high, and then a tower structure - which I BELIEVE to be ornamental only - will reach a height of 99.5'.

The only other noteworthy item is a mention again of the intent to start "at risk" dirt work in late November/early December - and with the approval of this site plan that at risk permit will also be issued.

There is a lot of other information in the report - but those are the highlights I think anyone here would care about.

At the same time the commission will be approving major P A D changes to the adjacent development as I spoke about in earlier posts. That report is also large and detailed - and is on the City of CG website. It is mainly moving things around to complement the Phoenixmart P A D as I interpret the changes.

Finally, on a concurrent path - the City Council will approve the next leg of the sewer development at their November 3rd meeting. Although this is technically a City project, Phoenixmart was the driving force to implement this now - and they are paying for over half of the work to be done. This contract is just for pre-construction services (soil testing etc...).

SO - if I get those renderings I will post them - otherwise it seems like we should really see some movement on the ground on this thing in the next couple of months.

[Obadno]

Looks like Phoenix mart is going to break ground

http://azbex.com/groundbreaking-on-1...-for-november/

The 1.5MSF building, roughly the size of 24 football fields, is the linchpin of the billion-dollar, 585-acre mixed-use project NALTEC, or North American Logistics, Trade & E-Commerce City. It will be built about two miles east of Interstate 10 on the north side of Florence Boulevard.

The development plan is expected to come before Casa Grande’s City Council in the next week or so.

Some initial work has begun and if the city approves a grading permit, work will begin in earnest mid-November, Rob Kobierowski predicted. He is corporate director of planning and construction for the master developer, AZ Sourcing.

PhoenixMart, described as revolutionary by an executive, could be open for tenants in November 2015.

great ecinomic development for the entire Central AZ corridor!

[sh9730]

SO, I notice a few interesting things in this article - and remember - I am hoping this thing is a grand success - BUT....

#1 - and this is minor - but its the Planning Commission this is going before tonight to approve the at risk grading permit - not the Council. I could be wrong but I don't believe this approval requires Council approval at this point. Again, this is semantics and I could be mistaken anyway and it may have to go to Council at their next meeting - but definitely wont be any public hearing on it at that stage as no notice has been posted.

#2 - This one really jumped at me - 4 million visitors a year!!!??? That's 10K per day.....even their own marketing video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACZz_MEEjak) touts 10K per MONTH! None of the infrastructure being proposed would support 10K per day.

#3 - 1 billion dollar project (headline from article above) - well I suppose that at FULL BUILDOUT 20 years from now it could be 1B - but all the numbers I ve seen from the developers to this point have all said 300 million. Not shabby in and of itself - but not 1B....

Im not sure if this spokesperson got it wrong (I think he is new to AZ Sourcing) or the reporter interpreted things incorrectly.....

Either way - the core of the article - that things are finally starting to move on this in a substancial way - is good news as far as I am concerned!

[Arquitect]

Originally Posted by sh9730

SO, I notice a few interesting things in this article - and remember - I am hoping this thing is a grand success - BUT....

#1 - and this is minor - but its the Planning Commission this is going before tonight to approve the at risk grading permit - not the Council. I could be wrong but I don't believe this approval requires Council approval at this point. Again, this is semantics and I could be mistaken anyway and it may have to go to Council at their next meeting - but definitely wont be any public hearing on it at that stage as no notice has been posted.

#2 - This one really jumped at me - 4 million visitors a year!!!??? That's 10K per day.....even their own marketing video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACZz_MEEjak) touts 10K per MONTH! None of the infrastructure being proposed would support 10K per day.

#3 - 1 billion dollar project (headline from article above) - well I suppose that at FULL BUILDOUT 20 years from now it could be 1B - but all the numbers I ve seen from the developers to this point have all said 300 million. Not shabby in and of itself - but not 1B....

Im not sure if this spokesperson got it wrong (I think he is new to AZ Sourcing) or the reporter interpreted things incorrectly.....

Either way - the core of the article - that things are finally starting to move on this in a substancial way - is good news as far as I am concerned!

For #2, maybe they are expecting people to stop by in their from Tucson or Phoenix in a similar manner to the outlets? But yeah, that number seems way too high, especially for something that will not be marketing to an extremely broad group of people.

[sh9730]

Arqutect -

Yeah, they seem to have made a minor change in the business plan to have a little more retail than originally planned - according to this article at least - in which my confidence wanes - as well as the full service restaurant inside the center etc.

There will also be the hotel next door and the SoHo condos in phase I.

I suppose there could be some draw off the freeway passerby - IF and its a big IF - these new retail services are inviting and/or the restaurant is special in some way. I mean they also own the old outlets (now renamed CityGate) and have just had to subdivide some of those suites into 300-500 SF "mini-suites" for local businesses to share - so there is plenty of the retail aspect they are already trying to fill.

But, as I said - I don't think the infrastructure, traffic studies, etc. have been geared towards 10K visitors to Phoenixmart a day. The information is in that staff report linked to a couple of posts ago - Im not an expert but for this first phase it looks like they are only requiring a couple of turn lanes and a stop light or two on Florence Blvd (AZ 287) and that doesn't seem like the requirements that will handle 10K visitors a day....

Be interesting to see what is said at the meeting tonight - depending on when on the agenda they get to this item I am going to try and be there - but not sure I will make it on time....

[sh9730]

SO - I wasn't able to make it to the Planning Commission meeting the other night - but the site plan was approved:

http://www.trivalleycentral.com/casa...da67dbe2f.html

The article does say there was some kind of renderings there - but Im not sure they are in electronic format as I haven't seen them posted anywhere - even though I requested it from the city.

The rest is pretty much stuff already stated here - Phoenixmart will now have city staff approve the "at risk" grading permit and they continue to say that work should start in the next 30 days or so.

They also apparently have submitted the smoke report to the city since as you recall there is some unique fire code approvals required for this project.

We ll see.....

[sh9730]

OK - Renderings!

Here is a link to another local website that does a good job with detail on local govt issues etc. There isn't much really NEW information here as would expect - but he records all of the government meetings and then writes articles with a lot of quotes to provide good context. There is sections on all of the infrastructure status (Traffic, Sewer, Water, Telecom).

http://cgnews-info.webs.com/special

Then here is a link to the latest renderings - the main building drawing is basically what they have on their website - so this appears to be the overall view:




Then this link is to a powerpoint .pdf with the "elevations" which aren't all that great to look at but at least give an idea:

http://cgnews-info.webs.com/PM%206%20nov%2014.pdf

The building itself is really nothing all that special as to what people on this forum would likely hope for - its really a slightly updraded distribution center model.

But its the impact that hopefully will change the face of this region....

Until next month....(as I don't think there will be much new in the next few weeks..)

[sh9730]

POST DELETED - link discussed has been changed now so no need for the post.

[sh9730]

SO, went to the City Council meeting tonight - where I ve got to say - things are starting to really move along on this project. Final approval was given to:

The primary contractor for pre-construction sewer services (Haydon Contstuction).
Approval of acquisition of right of way (via dedication, purchase, or condemnation as needed) for said sewer project.

Though not SPECIFICALLY a Phoenixmart project as I ve mentioned in earlier posts - the project was clearly the impetus for this sewer line and Phoenixmart is paying for about 50% of the 10 million dollar cost.

Council also approved the land use changes that Planning approved a couple of weeks ago - basically removing all low density residential from this P A D.

I pulled aside a high level Phoenixmart principal after the meeting and got a little update as to some of the questions we posed in a couple of posts after that AZBEX article was posted on the project.

The 4 million (10K per day) visitors per year figure is to include the daily workers at the site and environs (hotels, restaraunts, apartments etc) which going to be about 3500 workers or thereabouts. In all honesty they say their projections are somewhat of an unknown at this point for sure - they have some days that project as high as 20K or more if a convention is going on...but until it actually happens they wont know.

As for the retail component it is going to be VERY small piece - basically the booths that have direct access from the outside (about 150 or so) will potentially have a small retail component - the rest of the booths will be strictly wholesale. However, the restaurants (a couple of which may be pretty high end he said based on current conversations with the hospitality partner), and other ancillary offerings will also be open to the public.

Finally, the "at risk" grading began TODAY - so dirt is moving out there in a real way now.

I guess my main takeaway from the night is that my confidence level in the completion of at least phase I of the project - the main center, the business hotel, and the SOHO apartments - is now very high. I would be extremely surprised if it DIDNT happen now with so much invested and work actually starting.

Side note - the Tractor Supply Company disty center (650K SF) had the official groundbreaking today also although grading has already been going on there for a couple of weeks.

[sh9730]

Phoenixmart Facebook page updated with some pics of the official real grading work going on at the site today. Also, a pretty detailed description in the status update accompanying the pictures with all the various behind the scenes work continuing.

https://www.facebook.com/PhoenixMart...ation=timeline

SO - here it goes. As I ve said all along - the further this thing moves forward, the less chance of at least the first phase not completing.

My confidence in the actual building and hotel/apts being finished is now at about 98% given all my sources of information.

[dtnphx]

Jeremy Schoenfelder out at PhoenixMart

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/n...8&t=1418341322

[sh9730]

Yeah - behind the scenes his leaving wasn't a surprise. He has been there from the beginning so I am sure he was ready for a change after 4 years - although he was only President for a little over a year.

I am sure there are stresses in any organization trying to put a project like this together in the manner they are.

Jeremy is a good guy and I hope this experience helps him move into something fulfilling for himself.

[sh9730]

Not exactly sure why this article was written as it really provides little new information beyond what they have written about in the past but here it is:

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/n...next-year.html

It does discuss some of the ancillary services that the developers plan to provide.

Otherwise - drove by the site on may way to do last minute shopping at the Promenade Mall (the regular retail mall about a mile from the Phoenixmart site) and there is definitely heavy grading going on etc. now and Temp power has been put in place.

Nothing really new in the permitting process or anything yet - likely wont see any of that until the government schedule resumes in the new year.

[dtnphx]

Construction Ramps Up at PhoenixMart Commerce Center

Bulldozers Are Finally Lining Up At The 585-Acre Site In Casa Grande

By Randyl Drummer, CoStar
January 14, 2015

Grading is under way at PhoenixMart, a huge bazaar-style trading center south of Phoenix, billed by its developers as the largest commerce center in the Western Hemisphere.

The 1.5 million-square-foot PhoenixMart, being built along Interstate 10 in Casa Grande, AZ, will be comprised of more than 1,700 vendor suites when it opens by the end of the year.

The center is slated for delivery in the fourth quarter. Pre-construction work has been under way for nearly a year, a time which has seen shakeups in the project's executive leadership.

PhoenixMart is the centerpiece of the 585-acre North American Logistics, Trade and E-Commerce City (NALTEC), a "city within a city" that is also proposed to include a hotel and "work and stay" residential condos, according to NALTEC developer AZ Sourcing.

PhoenixMart’s Scottsdale-based leasing team is visiting manufacturers, distributors and materials companies in the U.S. and around the world to recruit retail tenants for the ginormous commerce center. The center is targeting companies doing business in home improvements, hotels, fashion, food and beverage, electronics, office and recreation sectors.

[sh9730]

So - here is the latest public information on this project from a speech at the Chamber of Commerce on Friday. I was unable to attend as I was out of town:

http://www.trivalleycentral.com/casa...8f8bd42b3.html

Basically they say things are moving along well - that grading is 95% complete. I have been by several times over the last couple of months and they definitely have been moving dirt and were also doing some surveying along Florence Blvd. in front of the site - assuming that is related to the roadway improvements they will need to do before opening.

One slight thing that is a little worrisome is they say the EB-5 investor "vetting" is still not complete and the total funding cannot be released without this final approval. I was sort of under the impression that all aspects of that program had already been dealt with. ALWAYS scares me when an outside government entity can still put the kibosh on a project like this - although they don't seem worried about it except as to exact timing of construction.

They will be at a P&Z meeting next week requesting another PAD amendment - the staff report for this request is not out yet so I am not sure what it is about.

Anyway - stuff is happening but man this has so many moving parts that drag along.