7 minute read
CRE
Ray Oldenburg, an American urban sociologist, coined the term “third place” in his book The Great Good Place. He identified that in modern societies, time is primarily spent in our first place (home) and our second place (work). He introduced the need for this third place for social and emotional well-being, suggesting that coffee shops, post offices, neighborhood restaurants, parks and other communal spaces provide a place to create organic social bonds and participate in informal gatherings. These places are public but also have a level of intimacy.
This past year, social interactions have looked quite different and the notion of the third place in trend conversations has reemerged with a vengeance. Most commonly, we are seeing the office environment adopting the role of the third place, providing a familiar, flexible and well-rounded setting to fulfill the need for community. While we agree wholeheartedly, we see the home and work environments as two sides of the same coin. Currently, this is especially important since our typical third places have been unavailable and are in a state of evolution.
Multifamily amenities are a natural option to include third places. Amenities should always strive to promote social interaction and community-building. They cannot simply be a check list of typical spaces but, instead, need to be organic, flexible and respond directly to user needs and behaviors. A wellness offering for a suburban garden property and a wellness offering for an urban high-rise property should be different, not only in size but in programming, equipment and aesthetics. Developers, property managers, architects and designers need to be in touch with their target audience and local market more than ever to be in tune with each unique community’s needs. Why is it so important to create that connection? Amenities can be a dusty untapped resource for revenue if they sit empty. Designing amenities that people actually use, and creating a connection, turns renters into long-term residents with brand loyalty.
Owners of multifamily properties should keep the following in mind while programming for amenities that add value. Because the third place has been primary thought of as neighborhood gathering spaces, it’s important to not think only about what the surrounding neighborhood has that can supplement a property’s programming. Consider instead: What does the neighborhood not have? How can the property fill that gap for prospective residents? What are things it can offer that residents don’t have in their own units? Too many times, we walk into a clubhouse to see a generic layout that includes a large sofa, some chairs and a TV. Most residents have that kind of layout in their own unit, so how can we push that to the next level and offer something unique? Another key element is flexibility. Designing a space that is flexible means every inch is still planned but the space is interactive. Spaces aren’t meant to be stagnant; they should be dynamic, living, growing parts of the community. When the offering is more than their first and second place, it fulfills the much-needed role of third place. —Wendi Stallings, principal of Phoenix- and San Francisco-based Private Label International (privatelabelintl.com), a full-service interior design studio that develops hospitality environments and lifestyle brand experiences for clients worldwide GET REAL
by Mike Hunter
Phase II Homes Open in Goodyear’s Centerra
Landsea Homes Corporation has opened the second phase of its homes in the one-of-a-kind Goodyear community of Centerra, which offers homes with seven different floor plans and ranging from three to four bedrooms, with an option for six bedrooms, and two to three-and-a-half bathrooms. Homes include smart home automation technology and an air purifier. The community also features amenities such as two tot lots, playground and a luxury pool. “Our goal is to create attainable housing for anyone interested in entering the housing market,” said Todd Condon, VP of sales and marketing for Arizona. landseahomes.com/arizona/centerra
Ground Breaks on 651-Unit Apartment Development in Tempe
Banyan Residential, an L.A.-based private real estate investment company, has commenced construction on phase one of Banyan North Tempe, a 651-unit multifamily development in Tempe. In conjunction with Milhaus, an Indianapolis-based development company, Banyan worked tirelessly with state and local agencies to annex the 16.5-acre site in an area frequently referred to as the North Tempe county island – the first time the City expanded its boundaries in more than a decade. Construction is now underway at the highly anticipated $177 million development, with phase one expected to be complete in early 2023. banyanresidential.com
Luxury Build-to-Rent Project Begins in Apache Junction
Paragon Development Group recently closed on the $3.1 million purchase of 15.67 acres in the Southeast Valley. The site, located on the NEC of West Southern Avenue and South Meridian Road in Apache Junction, is slated to become Hampton Meridian, a new 195-unit luxury build-to-rent community with one-, two- and three-bedroom attached and detached residences ranging in size from 645 square feet to 1,295 square feet. Construction of the site is beginning immediately, with its first units expected to be available in March 2022.
George Oliver’s Experiential Offices
Even amid a pandemic, local developer George Oliver is flush with new tenant interest across its office portfolio — but with a very common requirement. Prospective tenants all want the kind of experiential, nextgeneration office space that George Oliver, in particular, is becoming known for.
“The pandemic dramatically shifted how employees and employers view the workplace,” says George Oliver Managing Partner Curt Kremer. “Our design strategy prioritizes the amenities that employees are clamoring for as they come back to the office, while also giving employers the leverage they need to ‘win’ in their recruiting and retention efforts.”
Tenants at George Oliver’s The Alexander in downtown Chandler and CASA in North Phoenix benefit from above-and-beyond features like state-ofthe-art wellness and fitness centers, yoga studios, Kaleidoscope organic juice and coffee bars with lounge-style seating and breakout areas, tranquil outdoor gardens for communal meetings and relaxation, libraries for focused tasks, billiards rooms and outdoor game areas, conference/training centers, dog-friendly spaces, mothers’ rooms, an on-site concierge and upgraded “touchless” features and HVAC systems for optimal building and tenant health.
“Our projects replace the traditional office with collaborative, wellnessinspired workspaces, with a focus on personal growth that you won’t find in other Class A office environments,” says Kremer. “They also operate like a campus. Their shared amenities and programming allow our tenants — many of which are small and mid-sized businesses — to successfully compete for the best and brightest employees.”
Demand for these spaces is high, and more is on the way. The company is nearing completion on The Jonathan (a sister building to The Alexander in downtown Chandler) and has just purchased Hayden Station on Mill Avenue in downtown Tempe, planning what Kremer says is their most exciting infill, campus-style repositioning strategy to date.
George Oliver georgeoliver.com
Industrial/Logistics Building Breaks Ground in Buckeye
LGE Design Build, a full-service design and general contracting firm and winner of AZ RED 2021 General Contractor of the Year, broke ground recently on a new state-of-the-art industrial project in the City of Buckeye being developed by Phoenix-based Creation Equity, an alternative investment and real estate development firm.
The project consists of 860,602 square-feet, with potential to expand the footprint to an additional 211,000 square-feet, featuring a modern architecture design consisting of large glass window elements and stamped concrete. The cross-dock distribution center will also offer best-in-class features to the end user.
LGE expects to meet the grand opening target date in early 2022. Says LGE Design Build’s Director of Preconstruction Blake Wells, “We are proud of the work our architecture team has done and we look forward to finishing construction in record time, thanks to our streamlined design-build process.”
“We were able to achieve a modern aesthetic using conventional materials in an unconventional way,” said Mike Russo, designer at LGE. “The Corner Entry is glazed from end to end, with the front Concrete Tilt Panel spanning over the entire width of the Glazing below, creating a seamless entry. The Aluminum Storefront system doubles as a shade screen with a randomized mullion pattern. This pattern carries through to the canopy below, with a mixture of a solid and open trellis canopy to create a striking entry sequence.”
Conveniently located just south of Interstate 10 at the northwest corner of N. Miller Rd. and Lower Buckeye Rd., 10 West Commerce Park is a quick 30-minute drive to Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport and a six-hour drive to the Los Angeles and Long Beach sea ports in California.
“There is a tremendous amount of interest from businesses to relocate to Buckeye,” says Buckeye Mayor Eric Orsborn, “but they prefer buildings ready to move into. LGE’s attractive, new state-of-the-art facility provides the opportunity for one or more businesses to relocate to Buckeye quickly and provide additional job opportunities to our residents.”
Creation Equity creationequity.com LGE Design Build lgedesignbuild.com
