Tag Archives: Downtown Phoenix Business

Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash music publisher’s estates look to sell prominent Phoenix land

Jan 13, 2017

Land is for sale at the southwest corner of Indian School Road and Central Avenue in midtown Phoenix neighboring Willo Historic District, Encanto-Palmcroft Historic District, FQ Story, Alvarado and Ashland Place districts.

That is one of the busiest intersections in the region and is also on the Metro light rail systems. The land is owned by real estate entities managed by trusts of the Aberbach family.

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Richard Nixon and Elvis Presley

Julian J. Aberbach, who died in 2004, was the music publisher for Elvis Presley. Music publishers do deals related to song writing and royalties when compositions are used.

Public records and real estate databases show land at the Indian School/Central land is owned by Aberbach Investments LLC and Vembec LLC.

Those entities are managed by estates for Julian J. Aberbach and his family.

Greg Vogel’s Land Advisors Organization is marketing the land.

The corner was previously home to an AM/PM gas station which is no longer there, parking lots and a Yoshi’s restaurant.

Vogel said the land for sale totals approximately 3 acres with an asking price of $50 per square foot.

Vogel sees the Indian School/Central land as a good spot for a new apartment development.

Julian Aberbach and his late brother Joachim Jean Aberbach were in the music publishing business and forged deals with Elvis Presley, Ray Charles and Johnny Cash.

Julian Aberbach died in 2004 at age 95.

The New York Times outlined in his obituary the business ties to Presley whom he first forged a deal with in 1955. That included telling Presley to hire songwriters to provide him more music.

“I gave Elvis a check for $2,500, an advance against the royalties of his stock ownership,’’ Aberbach said in a 2002 interview with Billboard magazine according to the Times obit. “And he promptly went to the Cadillac dealer and got a pink one.”

Elvis first appeared on the “Ed Sullivan Show” in 1956.

Land Advisors is a leading real estate firm in the state and region. Vogel’s group forged the deal that is bringing Lennar-developed apartments to the northwest corner of McDowell Road and Central Avenue.

by Mike Sunnucks Senior Reporter Phoenix Business Journal

Architects to Take Over Historic Phoenix Building

Mike Sunnucks Senior Reporter | Phoenix Business Journal | Sep 19, 2016

An international architecture firm has leased and will renovate a historic mid-century building in Phoenix.

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A rendering of the interior

Minneapolis-based Cuningham Group Architecture has leased the Farmers & Stockmens Bank Building at Washington and 50th streets near Papago Park.

The 6,000-square-foot building was built in 1951 by famed Los Angeles architect William Pereira.

He also designed the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, CBS Television City in Los Angeles, the Arizona State Prison in Florence and much of Los Angeles International Airport.

The Washington Street building has a historic designation from the city of Phoenix.

Cuningham Group currently has its Phoenix offices near First Avenue and McDowell Road north of downtown Phoenix.

The architecture firm plans on moving this fall.

“For a firm such as ours that deeply respects good design, it is an honor to make this landmark our home,” said Cuningham Group Principal Nabil Abou-Haidar. “There is a clean-lined simplicity to the building that remains attractive to this day. It is certainly an approach we bring forward in contemporary architecture for our clients, and in our other offices around the world.”

Cuningham’s Phoenix office has approximately 20 architects and designers.

The firm’s project portfolio includes work in South Korea, China as well as Disney’s California Adventure.

Cuningham Group is leasing the 1950s era bank building from owners Mike and Gary Smith. They own Phoenix-based Jokake Companies, which acquired the property and in partnership with the city of Phoenix in 2015.

They restored the building’s exterior.

“We are delighted we were able to save the historic property,” said Jill Clements, president of Jokake Real Estate Services. “There are not many historic buildings left in the Phoenix area. So when we were able to save this one, we were thrilled. The Smiths are happy to be working with such a prestigious architectural firm as Cuningham Group and look forward to their long-term tenancy at the property.”

Call Laura Boyajian for all of your Historic Phoenix Homes Buying and Selling needs.

Phoenix Approves Sale of Historic Downtown Building

The city of Phoenix will sell a 101-year-old historic downtown building to a developer for $2.28 million.

Jun 23, 2016

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Barrister Building in downtown Phoenix sale approved and will be renovated

The Arizona Republic reports that the city-owned Barrister Building, which sits on the corner of Jefferson Street and Central Avenue, will be sold to Crescent Bay Development Services LLC. The developer plans to renovate the century-old building, which the city bought in 1990.

Development plans include at least 88 condos in the existing six-story building as well as two new buildings.

This is the latest effort to renovate and preserve the historic building, which originally opened in 1915, and at one time was the tallest building in the state. The city had approved another project plan two years ago but it eventually fell through.

The building was long home to the Jefferson Hotel, featured in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 movie “Psycho.”

“We’re really excited about the project,” said Geoff Beer, a principal with Scottsdale-based Crescent Bay.

Beer said plans calls for construction of two new six-story buildings to go along with the six-story, 100-year-old Barrister building. The Jefferson Hotel/Barrister building was built in 1915.

Beer expects condos to be priced between $250,000 and $650,000 with an average unit size of 1,170 square feet. He said Crescent’s bid calls for buying the city-owned building for $2.28 million. It will also include some ground level retail and restaurant space.

Phoenix could reimburse Crescent Bay up to $1.9 million for infrastructure and preservation improvements, according to the Republic.

Tim Gallen and Mike Sunnucks

Phoenix Business Journal

Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria in Phoenix Opening May 16th

Dominic Armato, The Republic | azcentral.com 12 p.m. MST May 11, 2016

Get a first look before the new location opens Monday

On Monday, Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria, one of the most famous purveyors of deep-dish pizza, will open up shop at Uptown Plaza, at Camelback Road and Central Avenue in Phoenix.

I’m not sure I can defend it, but I sure do love it.

Deep-dish pizza lives at the intersection of brash decadence and pure gluttony.

Take the simple elegance of a Neapolitan pizza, Americanize it and jam it in a pan, then bury it under a pile of cheese and chunky tomato sauce and you have Chicago’s most famous contribution to the world pizza pantheon. Though short on sophistication, it’s a dish that’s long on pure joy.

And on Monday, May 16, Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria, one of the most famous purveyors of deep-dish pizza, will start serving it in Phoenix, at Camelback Road and Central Avenue.

This is one of Chicago’s titans of deep dish, and the chain’s new restaurant at Uptown Plaza will be the 46th branch, but the first outside the greater Chicagoland area.

Though Pizzeria Uno is the first choice of tourists visiting Chicago, Lou Malnati’s always seemed to me the more widely respected establishment among locals, opened by and named for the son of Rudy Malnati Sr., former pizza chef at Uno. The Malnatis are among the first families of Chicago deep-dish pizza, and their claim to its creation is as credible as any other.

Why Phoenix?

“We ship a lot of pizza to Phoenix,” says Mark Agnew, the president of Lou Malnati’s, who started working at the restaurant when he was 15. “We wanted a market where we felt like people know who we were.”

Malnati’s isn’t merely spreading its seed to the wind with a franchising agreement, as Pizzeria Uno did in the 1990’s with disastrous culinary consequences.

Rather, they’re keeping the business in the family, taking care to ensure the pizza at this Malnati’s is a fair representation of the pizza they serve back home.

All of the ingredients used at the Phoenix Malnati’s will be the same as those used in Chicago.
Five members of the Malnati’s management team have relocated to Phoenix.
Nearly half the staff has trained at the restaurants back East.

Perhaps most importantly, Malnati’s has chosen the fertile soil of a city awash with Chicago expats to plant its first remote location, hoping to draw the kind of ebullient crowds that welcomed Portillo’s to the Valley in 2013.

Early Malnati’s memories

For the record, my feelings about Portillo’s are somewhat reserved. Though a venerable Chicago institution, I think Portillo’s product is less superlative than it is consistently solid. But I have no such reservations when it comes to Malnati’s.

It wasn’t always this way. Growing up in Chicago, we were a Gino’s East family, routinely feasting on miraculous pies served from deep within the bowels of its original location, a graffiti-covered dungeon of a building just off Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. When we pulled up one day to discover the building razed and Gino’s relocated to the former home of a Planet Hollywood, we jumped ship and consoled ourselves in the embrace of a pizza that — if I’m being honest with myself — was probably a little better.

That was Lou Malnati’s deep dish. We never looked back.

A different look

The look of the Phoenix Malnati’s may surprise fans of some of the older locations.

“We try to be a local pizzeria,” Agnew explains. “Each of our restaurants looks different, and we try to fit in.”

That means embracing the Mid-century Modern style of Uptown Plaza’s renovation, complete with neon lights, aquamarine tiling, Fiestaware plates and Googie design. It also means welcoming local charities during an invitation-only soft opening to raise money for Chrysalis’ domestic violence shelters, Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock teen center and Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

The bright colors and wild look of the dining room are a far cry from the original Lou Malnati’s, which opened in Lincolnwood, Ill., in 1971. Folks new to Malnati’s won’t know the difference, but to trigger the nostalgia synapses of old-time Chicagoans, the food will need to carry the day.

What’s deep dish?

We’re talking about a pizza that Jon Stewart famously denigrated as a “casserole.” Though it was meant as an insult, even as a fan of deep dish, it’s a characterization that I have a hard time refuting. We are, after all, talking about your choice of toppings mixed with an abundance of melted cheese and covered with a thick layer of bright, chunky tomato sauce, all stuffed into a dense, crunchy crust that’s buttery and — for reasons unknown — almost always undersalted.

In a national scene now dominated by Chris Bianco’s artfully crafted legacy, deep dish can seem like a dense, clumsy oaf of a pizza whose most compelling feature is its unashamed sense of abandon. But its coarse appearance belies the subtlety within. When it’s on, there is a beguiling, gooey charm in a slice of deep dish. Malnati’s, in particular, challenges the notion that a single slice can feed a family of six. It sure isn’t light, but two or three slices can slide right down a lot quicker than you might think.

In just a few days, families will begin lining up for a taste of Lou Malnati’s deep dish. Here’s hoping the famed pizza lives up to their expectations.

Details: Uptown Plaza, 100 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix. loumalnatis.com.

Downtown Phoenix grocery store could be delayed

How the downtown Phoenix grocery store could be delayed by a Cold War-era bomb shelter

May 5, 2016, 10:12pm MST

Like many downtown Phoenix residents, I was ecstatic when news broke that Fry’s would be landing a long-desired grocery store in the city core.

And while the store isn’t slated to open for a while, there might be a few things that will require a little extra patience for us long-suffering downtown denizens.

According to a report this week in The Arizona Republic, when developers break ground later this year on the project at Second and Jefferson streets, officials with the city of Phoenix expect them to unearth a bevy of city history including remains of old jail cells and prehistoric artifacts.

Oh, and possibly a Cold War-era bomb shelter.

That’s right. A bomb shelter. Turns out the parcel of land on which the Fry’s and accompanying mixed-use high-rise will be built has had quite a history.

It used to be home to a J.C. Penney store, as well as a city-operated jail.

Phoenix officials told the Republic the bomb shelter made sense in the middle of the 20th Century during the height of the Cold War and when children across the nation spent time in drills learning to “duck and cover” in the event of a nuclear blast.

But for a 21st Century grocery store as part of an ongoing gentrification period? The Republic story doesn’t mention what developers might do with an excavated bomb shelter, though it could be redeveloped into a planned basement for the Fry’s. Developers plan to house the grocery store’s bakery and other operations in a basement.

Regardless, it is likely that if developers do uncover the bomb shelter, it will add a little bit of time to the project’s time table.

Apparently, such historical finds are common for downtown developments.

The Republic reports that construction of the CityScape project in downtown unearthed an old bank vault and other artifacts.

Tim Gallen

Digital Editor

Phoenix Business Journal

Fry’s to Open a Full Service Grocery Store in Downtown Phoenix

Courtesy: Downtown Phoenix Journal

Fry’s Food Stores Announces New Location in the Heart of Downtown Phoenix

55,000 Square-Foot Full-Service Grocery Store to Join Proposed Mixed-Use Project

Fry’s Food Stores and RED Development today announced the popular grocer will open downtown Phoenix’s first full-service grocery store. Fry’s preferred location to build the new 55,000 square-foot grocery store would be on the surface parking lot bordered between Washington Street and Jefferson Avenue, located between CityScape Phoenix and Collier Center. The downtown grocer would be housed in a proposed mixed-use development that could include traditional and creative office space and residential uses.

With the recent resurgence of downtown Phoenix and neighboring districts plus the expansion of both ASU and UA downtown campuses, a grocery store has been long-coveted for this area of the city. New employers are opening up offices, including tech-focused companies such as Uber and several new residential buildings have been built to meet the demands of new employee growth, creating an even greater need for a grocer in downtown Phoenix.

“This just made it a lot easier to move to downtown Phoenix,” said Mayor Greg Stanton. “A new full-service grocery store will be a catalyst for more residential and neighborhood growth downtown for years to come. With RED Development, Fry’s and Kroger, we are gaining trusted brands with a long track record of success in downtown urban markets.”

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The location of the pending development is adjacent to CityScape Phoenix on the Valley Metro Light Rail Line. Photo courtesy of RED Development.

“This has been over 10 years in the making,” said Council member Michael Nowakowski, whose district includes downtown. “As the member on the Council who has represented downtown the longest, I am excited to announce that we are finally bringing a grocery store to downtown Phoenix. I can’t wait to see this project break ground in my district.”

Councilman Daniel Valenzuela, chairman of the Phoenix City Council’s Downtown, Aviation and Redevelopment Subcommittee, added “A grocery store has been at the heart of creating a modern, urban, vibrant downtown, which is needed to help attract the top talent necessary for our economy to thrive. I am thrilled to join Fry’s and RED in announcing this incredible news.”

“As a former downtown resident, I know first-hand how difficult it can be without convenient access to a full-service grocery store,” said Vice Mayor Kate Gallego. “For residents who live and work downtown, especially those who rely on light rail and other public transportation, this store is exactly what we need.”

Councilwoman Thelda Williams has also worked on this issue for many years.

The new Fry’s Food Store would be conveniently located in the core of downtown Phoenix, in between major light rail access points and would also serve greater downtown Phoenix historic districts such as Garfield, Roosevelt, Grand Avenue, Warehouse, Eastlake Park and more.

“CityScape was just the beginning of the potential we see in downtown Phoenix,” said Mike Ebert, Managing Partner, RED Development. “RED Development is looking forward to continuing its planning efforts on this mixed-use project and bringing a Fry’s grocery store to this area is the next step in solidifying the stability of the downtown revitalization movement.”

RED Development and Fry’s Food Stores look forward to sharing more details in coming months as the project progresses.

About RED Development
A wholly integrated commercial real estate company, RED Development maximizes asset value and performance for its high-quality retail and mixed-use portfolio that comprises 34 properties totaling nearly 17 million square feet in 11 states. For over 20 years, RED has been a preferred partner for national retailers and investors. The company also works with third-party property owners seeking RED’s expertise in remerchandising and repositioning properties to improve profitability and appeal. A privately held company headquartered in Phoenix, with corporate offices in Dallas, TX, and Overland Park, KS, RED builds on its development capabilities as an active acquirer of existing properties. www.reddevelopment.com

About Fry’s Food Stores
Fry’s Food Stores is headquartered in Tolleson, Arizona. The company employs more than 18,000 Arizona residents. The 119 Fry’s Food Stores service more than three million customers each week. Fry’s has been serving Arizonans since 1960. In 2012, Fry’s was honored with the Arizona Fundraising Professionals “Outstanding Corporation” award for its community service and philanthropic efforts. The company also received “2013, 2014 and 2015 Top Company” awards. Fry’s is the only grocer in Arizona to receive Top Company honors. The company is hiring and looking for customer service stars.

Cool Spots to Work Continue to Pop Up In The Phoenix Area

As the number of young professionals and entrepreneurs across the Valley has continued to increase, so has the market for alternatives to the traditional office.

Lauren Potter, Special for The Republic | azcentral.com | February 18,2016

Developers in the Valley are responding to this trend by creating shared, or co-working, spaces.

Unlike traditional offices, these spaces allow people who are self-employed, work for small companies or don’t have a dedicated office space to share equipment and collaborate under one roof.

People want to come downtown
The Department, on the sixth floor of 1 N. First St. in downtown Phoenix, is one of the Valley’s newest co-working spaces. A project by private investment firm Marketplace One, the space was created to house the growing number of small-business owners and startups the firm was investing in and working with.

“We saw a need, especially downtown,” said Kyle Frazey, operating manager of the collaborative workspace. “People were wanting to come downtown more, especially the younger Millennials, tech entrepreneurs and investors.”

The 16,000-square-foot space is visually striking and offers views of South Mountain from its sixth-floor windows. Custom contemporary furniture dots the bright open-plan design, which houses three shared conference rooms, private offices, shared and reserved workstations, as well as a central lounge and kitchen area.

According to Frazey, current members include artists, private-equity investors, consultants, digital agencies and non-profits. While their industries may be different, Frazey said members share something in common.

“They’re really people that want to help each other succeed,” Frazey said.

Frazey said the space was designed to be collaborative, adding that this type of space has a certain energy and encourages relationship-building among those co-working there.

Three levels of membership are available (flex, reserve and team) starting at $200 per month. There are no hourly or daily pricing options. However, there is another co-working space in Phoenix that targets this niche market.

Co-working — with an emphasis on hospitality

A joint project between Valley developers Ironline Partners and Novawest, Mod is a meeting and workspace option for on-the-go and mobile workers. It offers a stylish lounge feel and, unlike other shared workspaces, places a strong focus on hospitality.

Located at 2828 N. Central Ave. in midtown Phoenix, Mod caters to traveling and mobile professionals. It offers amenities a traveling worker expects: Wi-Fi, printers and copiers, private and public workspaces, meeting rooms, notary services, a coffee shop, healthy cafe and bar.

There also are unexpected perks.

“If we notice one of our clients hasn’t taken a break in a really long time, (we) might surprise them with a hot towel or refreshment,” said Jamie Shaw, brand experience director at Mod. “We want you to feel pampered.”

According to Shaw, if clients need to ship a package or borrow a phone charger, the on-site “Modcierge” can help.

Phoenix is Mod’s first location, and the company is opening a space in San Francisco’s Mission District this year. A third location is planned for Seattle in 2017. Company officials say they are exploring a second Valley location, possibly in Tempe.

Work and home

Residential developers also are responding to the need for alternative workspaces.

A Chile-based commercial developer, Sencorp, has targeted this mobile-workforce market with their first U.S. project, en Hance Park located at 1130 N. Second St. in downtown Phoenix, with prices from $150,000.

Eight of the 49 units are zoned as live-work spaces with a ground-level entrance to the home office area. Alvaro said the units are best suited to “low-traffic” home-based businesses such as design, insurance or real estate. The units cater to a small and underserved part of the market, Sencorp Chief Operating Officer Alvaro Sande said.

“It’s not all the market,” he said. “It’s a niche.”

In Scottsdale, developers are targeting the live-work niche, but with a focus on luxury.

SoHo live-work townhouses and condominiums, under construction near WestWorld of Scottsdale at Bell Road, range from $651,300 to more than $1 million. Starting at 3,939 square feet, the residences give buyers the opportunity to operate a retail business on the ground-floor space.

A great workspace attracts and keeps talent
Whether working from home or in a shared or traditional office space, the design and energy of modern workspaces is increasingly important.

According to Colliers International Director of Workplace Innovation Keith Perske, the environment in which people work makes a difference to employees and business owners alike.

“If you can change the workplace, you can (positively) affect a lot of people’s lives,” Perske said.

“Companies that really get it understand the way a workplace functions as a way to attract and retain talent,” he said.

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