National Bank of Arizona®
Goodyear Good Things in
The bustling west Valley city is a model for carefully planned urban growth
SERVING HOPE
Arizona nonprofits work tirelessly to ensure human dignity leaves no one behind
WINTER 2021
WHAT LIES AHEAD
In a year of uncertainty, how is the state’s commercial real estate market faring?
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in this issue
FEATURES
16 Serving Hope
Arizona nonprofits work tirelessly to ensure human dignity leaves no one behind
22 Good Things in Goodyear
The bustling west Valley city is a model for carefully planned urban growth
28 What Lies Ahead
In a year of uncertainty, how is the state’s commercial real estate market faring?
DEPARTMENTS 02 @NB|AZ What’s happening at National Bank of Arizona
04 AZ WORKS Gather & Grow Venues born of recession show resiliency during COVID crisis
06 FOOD & DRINK Still Going Strong NB|AZ signature event rallies restaurants for charity despite challenges
08 ARTS & CULTURE Sound Minds West Valley music program gives kids an expressive platform to succeed
10 TRAILBLAZERS Being the Change Inspired by life experiences, Gilbert attorney strives to be a family advocate
Sounds Academy founder Kirk Johnson aspires to bring music education to children in underserved communities.
12 AZ NONPROFIT Solid Foundation Scottsdale group provides students with opportunities in many directions
32 EXPERIENCE AZ A moment in Page
PUBLISHER National Bank of Arizona EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jenavi Kasper, jenavi.kasper@nbarizona.com PROJECT EDITOR Matthew Pazik, matthew.pazik@nbarizona.com COPY EDITOR Tyler Gatlin, tyler.gatlin@nbarizona.com
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Michelle Jacoby, michelle@pb-jcreative.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Nathan Joseph, nathan@responsecreative.com PRODUCTION MANAGER Chris Adams, cwadams@me.com CONTRIBUTORS Aaron Berman, Sally J. Clasen, Julia De Simone, Bruce Farr, Debra Gelbart, Jake Poinier, Lauren Saria PHOTOGRAPHER Mark Lipczynski, mark@marklipczynski.com
Elevate AZ magazine may contain trademarks or trade names owned by parties who are not affiliated with National Bank of Arizona, Zions Bancorporation, or its affiliates. Use of such marks does not imply any sponsorship by or affiliation with third parties, and National Bank of Arizona does not claim any ownership of or make representations about products and services offered under or associated with such marks. Articles are offered for informational purposes only and should not be construed as tax, legal, financial or business advice. Please contact a professional about your specific needs and advice. © 2021 Zions Bancorporation, N.A. All rights reserved. A division of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Member FDIC
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ON THE COVER Tucked in the far stretches of the west Valley, Goodyear is quickly becoming one of Arizona’s budding success stories. Find out how unprecedented growth and infrastructure is positioning the city to be a magnet for new residents and businesses alike. Page 22. Photo by Mark Lipczynski
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and the promise of a new year ahead of us, now is a good time to pause and reflect. Needless to say, the past year has been challenging for many of us, but instead of focusing on the negative, I’d like to take this opportunity to highlight a few of the bright spots of 2020 as I see them. ITH 2020 BEHIND US
First, I’m absolutely in awe of the strength and support of my fellow Arizonans. In the face of uncertainty due to the pandemic, you showed up in numbers to help your neighbors. Crafters made homemade face coverings to give to those on the front lines, others volunteered their time and resources, and it seems most of us enthusiastically supported local business when possible, like restaurants. Working behind the scenes during this time were community banks, who were at the forefront of arranging critical funding to small businesses through the SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). I’m proud to say National Bank of Arizona is a prominent example of this, not just in Phoenix and Tucson, but in over 160 communities across Arizona. When the PPP’s initial phase of funding was announced on April 3, our team of bankers were poised and ready to meet the needs of struggling businesses. To date, NBAZ has funded more than 5,660 loans through the first two PPP phases, totaling $744.9 million—with 67% of the funding going to small businesses with 10 or fewer employees.
Apart from being amazed by the power of our collective communities, I’m also left humbled by the extraordinary acts of ordinary people. From our courageous first responders and medical professionals, to front line and essential workers, we’ve asked a lot of from them over the past year and they have more than delivered. At National Bank of Arizona, our technology and operations teams worked around the clock to ensure we had the processes in place to help Arizona’s small businesses access vital PPP funds. Their efforts ensured the bank had the capabilities to not only receive the application online, but also to underwrite, board and fund these critical loans in large volumes. Looking ahead to this new year, I know our communities are as resilient and supportive as ever, and that Arizonans of all backgrounds— and around the state—stand ready to help their neighbor at any time and for any reason. We may not know what 2021 will bring, but I believe it’s an honor for us to step into the new year hand-in-hand with our local communities in which we work and live. To a healthy and happy new year, Mark Young PRESIDENT AND CEO N AT I O N A L B A N K O F A R I Z O N A
COMMUNITY
NB|AZ Volunteer of the Quarter
TEAM EFFORT
JOIN US in congratulating Jessica Acock, National Bank of Arizona’s Volunteer of the Quarter! A CSA at the Camp Verde branch, Jessica volunteers at several organizations in her community, including Camp Verde FFA/PALs, where she is a species leader, mainly focusing on swine and poultry. Partners in Active Learning Support (PALS) is a mentoring program that matches Future Farmers of America (FFA) members with elementary and middle school students to teach them about the science and business of agriculture. Each month, Jessica teaches children about various species, discusses their issues, and occasionally makes house calls to check on the animals or assist with giving vaccines. Her club volunteers in community service projects like Trunk or Treat, collecting items to send to military serving overseas, cleaning up the local fairgrounds, and organizing food drives. Jessica also serves as secretary on the committee for the annual Verde Valley Fair, where she and her family help children with their animals. Throughout the year, she also helps with vet checks, weighing animals, and prepping the fairgrounds. At Jackpot Ranch, Jessica lends a hand with everything from cleaning horse stalls to running the snack shack, and twice a year, she helps with the six-week barrel race by setting up, taking entry fees, and announcing. When asked why she volunteers, Jessica says, it’s all about the kids. “Teaching kids has always been a passion of mine. I love watching their faces light up when they learn something new. I love having the opportunity to help provide kids something to keep them busy and stay out of trouble.”
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Winter 2021 | ElevateAZ.com
THIS PAST FALL, NB|AZ associates rallied together to collect school supplies as part of their annual Back To School Supply Drive. This year, the bank partnered with Military Assistance Mission (MAM) to provide school supplies to military families as part of their “Back2School Mission.” Every summer, MAM collects school supplies for children of active duty military service men and women to ensure their kids start school in the fall with the same supplies as their civilian classmates. NB|AZ associates collected enough supplies to fill over 600 backpacks for the organization to hand out at their annual event.
Jessica Acock with children at Jackpot Ranch, where they worked together picking up trash after the rodeo. “We had a blast and the kids didn’t give it a second thought that we were working,” she says.
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Gather & Grow Venues born of recession show resiliency during COVID crisis
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S ARIZONA BUSINESSES continue to struggle with the economic effects of COVID-19, it’s easy to forget that in some ways, we’ve been here before. In 2008, it was the Recession that led to a sudden and devastating real estate depression in the state. At the time, Clayton Companies—a real estate company specializing in high-end properties in Scottsdale—searched for ways to weather the economic storm. Through creative thinking and experience derived from renting and managing some 60 buildings in Old Town and south Scottsdale, the company transformed the crisis into a whole new business: the Clayton Venues. The company is made up of The Clayton House, a contemporary venue located next to the City of Scottsdale government buildings and Scottsdale Stadium, and The Clayton on
the Park, an event venue considered a modern alternative to the standard hotel ballroom situated near the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. Both venues offer catering and bar services, full kitchens, indoor and outdoor furniture, and bistro lights and misting systems on all patios. With prime and enviable locations in the heart of downtown Scottsdale, the venues hosted everything from corporate meetings and events, to elaborate private events, to full-scale lavish weddings. But 12 years later, owners Tom and Jane Frenkel now find themselves with two beautiful event-hosting properties and few bookings, stuck in a holding pattern as they weather a whole new global catastrophe. “It’s been challenging to not be able to host events. For us, there’s nothing to pivot to. Our
Jane and Tom Frenkel, owners, Clayton Companies
whole reason for being is to bring groups of people together,” says director of operations Jane Frenkel. “And that’s very much against what the COVID protocol is.” An oasis of straight lines and gleaming glass amid the lush greenery of Scottsdale Civic Center Park, it’s hard to believe that The Clayton on the Park was ever envisioned as anything but the wedding/corporate event venue it’s been for the last nine years. Yet, in 2008, Clayton Companies built a $3 million dollar speculative project there on what had once been the home to the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce. Initially, all were relying on its proximity to the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and neighboring trendy bar AZ88 to drive foot traffic. Unfortunately, the former closed for renovations that year. Still paying on a mortgage for the property and looking for an income stream, the Frenkels (under the company name The Clayton Venues) reopened the building in 2011 as The Clayton on the Park. Six years later, in response to high demand for spaces for larger events, they hired Scottsdale’s Aline Architecture Concepts to convert an old warehouse in Old Town Scottsdale into their second, much larger venue, The Clayton House, which won second place in the 2020 Global Design Awards’ “Commercial Built Space” category. In 2019, Cornerstone Advisors in Scottsdale had a quarterly get-together of 80 to 90 people scheduled for April at the 15,000-square-foot Park location, and a holiday event for 160 to 180 guests for December at the 27,000-square-foot Clayton House, according to the company’s operations specialist Robin Putnam. And then
the pandemic hit. At the end of February, Clayton Venues event sales manager Claire Loeb got in touch. “The experience was seamless,” says Putnam. “When we could no longer deny that this was happening, the Clayton and Claire were quick to reach out, make suggestions, and help us through the changes and rescheduling.” However unprecedented the circumstances, Putnam sees this response as perfectly in keeping with how The Clayton Venues has handled every challenge throughout the four years the company has been holding events at these locations, from navigating the “dietary obstacles” posed by several Cornerstone Advisors employees, to going the extra mile to help Putnam realize event themes. “One year, we reconstructed a 1960s party menu and made it appear contemporary in style and flavors,” she recalls. “They even found a linen vendor that specialized in 1960s green and pink linens.” Which, in this day of social distancing and face masks, seems like a lifetime ago. In the meantime, Putnam’s company has rebooked its 2020 events for April and December of 2021, while The Clayton Venues, which normally averages about 110 events annually, has only booked a small wedding and small holiday party for November and December of 2020. That said, they continue to receive inquiries for future events. “A couple of small events will still probably book this year,” Jane Frenkel says, with the November-to-January period usually being their busiest. “It’s a little different this year, but the pent-up demand is there and I’m confident we’ll be back firing on all cylinders.” Aaron Berman
Winter 2021 | ElevateAZ.com
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N A TYPICAL YEAR, hundreds of Valley food lovers gather every fall for a night of food, drink and live entertainment under elegant white tents at the foot of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve at the National Bank of Arizona's corporate center. Billed as an “upscale block party,” Taste of the Biltmore usually brings together dozens of the Valley's top restaurants for a soiree hosted by National Bank of Arizona, with the evening’s proceeds benefiting a local charity. But, of course, 2020 wasn’t a typical year. That’s why Kimberly Robb, assistant vice president and marketing supervisor for National Bank of Arizona, says the company decided to postpone the event. But rather than forgoing the opportunity to support a local nonprofit
organization, organizers came up with a way to do just that—and to bring some much-needed business to local restaurants at the same time. “This would have been our 14th year hosting the event,” Robb says. “And even though it was postponed, we knew we had a fantastic opportunity to do something that could carry on our mission of rallying the community around a good cause while supporting local restaurants and charities." Since 2007, Taste of the Biltmore has become a don’t-miss annual event for local chefs, foodies and anyone interested in supporting a good cause. Past restaurant participants have included the Wrigley Mansion, Otro Cafe, Bluewater Grill, and San Tan Brewing Company. What started as a customer appreciation
Still Going Strong NB|AZ signature event rallies restaurants for charity despite challenges
“This would have been our 14th year hosting the event. But we still wanted to support the community.”
Attendees at a past Taste of the Biltmore enjoyed fine food and drink under an October sky.
Kimberly Robb Assistant Vice President Marketing Supervisor, NB|AZ
the bank purchased meals from three locallyowned restaurants around the state. The meals were then donated to charitable organizations within the community during the days leading up to Thanksgiving. "We thought it was best to coordinate our efforts around the Thanksgiving holiday because that’s what it’s about: Coming together to share a meal with each other," Robb says. "Doing this allows us to have an impact on both sides--we’re supporting local restaurants who have had a rough go of things this year, and we’re supporting great local charities that have a tremendous impact in our communities." Someburros, a Phoenix-based and familyowned chain of Mexican restaurants, is one of the restaurant partners for this year’s event. Owner Tim Vasquez says he appreciates those who are finding new ways to support their communities during these unprecedented times. “This has been a hard year without a doubt,” he says. “But it’s incredible to see how people still find ways to show up for each other, even while six feet apart. We couldn’t be more excited to be part of National Bank of Arizona’s endeavor to donate meals to those who need it most.” Robb says rallying behind local businesses and charity organizations aligns with National Bank of Arizona’s larger mission. In addition to Taste of the Biltmore, the bank encourages employees to get involved with local charities and to make it as easy as possible to give back. Lauren Saria
Winter 2021 | ElevateAZ.com
event evolved into an incredible opportunity for the bank to rally behind an Arizona nonprofit. Over more than a decade, local restaurants and attendees have helped raise $136,895 for charities, including Act One Arizona, Family Promise of Greater Phoenix, and United Phoenix Firefighters Charities. Last year, the event’s beneficiary was Ryan House, a one-of-a-kind Arizona organization that supports children and their families as they navigate life-limiting or end-of-life journeys. All services are provided to families at no cost. Taste of the Biltmore raised some $24,000 for the organization in 2019. Ryan House executive director Tracy LeonardWarner says working with National Bank of Arizona has been a “wonderful partnership.” “It’s so different dealing with a local bank. The experience has just been so different,” she says. “You know that they care about the community that they’re in, and what they do for nonprofits is wonderful.” The proceeds from last year’s Taste of the Biltmore also helped the organization survive the financial uncertainty of 2020. Fundraising was down this year, Leonard-Warner says, and is critical for the organization since Ryan House relies 100 percent on philanthropy from the community. “It helped give us [what] we needed to really help us through what’s happened since,” Leonard-Warner says. “It was great.” Instead of the familiar tasting event, this year
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sound minds
West Valley music program gives kids an expressive platform to succeed
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ARAH PINEDA NEVER IMAGINED she’d be a member of the Phoenix Youth Symphony’s string orchestra. In fact, the odds that the 14-year-old Westview High School student would ever learn to play the violin— let alone become proficient at it—were slim given her family’s financial challenges. But as a fourth-grader at Rancho Santa Fe Elementary School, Pineda was able to explore her passion and develop some important life skills along the way—thanks to the Sounds Academy, a nonprofit organization started by musician and educator Kirk Johnson. The mission of Sounds Academy is to teach, mentor and provide musical experiences and opportunities to underserved youth. In Arizona, barriers to musical inclusion for children are particularly sobering. About 50 percent of schools do not have a curricular budget for music education, and 80 percent of them without programs spend less than $1 per student per year on arts education Johnson, who taught in the Roosevelt Elementary School District, launched Sounds Academy in 2014, modeling it after
similar nonprofit music education programs he developed in Indiana. The organization partners with schools, churches and community centers to cover the costs of instruments, classroom and solo instruction, and fund scholarships through four diverse music programs. Since its inception, the academy has provided more than 35,000 lessons and classes, with 19,000 students being exposed to live music and instruments through its Musical Access Program. Currently 4,300 students are involved in some level of the academy’s programs. “As an outreach program, we work with our partners to make space available to teach children in their own neighborhoods. The problem with children receiving music education has to do with accessibility and affordability,” says Johnson, who believes access to music education should not depend on a child’s ZIP code. “Kids travel 10 to 15 miles to get music education. We find pockets in Arizona where there isn’t a lot of music education offered so kids don’t have to worry about traveling long periods of time to receive it,” he says of the organization’s reach, which is K-12 in communities primarily in west and south Phoenix. The academy isn’t interested in grooming the next virtuoso. While its goal is to expose kids to music and teach them to play an instrument,
“The problem with children receiving music education has to do with accessibility and affordability.” Kirk Johnson | Founder, Sounds Academy
Kirk Johnson, Founder, Sounds Academy
Sarah Pineda, a Sounds Academy student and member of the Phoenix Youth Symphony, practices the violin at the Phoenix Center for the Arts.
chance to participate. “Outside of music, I’ve been able to find my true voice. I can express myself with music,” she says of her involvement in Sounds Academy, which offered her a scholarship so she could audition for the Phoenix Youth Symphony in 2019. “It’s also helped me find things within myself that I didn’t know I had, like leadership. I have had to lead my quartet many times and the experience with Sounds Academy has helped me build my character, working with a group and helping others. All of it has helped me improve musically, and maybe for when I’m older. ” The idea of being on a grander symphony stage playing to large audiences now isn’t so unimaginable for Pineda. Nor is going to law school. “I want to do both,” says the polite and focused teenager who speaks with confidence. “I want to be a lawyer and a professional musician.” Sally J. Clasen
Winter 2021 | ElevateAZ.com
they also walk away with some basic life lessons: fundamental and lasting character values such as creativity, leadership, perseverance, resilience, and teamwork, according to Johnson. “If you’re playing in an ensemble, you learn to lead without talking and teamwork. If you’re playing and mess up and then continue, you’re showing resilience,” he explains. “Music education also helps meet social and emotional needs like consistency and routine. For example, we’re still having weekly lessons and projects students can participate in to use those creative skills and be productive during COVID.” And the opportunity of music education is a support system that spills over into other aspects of students’ existence—school, sports and their personal lives. “It’s part of the reason I think students dream. They get an instrument and then think, ‘I want to make a sound, now I want to play a song and next, I want to play on stage and travel.’ The dreams start to get bigger and bigger the longer they play. To the naked eye, they are just playing music, but there are a lot of lessons being learned,” says Johnson. Pineda, who started out in group instruction then progressed to quartet and eventually to solo lessons at the music academy, personifies how music education can positively influence a child when given the
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Being the Change
Inspired by life experiences, Gilbert attorney strives to be a family advocate
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INA HARDING WAS a college student when she received a sign that predicted she’d one day call Arizona home. As student body vice president at Virginia Commonwealth University in Virginia, she visited the Valley to attend a town council meeting, where a lively discussion came up over a sign that was 2 inches too tall. It intrigued her that this was the town’s greatest concern. “I really wanted to live someplace where the issues were about a sign,” the now-Gilbert resident laughs. “It literally changed the trajectory of my life.” Today, the 38-year-old is a mom, an attorney with a successful practice, and a philanthropist who recently started her own nonprofit organization. East Valley Family Center provides non-legal resources and services to make co-parenting, custody matters and child support more efficient at a nominal fee. The center also offers free community outreach events, such as its annual school and food drive for Mesa and Gilbert families. Born and raised in Virginia, Harding’s father died when she was 7 years old. Her mother continued to raise their family of six: four children and two cousins. “We were too broke to have new things, but not enough to get financial aid,” she says. “How am I supposed to excel with broken pencils?” But childhood friend Jessica Duren says she knew Harding was destined for greatness ever since the two were students in their school’s gifted program. Harding went on to earn degrees from American University Washington College of Law, and Pepperdine University School of Law. “Even when we were children, you always stood by your personal convictions and were not influenced by peer pressure,” she wrote in a letter to Harding. “You could have easily gone down a course predicted by statistics or naysayers, but you were courageous enough to follow a path unlike anyone.” Harding used that tenacity when faced with family challenges. In a February 2019 article for “Attorney at Law Magazine,” she wrote about her firsthand experience with how the law can affect family. “I have a brother in prison,” she wrote. “The process of his case moving through the legal system had a detrimental effect on my family, and it did not have to be that way. As a family, we were confused because we did not understand the process, and the attorneys were brash and brutal as we faced losing my brother for a long period time. That experience left an indelible print on how I practice law, and why I will always be committed to serving others.” Today, her firm is known as an advocate in divorce and family law matters. “I went to law school because I wanted to help people. If your family is in disarray, how could you possibly focus on anything else?” she asks. Harding doesn’t only focus on family inside the walls of her law firm. She also works tirelessly to help families in her community and beyond. Last May, she helped organize a drive providing COVID-19 relief to the
Navajo Nation. After learning there was a need and no one to fill it, she—along with her firm and Kiwanis International and Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Mesa—collected donations of food, baby formula and pet supplies. “It’s hours away from where we live, but we couldn’t find an organization to do something. So we took the opportunity to make an impact,” she says. As a Mesa United Way Board member, Harding is also
“I went to law school because I wanted to help people. I will always be committed to serving others.” Kina Harding Owner, The Harding Firm
involved in the 12 Books Program, designed to provide free books to children in first to third grade in Mesa’s Title I public schools. According to the organization, studies show that children without access to age-appropriate reading material experience severe loss in reading skills over summer vacation as well as learning challenges later on in life. Harding, who has shelves of books in her home, says “it’s astonishing that some kids don’t have any books in their entire house.” It also doesn’t sit well with her that every child doesn’t have the same opportunity to dream beyond high school, prompting her to sit on the board for College Bound AZ. The nonprofit community resource provides aspiring, under-represented students with mentorship, guidance and support resources for their advancement to a better future through education. A former Arizona Black Bar Association (ABBA) president and current member for the past 10 years, Harding also is a professional speaker at various engagements, including at the “Institutional Bias: Where are We and How did We get Here?” forum. It was partnership between National Bank and the ABBA. “I’m a successful Black woman—the Black before the
woman, but both matter to me,” she says. And it matters even more when it comes to her 14-year-old son Bryce. She shares a story of them walking together one evening when he asked to run instead, and she froze while envisioning the worst. “My heart in that moment was arrested by fear,” Harding says. “How many lawyers have that same fear (for their children)? ‘No, you can’t run in the neighborhood where mom owns a home because of your skin color.’ ” Although Harding is hopeful for change, the dialogue has to continue. Paraphrasing former president Barack Obama’s speech to supporters in February 2008, Harding says, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek…” And there’s no doubt Harding will be one to lead that change moving forward. Duren is confident of it just as she was when they first met. “I admire how you live the life that you love, working for change with passion, and in a way that inspires others,” she says. “May we all have your courage.” Julia De Simone
Winter 2021 | ElevateAZ.com
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Scottsdale group provides students with opportunities in many directions
solid foundation
Nan Strohmaier, Board Chair, SUSD Foundation
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core subjects who are looking for a resource center where they can have hands-on experiences.” The Innovation Center was funded largely by SUSD, the SUSD Foundation, the Farley Family Charitable Foundation and local businesses. The foundation also has funded a black box theater for Desert Canyon Middle School; Innovation Center at a STEM program Saguaro High School at Ingleside Middle School; distribution of technical calculators to district students; purchase of special-education classroom equipment; and national board certification for teachers. Future initiatives for the foundation could include job shadowing and internship possibilities for students interested in hospitality, technology, construction and architecture. And that could help middle and high school students discover a career that might otherwise be elusive for them. “The foundation wants to work collaboratively with everyone in the Valley who can help direct and motivate students to give them ideas for career paths,” Strohmaier says. The school district, she points out, takes a strong “school to workforce approach” for students who are interested in going to college and those who aren’t. “We want to make sure that students are aware of available careers, depending on their interests and academic strengths. If you love math, for example, you could work as a data analyst for one of many different kinds of companies,” she says, emphasizing the foundation’s work to connect students interested in particular disciplines with actual employers. In addition, one of the newest initiatives the foundation is undertaking is sponsoring an emotional support dog “for students in SUSD who need additional mental health support,” Strohmaier says. The foundation holds two fundraising events each year: a fall event and a spring golf tournament. The latest fall event, held in November, was a virtual trivia tournament. Four $10,000 sponsorships and a number of smaller sponsorships turned the event into a fundraising powerhouse. In 2018 and 2019, the foundation sponsored a student talent show called “Scottsdale on Stage.” Strohmaier estimates that the foundation raises about $100,000 every year and has disbursed nearly $2 million to fund various projects since 2005. “We have a whole board of business executives from all different lines of work and from many different companies, including Cox Communications, HonorHealth, Chasse Building Team, McCarthy Building Companies, Western Alliance Bank Corporation, Nationwide Insurance, Troon, GCON, DLR Group, One Hope Wine, Olympus Corporation and Grand Canyon Home Supply,” Strohmaier says. “And these board members can help guide students onto career paths they might not otherwise have thought of.” Debra Gelbart
Winter 2021 | ElevateAZ.com
HEN THE SCOTTSDALE Unified School District (SUSD) Foundation was established in 2005, its goal was simple: Get computers into every classroom in the district. That objective was quickly achieved, thanks to the dedication of its founding members, a small group of Scottsdale business people. From that singular objective, the foundation has branched out considerably in the intervening 15 years. The Mini Grant program, for example, allows teachers to apply for funding for projects that enhance established curriculum, whether it’s a small garden to teach kindergarteners about seeds and plants or Unitown, a leadership program at the high school level. “We never want to minimize supporting teachers in classrooms,” says Nan Strohmaier, the foundation’s board chair since June 2020. “If they have a need, we want it to be met.” In 2015, the foundation, whose mission is to provide every student and educator with the opportunity to achieve educational excellence, “began working in partnership with community businesses and institutions,” says Strohmaier, who has served on the foundation board since 2014. The Initiatives program launched that year with a threeday summer workshop for teachers in partnership with TGen, the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix. Teachers were able to learn directly from cutting-edge researchers in a variety of scientific disciplines. The program continued in 2016 and has been held each summer since then. With a focus on the clinical side of healthcare, teachers learn from leading researchers, doctors and nurses about various health-related topics. In 2020, topics included COVID-19, mental and behavioral health, “We want to technology, and make sure virtual reality patient that students outreach innovation are aware and collaboration. of available In 2017, the SUSD careers, Foundation intensified depending on promotion of innovation their interests and entrepreneurship. and academic The Entrepreneurship strengths.” Initiative began with Nan Strohmaier construction of an Board Chair, SUSD Foundation Innovation Center located at Saguaro High School in the summer of 2020. The center is designed to showcase robotics and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activities for students “not only for those who attend Saguaro High School,” Strohmaier says, “but throughout the Scottsdale Unified School District and the community. One focus of the center, which opened in November, will be enhancing opportunities for girls interested in STEM.” The Innovation Center, she notes, “will be inclusive of all students and multidisciplinary, meaning it will welcome students of theater, the performing arts, marketing and all
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Mark Stebbings, Executive Vice President of Specialty Lending
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NB|AZ’s Commercial Real Estate program helps a key sector of the economy
commercial success
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ATIONAL BANK OF ARIZONA’S Commercial Real Estate program is unique among financial institutions. “We have the benefit of having a $70 billion balance sheet that allows us to compete with larger national banks,” says Mark Stebbings, National Bank of Arizona’s executive vice president of specialty lending. “Yet, we have the flexibility and willingness to also focus on small local developers that typically fall below the radar of larger institutions. By being nimble and having a seasoned team, we can be strategic in how we approach not just our business, but each individual client.” National Bank of Arizona bankers, Stebbings continues, have a remarkably diverse set of skills and because of that aren’t held to any single discipline in commercial real estate (CRE). “Our bankers can lend to large homebuilders, as well as focus on income-producing properties like industrial or office developments,” he says. “It takes knowledge and expertise to do that, but we have worked as a team to educate our bankers and portfolio managers in all areas of real estate to help them grow.” Clients specialize in all areas of commercial real estate— including apartments, industrial, office, retail, hotels and singlefamily homebuilding—and have years of experience developing, owning and operating commercial real estate. “They’re also very well capitalized,” says Stebbings. “We have close to $2 billion in commercial real estate projects financed throughout the state, large and small.” To assist commercial real estate investors who may be just entering the market or are beginning to grow their portfolios, the bank established the small CRE program at the beginning of 2020. Designed for loans that are $3 million and less, the loans have strong sponsorship and minimal feasibility risk. “The intent was to offer a product that’s streamlined, and can be analyzed and closed within a shorter period of time,” Stebbings says. “We want to provide a product for our clients and prospects that meets our ‘simple, fast, safe’ goals.” The product works well for commercial and industrial clients who own businesses, but may also invest in CRE. “It’s also a good
fit for private banking clients,” he adds. “We do see some full-time CRE investors who are focused on smaller projects, as well.” Looking ahead, Stebbings says commercial real estate has been a big driver in our economy for years. “Since 2008, we have seen more discipline in the market—we’re seeing less overbuilding and speculative development. That’s a good thing for our business. Arizona’s population continues to grow as do jobs, and with that comes demand for more CRE projects and new housing developments,” Stebbings explains. “We’re a state that has reasonable taxes and a pro-business climate. That brings employers and jobs and results in an influx of people moving to our state. This just increases the demand for development in Arizona and will continue to aid in our growth.” Though some sectors of commercial real estate, such as hospitality and retail, are struggling right now because of the pandemic, others, like multi-family, single-family and industrial, are especially vibrant, Stebbings says. New entrants into the market, as well as existing local developers continue to look for opportunities here, he says, “as the fundamentals in Arizona are strong. Our state universities continue to grow and attract out-of-state students. Employers are seeing a talent pool from which they can draw to help support their needs. We’re set up very well to capitalize on opportunities in the market that I expect to continue for the foreseeable future.” Debra Gelbart
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16
Serving
hope Each of this year’s Taste of the Biltmore beneficiaries approaches the challenges of homelessness in a different way. What they have in common are supportive surrounding communities that understand the importance of meeting the needs of the less fortunate— contributing through donations and volunteer efforts, and ensuring that human dignity leaves no one behind.
Story Jake Poinier Photography Mark Lipczynski
Jean Fedigan, Executive Director, Sister José Women’s Center
Winter 2021 | ElevateAZ.com
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Sister José Women’s Center Tucson
S
ister José Women’s Center in Tucson opened in the winter of 2009 for the simplest of reasons. “The men in the community had a winter shelter, but the women didn’t have a specific place for them,” says Jean Fedigan, the organization’s founder and now executive director. She put out a call for volunteers, found 22, and set up each night in the downtown First Assembly of God Church after the final service. “Women would appear out of the dark,” she continues. “We provided them soup, blankets and a place to sleep. In the mornings, we gave them something to put in their tummies, and got them up and on their way.” Three years later, a local couple loaned a rental house to the center, which became a 501(c)(3). With 750 square feet of space, they were able to serve 11 women each night and opened a day program that accommodated as many as 60. “That works until you learn how many women are out there who are homeless,” says Fedigan. After a five-year campaign to raise funds for a larger facility and additional programming, they found and purchased an old metal warehouse large enough to sleep 35 to 38 women a night with a commercial kitchen that can serve 2,000 meals a month. “The community support has been tremendous, and volunteers come from across all faiths and walks of life,” Fedigan adds. “The day program blossomed. Women can take a shower, do laundry, get a bite to eat, take a class, or simply rest.” The center is also unusual in the respect that it allows women to bring their dogs, and helps outfit them with food, leashes and boots. Sister José Women’s Center partners with organizations such as the Arizona Department of Economic Security, the Homeless Project, and Beacon Group to provide access to behavioral and medical care, and is in the process of hiring a dedicated case worker. “We have a busy, vibrant community where women can feel safe,” says Fedigan. “Most of all, it’s about when they wave goodbye and say ‘Thanks, you made me feel human again.’”
“The men in the community had a winter shelter, but the women didn’t have a specific place for them.” Jean Fedigan Executive Director, Sister José Women’s Center
Carmen Frederic, Executive Director, Prescott Area Shelter Services
Prescott Area Shelter Services Prescott
P
Carmen Frederic executive director, Prescott Area Shelter Services
with them every single day. “We want to know exactly what’s going on in their life,” Frederic says. “We’re always encouraging them, asking how many interviews they’ve done. The plan is to give them 90 days, but we can extend a bit for someone who’s working really hard.” In the past year, PASS expanded its mission to include two transitional homes that were provided by a property owner in Chino Valley, 17 miles from the main shelter, at a below-market rate. “Sometimes an individual or family reaches the end of their stay at the emergency shelter, but they need a year or two to wait until they get into permanent housing,” says Frederic. “We know them, so there’s no huge deposit or background check. They just pay rent and a portion of utilities, and see a case manager once per week. It’s been amazing, because it helps people leave our shelter a little quicker when they have an option for a normal life, working and going to school.”
Winter 2021 | ElevateAZ.com
rescott Area Shelter Services (PASS) takes a multifaceted approach to the community’s challenges with homelessness. The emergency homeless shelter serves up to 27 women and children overnight, with a two-room expansion completed last year to accommodate moms with boys 12 and older. Due to the shelter’s proximity to the VA hospital, they also prioritize serving veteran women and wives of veterans as part of their mission. Like so many organizations, however, the coronavirus pandemic forced PASS to alter their strategy during 2020. “Normally we’re a nighttime shelter, open at 5 p.m. at night and closed after 8 a.m. in the morning,” says Carmen Frederic, executive director. “People can keep a box here that locks, but we ask that they either search for work or are out in the community, and not just sitting around at the shelter. When COVID-19 first happened, everything in our community closed down, so we basically opened our facility to be 24/7 at that point. It’s been a lot more intensive this year—and a lot more expensive.” At the overnight shelter, PASS provides an hour a week of intensive case management to each person and engages
“When COVID-19 first happened, everything in our community closed down, so we basically opened our facility to be 24/7 at that point.”
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House of Refuge Mesa
B
ased in Mesa, House of Refuge provides transitional housing and social services to families experiencing homelessness, about 70 percent of them for the first time. “I think people often have the misconception that social service agencies primarily assist what we call the chronically homeless,” says Krista Cardona, marketing coordinator. “Most of the individuals we assist have just fallen on hard times. They may have had a medical situation or been evicted from their apartment, or they’ve been couch-surfing, living out of their cars, or come from a domestic violence shelter.” The goal for House of Refuge is to help families break the cycle of poverty, get back on their feet, and transition out of the community and into a place of their own within 12 months. Applicants need to meet a few qualifications, including proving they have a child under the age of 18 under their care, and that they have some sort of income, whether from a job, child support, or Supplemental Security Income. Nearly two-thirds of residents are single female heads of household. While many similar transitional organizations have a single facility or homes scattered across a wide area, House of Refuge offers a unique environment: It’s located on the former Williams Air Force Base, which was decommissioned in
“We can give families the time, space and faith to stabilize their lives and the lives of their children.”
1993 and acquired by the organization in 1995. Of the 88 twobedroom, one-bath Krista Cardona marketing homes, 80 are used for coordinator, House of Refuge furnished housing, for which families pay $400 a month including utilities, clothing, food boxes and social services. The remainder are dedicated to essential services such as places to meet with caseworkers, and the donation and employment education centers. “We’re actually a neighborhood, not too different from elsewhere in the Valley, and everything that our residents need is within a stone’s throw of their front door,” Cardona says. “But it’s not just the house we’re giving them; we’re wrapping them in really supportive social services that are essential to helping them figure out their next step. Thanks to the phenomenal East Valley community that has supported us, particularly during COVID, we can give families the time, space and faith to stabilize their lives and the lives of their children.”
Krista Cardona, Marketing Coordinator, House of Refuge
{
AND THE IMPACT OF NATIONAL BANK OF ARIZONA® ACROSS THE STATE
}
5,354 LOANS APPROVED FOR A TOTAL OF
$731 MILLION TO ARIZONA BUSINESSES
HELPING OUR A glimpse at the 160 communities we supported affected with PPP loans. by the PPP.
OVER
62,500 JOBS SAVED
“We have a total of 13 employees. The PPP funds will have an immense impact on our practice and all of its operations…these funds that we received will be used to continue to cover employee salaries and wages, retirement funds, monthly health insurance premiums, rent and utilities.” ANGELA DURRANI, RN Desert Surgical Specialists
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— LOANS FOR —
NONPROFITS
AND 501(C)(3) ORGANIZATIONS
67% COMPANIES OF 10 EMPLOYEES — OR LESS —
“All of my employees are working and happy to be back. Things will take a while to get back to normal, but with PPP, we will be able to keep everyone working while we rebuild.” DR. DAVID SPALDING David Spalding DDS
“As a non-profit, we knew that the PPP/Small Business Loan was necessary for us to continue to meet the needs of the families who depend on us day in and day out. We reached out to several financial institutions to assist us with the PPP/Small Business Loan and National Bank of Arizona was the first to reach back out and assist our organization.” NANCY MARION Executive Director of House of Refuge
R EPORTI NG AS OF JU NE 2 5, 2 02 0.
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d Thing s in o o G
Goodyear The bustling west Valley city is a model for carefully planned urban growth
s t o ry
Bruce Farr Photo graphy
Mark Lipczynski
Winter 2021 | ElevateAZ.com
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M
to anyone and they’re likely to conjure up fanciful images of the ancient city of Cairo and its pyramidic ruins, the mysterious Sphinx sculptures on the Nile’s west bank, or the enduring legend of Queen Cleopatra. ENTION EGYPT
So what could the pioneering residents of Goodyear have been thinking when, 100 years ago, they named one of the large settlement tracts there Egypt? The answer, as it happens, is that they were thinking less about King Tut than they were Egyptian cotton. But more on that later. As a community, present-day Goodyear is a budding success story, registering almost unprecedented population growth and the infrastructure to support it over the past three decades. Egypt, Arizona? Like many other towns and cities surrounding Phoenix, Goodyear was, for many years, just another sleepy suburban community in the great arc of Arizona’s capital city. Although it got off to a promising early start, the community languished for a time in the mid- to latter part of the past century, when its industrial spark sputtered a bit. In historic terms, Goodyear is a relative newbie in Arizona. It was founded just over a century ago in 1917 as part of a land purchase executed by the famed, Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. But the community wasn’t established to actually make tires. Rather, the 36,000acre plot of land was purchased by the company to grow long-staple cotton crops used as a component of tire cords in their manufacturing process. Which brings us back to the Egyptian question. An interesting footnote of Goodyear’s history is that the community was indeed once known simply as Egypt.
The explanation for it is that the multitudinous bales of cotton Goodyear Tire and Rubber was initially using for its manufacturing process had originally come from the hot, dry crop fields of the country of southern Egypt. Because the desert southwest climate was rumored to be similar to that of the cotton-growing regions in Egypt, Goodyear employee Paul Litchfield was sent by the company to investigate that claim. Eventually, he was instrumental in heading up the purchase of the land for the company. Egypt later evolved to Goodyear Farms, and finally to just Goodyear. In the early 1940s, in one of Goodyear’s last bursts of industry prior to a long lull, the community became a vital resource for World War II-era production of aircraft frames. In fact, Goodyear Aircraft Corporation was constructed adjacent to the Litchfield Naval Air Facility precisely for that purpose. Slow and steady Goodyear took a rather long time to fully awaken and become the bustling, dynamic city of 90,000 residents that it is today. In fact, when it was incorporated as a town in 1946, it consisted of only 150 or so homes, a couple hundred apartments, a grocery store, a barber shop, beauty salon and a gas station. Interestingly, the majority of Goodyear’s population growth occurred only after 1990, when plans for several large-scale, master-planned communities were finalized and construction of them began. Today, Lori Gary, economic development director for the city of Goodyear, is taking an understandably cautious
“ We’re only 11 percent built-out, while some other communities are already built-out or approaching it. So there’s a lot of room for growth.”
LORI GARY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, CITY OF GOODYEAR
Lori Gray, Goodyear’s economic development director, at Goodyear Ballpark
approach to ensure that the city continues to grow responsibly and productively. Gary muses on what’s occurred in the past few decades. “There are a lot of reasons why Goodyear has seen such a hike in population and development over the past several years,” she notes. “For one thing, we’re only 11 percent builtout, while some other communities surrounding Phoenix are already fully built-out or approaching it. So there’s a lot of room for growth, and residential is one of those growth areas.” But with residential growth, a city must also have the economic means to support that growth. “Geographically, we’re very fortunate to straddle Interstate 10 and have our close proximity to Loop 303. Strategically, for business development, we’re lucky to enjoy that geography,” Gary points out. “Fifteen years ago, we were struggling to attract businesses into our community, so the city council and management became very focused on the development of infrastructure. That focus has allowed us to grow a strong industrial base, which includes advanced manufacturing and logistics companies, among others.” Gary cites the Ball Corporation, the former glass canning jar manufacturer, which now focuses on aluminum containers for soda, beer and other purposes, as one of the main industrial entities in the city. Others, she adds, include a subsidiary of the Sub-Zero-Wolf kitchen appliance manufacturer and a world-class Microsoft data center.
By leaps and bounds Goodyear’s skyrocketing growth in the past couple of decades has literally created a “new city” built upon the bedrock footings of the old one. And that growth is projected to continue unabated. Arizona planners predict that in just the next 15 years, Goodyear’s population will soar to 360,000, more than triple its current size. Jon Jorgenson, Manager of National Bank of Arizona’s Goodyear branch, is in a prime position to observe that growth and gauge how successfully Goodyear is meeting its challenges, on its path to becoming a vital and appealing place to live and work.
Winter 2021 | ElevateAZ.com
Great outdoors Industry isn’t the only allure that Goodyear can claim. With its characteristic wide-open spaces, the city has increasingly drawn outdoor enthusiasts and nature lovers who frequent its several parks and recreation areas. One of them, the Estrella Mountain Regional Park, sprawls over a vast, 20,000-acre area, the major portion of which is pristine desert. The park boasts eight trails designed for mountain biking, hiking and
horseback riding. Additionally, Estrella Mountain Park has two baseball fields and campgrounds. And speaking of baseball, one of the mainstays of Goodyear’s popularity has been its long tenure as a West Valley hub for professional sporting venues. Chiefly among them, Goodyear Ballpark has for decades been the spring training facility for the Major League Baseball teams from Cincinnati and Cleveland. Add to that the popular Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium and Safari Park in nearby Litchfield Park. With its claim to have the largest collection of exotic animals in Arizona, it’s been a major draw to the area.
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26 “One of the markers for us is that we’re seeing an influx of young people into the Goodyear community—people who are moving here to live, work and make Goodyear a better place all around,” he says. “We see it in the caliber of homes that are going up, in the number of new businesses and restaurants, and, more generally, the number of people approaching us for business lending. I think the economy here isn’t merely growing, it’s growing at an exponential rate.” ‘This is where we want to be’ One entrepreneurial couple that saw the potential of Goodyear are Coleene and Dennis McDermott. The couple moved to Goodyear from Tempe almost five years ago, and are now the co-owners and operators of Floyd’s Ace Hardware in nearby Litchfield Park, just a few minutes from Goodyear. “This area has witnessed such a high rate of growth in just the three years that we’ve been here in business; it’s really been phenomenal,” Coleene says. “Generally, we’ve seen a 6 percent growth in our business year over year.” The McDermotts regard their move to Goodyear as a permanent one. “This is it, this is where we want to be,” Coleene says. “We just love it.” One aspect of living and owning a business in Goodyear that the McDermotts engage in is creating community partnerships wherever they make sense. “From a business standpoint, we have relationships with a lot of local
businesses to provide them goods and services,” Coleene says. “But we also try to stay very active to help promote those things that really make a community a great place to live. For example, in January, we’ll have the local Girl Scouts out in front of our store. It’s our small way of being a part of our local community, as both residents and businesspeople.”
“ We’re seeing an influx of young people into the Goodyear community— people who are moving here to live, work and make Goodyear a better place all around.”
JON JORGENSON, MANAGER, GOODYEAR BRANCH, NATIONAL BANK OF ARIZONA
Economic drivers The engine behind Goodyear’s growth, the ballast for its progress, are the plans and policies that the city’s management is working hard to introduce and maintain. “The economic drivers for Goodyear are what we refer to as our ‘pillars of opportunity,’ ” Gary explains. “Industry is one, of course, and tourism is another.” On the topic of tourism, Gary cites the recent opening of new lodging that are reporting a 70 percent occupancy rate. “And that’s in spite of the pandemic,” she adds. Goodyear has seen a growth spurt in its medical industry, as well. Five new, award-winning residency programs are attracting aspiring physicians and medical staff from throughout the U.S. What’s more, the city’s old Palm Valley Cinema is now part of a major adaptive reuse project that converted it into a class-A medical office space. It now claims 100 percent occupancy. Another key factor in the city’s development is its infrastructure. “If we want to continue to have a high quality of life here, we realize we have to focus our efforts on roads, power and, as a major priority, public safety. In fact, toward that goal, we’re building two brand-new fire stations in Goodyear. We’re also building a water treatment facility that’s currently under construction. With the level of growth we’re experiencing, we want to make sure we can provide our residents with an adequate water supply.” The big picture With so many good things happening in Goodyear, Gary says it always helps to pull back from the details and look at the big picture. “We’ve been talking about reasons why people are gravitating here and making it their home,” she continues. “But one of the main ones is that Goodyear is beautiful. Out here in the west Valley, we have this rustic beauty with spectacular mountain views. Besides that, it’s affordable, accessible, safe, and it offers a great quality of life. Those are some of the reasons more than 90 percent of our residents annually rate us very highly as a place to live and work, and why we’re continuing to grow.”
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28
What Lies Ahead In a year of uncertainty, how is the state’s commercial real estate market faring? STORY BRUCE FARR
In January 2020 (which, in some
respects, seems like a century ago), the Arizona commercial real estate (CRE) market forecasts for the year were enthusiastic, if not downright bullish. Many predictions were on a par with one from Roland Murphy, director of research at ABI Multifamily, a brokerage and advisory services firm in Tempe. “At this point in the market and cycle, Phoenix, literally, has everything,” Murphy noted at the beginning of the year. “We’re still highly affordable, have massive success in economic development across a range of job levels and industries, and are consistently modernizing and adapting our quality of life for the better.” Murphy’s first-quarter assessment echoed what experts were then saying across the country: In general, the 2020 CRE market was looking rosy. As Steve Larsen, Managing
Director at the international brokerage firm JLL, put it, “People are optimistic about the current state of the industry and what appears to be a lot of runway ahead. I expect we’ll see more manufacturing and logistics requirements landing here, which will continue to keep us well balanced.” A few weeks later, however, everything went dark. The global pandemic fell over the world like a shroud and everything changed. All bets were off. Any predictions—be they economic, cultural or otherwise—were forever altered.
‘Cautious optimism’ In the turmoil that the pandemic has caused, a focus on CRE is an important one, many economists agree. Commercial real estate, because it’s based in so many other components of the general economy—small business, retail, manufacturing,
Winter 2021 | ElevateAZ.com
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30 technology, tourism and residential—is often seen as a bellwether for the economy in general. If CRE is predictably strong, it often bodes well for the economy as a whole. And, interestingly, as time wore on last year, the CRE situation in Arizona didn’t appear to be as dire as it was in other parts of the country. A number of factors helped cushion the state from complete collapse. For one thing, because of the first-quarter momentum the state had built up, Arizona’s economic downturn wasn’t nearly as severe as other states were registering. In fact, by early summer, some economic analysts were expressing cautious optimism. Andrea Davis, a 20-year veteran of Arizona CRE, noted that although tourism and the entertainment industries were hit hard, the state’s diversification in other business segments was helping keep Arizona CRE investment afloat. “Vacancy rates in all commercial real estate sectors were at an all-time low prior to pandemic,” she says. For comparison of the downturn, she notes that office vacancy rates across the greater Phoenix metro area were between 10 and 12 percent during the Great Recession of 2008, and subsequently rose to 30 percent. Speaking in June, she said, “…amid the pandemic, my company projects office vacancy rates between 11 and 15 percent.”
Road to recovery That cautiously optimistic view of Arizona CRE—current and future—is shared by real estate commercial portfolio manager Jeff Melsek, who works nearly exclusively in underwriting and managing loans for the real estate banking group at National Bank of Arizona. “We’re still positive about CRE in Arizona,” he says. “There are a few sectors of the market—namely the hospitality and retail industries—that took a big hit in March through May, and they’re still struggling a bit to recover. Because of the lack of travel at that time, our hospitality and tourism industries took a pretty sizeable hit.
“Our proximity to southern California and some of these major hubs, combined with the lower cost of doing business in Arizona, has helped significantly."
Jeff Melsek, Real Estate Commercial Portfolio Manager, National Bank of Arizona
“The good news is that Arizona’s tourism and hospitality industries are recovering far more quickly than those in a lot of other states and municipalities across the country,” Melsek continues. One factor in that recovery is that Arizona is a drive-to destination. “Because people from California, New Mexico, Utah or Colorado can get in their cars and drive here, we’ve recovered more rapidly than some of these other places that are predominantly air travel destinations,” he says.
Industrial strength One CRE segment that hasn’t appeared to struggle thus far has been Arizona’s industrial sector. It’s remained surprisingly strong throughout the year, Melsek notes. “Our proximity to southern California and some of these major hubs, combined with the lower cost of doing business in Arizona, has helped significantly,” he says. “We have a lot of companies that are coming here as startups or relocations, mostly from southern California. The idea of setting themselves up in an industrial location right off of Interstate 10, say, and being within a six or seven hour drive to L.A. is an appealing scenario for a lot of these companies. The upshot, I would say, is that the pandemic did not affect this segment at all.”
Office culture shift Another key CRE market segment, office space, is a different entity and more difficult to gauge, Melsek admits. “It’s a strange one,” he says. “I think right now we’re still waiting to measure how this pandemic affected the office market. Again, we’re cautiously optimistic, but the fact is that the pandemic has created an environment in which most everyone is working from home. So what we’re trying to figure out is how the pandemic has changed the office culture.” Melsek’s sense is that many companies will be downsizing—not in terms of their workforce, he explains, but rather their real estate footprint. “I think we’re going to see renewed construction in office product, but it’s going to be smaller in dimension,” he predicts, adding that the renewal will occur with building projects on the outskirts of urban areas, rather than downtown in city centers. “I also think the days of projects involving 60-floor office buildings housing multiple companies are numbered. I believe that the idea of social distancing isn’t going away in the near future and, as such, it’s going to impact the nature of office construction, sales and leasing.”
Preparation is key Business owners—especially those involved in these larger projects—are very astute people, Melsek says. And, as such, they realize that if a pandemic occurred once, it could do so again. “I think we’re going to be seeing a lot of businesses preparing for this eventuality in the future, and they’re
“With 2020 having turned out better than expected here in Arizona, I think we’re in a position to build upon what we consider to be a fairly strong current market." Andrea Davis, Owner Andrea Davis Commercial Real Estate
going to do that by reducing the size of their footprint and curtailing expenses in these big projects,” he notes. Hitting precisely the same chord, Davis summarizes her own predictions for the short- and mid-term CRE in the state. “I suspect Arizona will come out of the pandemic above other major [areas] for reasons that include our geographic location, our ‘dry heat,’ [the] plethora of land for development, low building footprints, and nationwide stats that show we managed the outbreak well. “Even so,” she cautions, “it’s important that companies use this time to focus on the next pandemic. Those companies that create a plan now with workspace, renegotiated rent terms and a readiness plan will come out ahead down the road.” We don’t project to have a horrible 2021, Melsek adds. “With 2020 having turned out better than expected here in Arizona, I think we’re in a position to build upon what we consider to be a fairly strong current market. There’s still a lot of uncertainty, but right now we’re holding firm, and predicting a continuation of that strength into the new year.”
Winter 2021 | ElevateAZ.com
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Page, AZ
Established in 1957 as a temporary work camp for builders of the Glen Canyon Dam, it’s easy to see why workers stayed and set down their roots. The spectacular red buttes and mesas, and miles of blue shoreline on Lake Powell make this treasured spot one of the many reasons 4 million visitors come to the burgeoning town each year. Find out more about this northern Arizona town in the next issue of Elevate AZ.
PHOTO Mark Lipczynski
Winter 2021 | ElevateAZ.com
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