Editor’s note: We take a look at some high-profile projects proposed for the Valley in recent years, and where they stand now.
One project that appears to have momentum is
Developer HB Equities LLC has been waiting for months for $1.2 billion in unconventional bond financing that was created through the tiny < ?xml:namespace prefix = v ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml” />
As of early October, however, the company still was waiting for the money to flow. Banovac again said the money was days from being wired to his firm.
Sean Elton, vice president of development for HB, reiterated that the project is on track, with construction to begin early in 2010.
“We are committed to a ball bouncing at USAB in 2011, and remaining construction will be continuous for the following four-plus years,” Elton said. “The bond closing date is imminent.”
CityScape
In downtown
The first office and retail tenants will take occupancy in March. Although 70 percent the 600,000-square-foot office tower and 65 percent of the 180,000-square-foot retail space has been preleased, according to RED Development partner Mike Ebert, the project has been scaled back.
A second office tower is on hold, and the block on the east side of the project — owned by
Because that block was to contain mostly residential towers and a hotel, both in oversupply now, “that part has been pushed back,” he said.
The nine-story Kimpton Hotel is still in queue, however. Much of the infrastructure for the high-end, boutique hotel is being completed along with the office and retail space. The rest of the hotel construction will begin in January.
“That will be open in July 2011. We want to get them in before the All-Star Game,” Ebert said.
The Kimpton was to include several floors of privately owned residences above the hotel, but that has been taken off the drawing board because of the many vacant condominium units downtown, Ebert said.
Scottsdale’s
“We assume that Gaylord would be the first to go in,” said Karrin Taylor, executive vice president and chief entitlements officer for DMB.
Although Gaylord has signed a letter of intent, it has not moved forward with the land purchase.
No one from the Nashville, Tenn.-based entertainment and real estate conglomerate would go on the record about the company’s intentions. A representative directed the Business Journal to the company’s second-quarter earnings report, which says: “Gaylord Entertainment’s planned resort and convention hotel in
City property and sale tax incentives for the DMB project — in particular, Gaylord’s hotel — are dependent on meeting specific development benchmarks at certain dates. According to the development agreement, the hotel must be completed by the end of 2014.
Mesa City Manager Chris Brady said he recently met with DMB representatives and believes Gaylord is positioning itself to raise the capital to proceed with the project, but it will take some time for economic conditions to improve.
“They’re looking closely at the tourism market, and those numbers are still very soft,” Brady said.
