NEW YORK — The nation was focused on a tropical storm spinning off the Carolinas and a hurricane headed for
The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 11,220 on Sept. 5, the Friday after Labor Day last year. There was an economic slowdown under way — no one doubted that. Whether it amounted to a bona fide recession was semantics, a question for economists. more…
Mayo
Citing an aging population that will increase demand on hospitals, Mayo wants to construct a new hospital building and four outpatient clinic and office structures on its campus at
Home builder Ken Peterson wonders if the people who think his company should stop building homes realize just how many jobs are at stake.
Peterson, vice president of sales and marketing for Shea Homes, said the Walnut, Calif.-based company is finally putting some Valley workers back on the job after undergoing necessary staff reductions earlier in the year. more…
The Stratford Co. of Dallas signed a deal Monday to invest $75 million in the partially completed Vistancia master-planned community in north Peoria.
The private real estate investment firm, primarily puts its money in land but occasionally ventures out into projects like Vistancia, said Diane Belcher, director of investments for Stratford’s Arizona office.
The equity partnership is the first large deal for
Vistancia, created by Shea Homes and Sunbelt Holdings, covers about 7,100 acres south of
About 3,500 homes have been built since 2004 and are occupied, according to information provided by Vistancia’s public relations firm.
The new entity will use the capital infusion to pay off remaining debt owed to GMAC.
Vistancia had a three-year, $125 million note with GMAC through its real estate funding division, according to Rick Andreen, president of Shea Homes Active Lifestyle Communities. Though that loan was not scheduled to mature until December 2011, the Vistancia partners were feeling pressure to take action, Andreen said.
“We learned that GMAC didn’t want to be in the (real estate) business anymore and we’d end up with a new banker,” Andreen said.
Through Nate Nathan, principal at land brokerage firm Nathan & Associates Inc. in
Instead of refinancing, Vistancia was able to pay off GMAC and bring in an equity partner.
“We’re very pleased whenever we can more completely control our own destiny,” Andreen said.
New homes sales have picked up in the past several months, Andreen said, even though Vistancia is a more luxury-style community. He said the most popular price point now averages about $320,000.
There are 110 homes sold that are in escrow currently.
“We’re still selling houses and building houses. We’re letting the market drive our behavior,” Andreen said.
Another parcel of almost 300 acres will be added to the Sonoran Preserve soon, and the city has changed the order by which land will be added to the preserve.
The Phoenix City Council approved plans to bid on the property at a not-yet-scheduled auction of state land. The city is likely to be the only bidder, as has been the case on each of the other parcels it has acquired for the new preserve. more…