CRE

VDC Leading the Way in Creating Sustainable Buildings

As the industry continues to overcome the aftermath of the pandemic, in addition to today’s supply chain issues, leaders are seeking better efficiencies within the workplace now more than ever before. In a larger effort to keep up with the high demand of commercial real estate projects, implementing virtual design & construction (VDC) within their processes can benefit general contractors and other industry professionals.

The technological resource takes a modernized approach to project management. It utilizes digital resources to create a visual model of a project prior to it being physically constructed, significantly reducing the chance for unnecessary error. Additionally, it provides a more accurate representation of the materials needed for the project, giving those on the job a better idea of the exact cost rather than overordering and wasting materials.

More sustainability: One of the leading issues within the construction industry is the waste of materials. Whether it’s overordering or needing to rework jobs, these are common examples of missed productivity. VDC’s technology can help ensure that sustainable and energy-efficient materials are being integrated from the ground up, significantly reducing the potential risk of having to restart projects or fix any issues that may occur later within the timeline due to oversights during the planning phases.

Better transparency: From the start, VDC offers transparency in projects as it enables leaders to foresee any issues prior to breaking ground while providing an exact overview of what materials and products are needed. This level of transparency can be highly valuable during the various phases of a project’s process, especially throughout the design and construction phases. In the design phase, all parties involved in the project can see, in real-time, the materials and tools that are needed throughout the building schedule.

Collaboration: VDC allows for real-time collaboration to ensure all key players can find and integrate the most cost- and energy-efficient products from start to finish. Crosscollaboration between subcontractors is increased as everyone involved stays updated on all phases of the project. With VDC, everything is modeled and integrated together, therefore allowing all parties to collaborate and communicate together in real-time.

Increased cost efficiency: Because the technology identifies everything needed for a project upfront, VDC helps keep production on schedule, which is one of the top performance objectives managers seek to achieve. Additionally, VDC can provide post-construction benefits by providing building managers with valuable insight and information that helps them run their structure sustainably and at its peak performance. Thanks to VDC’s in-depth and detailed 3D models, building managers receive a vault of knowledge and information that enables them to better maintain it, ensuring that it runs as efficiently as possible and the need for updates or repairs down the road can be pushed out farther into the future.

VDC’s benefits go beyond the initial groundbreaking and has been proven to provide cost-effective and eco-friendly solutions every step of the way. The implementation of VDC will support the efforts from contractors, designers and project managers alike in creating a more sustainable construction industry. —Barry Wurzel, founder and president of Wurzel Builders (wurzelbuilders.com) GET REAL

by Mike Hunter

Abrazo to Build Med Campus in W. Phoenix

Abrazo Health has acquired property to develop a medical campus on 27 acres near the southwest corner of I-10 and Verrado Way. The initial phase of the development is expected to break ground in 2022. Plans for the campus include a medical office building, ambulatory services and an acute care hospital. Abrazo Health anticipates that its new medical campus will be a health care anchor for this fast-growing area and a driver of economic activity. abrazohealth.com

Rehab Hospital Breaks Ground in Peoria

Adolfson & Peterson Construction, a top national construction management firm and general contractor, and Reunion Rehabilitation Hospitals, a system of state-of-the-art inpatient rehabilitation hospitals — with support from America Development & Investments LLC, a leading healthcare real estate developer based in Dallas — recently broke ground on a new, 49,128-square-foot hospital in Peoria that will offer inpatient rehabilitation care for people with debilitating illnesses and injuries such as stroke and brain injury, as well as other complex neurological and orthopedic conditions. a-p.com • americadevelopment.com • reunionrehabhospital.com

New CRE Firm Addresses Arizona’s Growing Need for Healthcare Facilities

As the Phoenix area continues to see the nation’s fastest growth, demand for medical services is also rising. To help clinicians provide the care the Valley needs, long-time commercial real estate broker Trisha Talbot recently launched Doc Properties, a real estate investment services firm that serves healthcare practices and investors in a booming property sector.

Scottsdale-based Doc Properties assists clients with facilities ranging from ambulatory surgical centers and urgent care properties to medical office buildings. The firm also identifies opportunities for adaptive reuse and helps clients build to suit. docproperties.com

Peoria’s Largest Master-Planned Community Site Draws Developer

Castle Hill Partners, an Austin-based community developer, purchased the 5,261-acre master-planned community project known as Saddleback Heights. The parcel is the largest remaining undeveloped master planned community project site in the city of Peoria, Arizona.

“This is one of the highest-quality sites for a new master planned community we have seen in our search of the major U.S. growth markets,” says John McKinnerney, principal with Castle Hill Partners. “We are excited to begin our development journey with the City of Peoria and create a lineup of high-quality builders that will allow us to provide a variety of new home options and desirable community amenities for future residents.” Saddleback Heights was initially planned in the 1990s. Castle Hill Partners has immediate plans to commence development of the site. The purchase marks the developer’s first master-planned community development in Arizona. Land Advisors Organization professionals Greg Vogel, Ryan Semro, Bret Rinehart, Mike Schwab and Wes Campbell represented Vandon Partners, LLC, a partnership between Diamond Ventures and VT LandGroup, the seller in the transaction.

The property is set amongst the natural Sonoran Desert foothills in the northwest Valley, providing panoramic mountain views, excelling schools, parks, trails and significant open space, and is only minutes to the popular Lake Pleasant recreational area. Located in the immediate path of growth along Highway 74, the development is adjacent to the popular Vistancia community and only 15 minutes from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s $12 billion computer chip fabrication plant, which is expected to open in 2024.

“Saddleback Heights is one of the last remaining development opportunities of its size in the Phoenix MSA,” says Greg Vogel, CEO of Land Advisors Organization. “Castle Hill’s development expertise and ability to execute a project of this scale will certainly ensure its success and provide muchneeded new residential options to accommodate the West Valley’s growing employment base.” —Mike Hunter

Castle Hill Partners castlehillco.com Land Advisors Organization landadvisors.com

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Korman Communities, RXR Make Phoenix Debut with Flexible-Living Multifamily Development

Korman Communities and RXR have completed the purchase of their first property in the Phoenix market: AVE Phoenix Terra at the southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and Fillmore Street. The newly opened 348-unit, seven-story, professionally managed, Class A residential mid-rise features luxury apartments, fully furnished apartments, 60,000 square feet of amenity space, and 7,000 square feet of retail space. It introduces AVE’s flexible-living option to the market — fully furnished apartments, complete with furnishings, fully accessorized kitchens, linens and utilities — for month-tomonth leases, which will support its relocation boom.

“Our fully furnished apartments are a comfortable, temporary living solution for companies who need corporate housing for their employees and transferees for 30 days or more,” explains Lea Anne Welsh, COO of Korman Communities and president of AVE. “We’re also a great solution for individuals who are renovating their home, in between homes, or rethinking their current living situation.”

Korman Communities, a Philadelphia-based, fifth-generation, 100-year-old real estate company operating multifamily and hotel brands AVE and aka throughout the United States and in London, and RXR, a New York-based investor and developer that manages $22.4 billion in commercial and multi-family properties nationwide, were aligned in their goals to bring a best-in-class multi-family product to Greater Phoenix.

“We’ve been looking at the Phoenix market for a few years now because it’s a desirable area where people want to live and work,” says Bradley Korman, co-CEO of Korman Communities. “This acquisition will represent the first of many new ventures for us in this market.”

“We’re proud to partner with the Korman organization in providing our residents with a world-class living experience filled with amenity-rich programming, state-of-the-art technology, and ‘five-star’ service,” says Scott Rechler, chairman and CEO of RXR. —Ashley J. Cerasaro

Korman Communities korman.com RXR Realty rxrrealty.com