GILBERT SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 13, 2022
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Schnepf Farms home developer has eye on the future BY PAUL MARYNIAK GSN Executive Editor
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ichard Felker keeps one eye on the ground and the other on the future. If that seems like an exaggeration, consider his track record. From managing and owning two family businesses in Milwaukee in the 1970s – one that sold furniture and the other that ran coin-operated washers and dryers – Felker started signing up university dormitories and apartment buildings for the latter. “I would call on apartment developers to get them to sign a lease with me put my laundry equipment into their buildings,” he recalled. “And that led me to say to myself, ‘Well, why don’t I try and get involved in real estate? So I became an entrepreneur who said, ‘well, let’s build a couple of buildings and see how it goes.’”
How it went is this: Felker sits atop The Empire Group, a Scottsdale company that over 40 years has accumulated more than $1.5 billion in assets and built a legacy of commercial, single family and multifamily residential and industrial development. Now, he is riding the wave of a multi-billion trend that experts say will radically change the single-family housing landscape forever. Empire’s announcement in December that it will build 144 single-family rental homes on 14 acres Developer Richard Felker has a firm footing in a growing of Schnepf Farms – the trend in new-home construction: building houses not to sell celebrated Queen Creek them but to rent them. (Courtesy of Empire Group) agrotainment venue best
known for its peach festivals and annual October Pumpkin and Chili Party – was just the latest in a series of build-to-rent communities Empire has on the drawing board, already is building or has finished. The company’s first was the Village at Harvard, a nearly fully occupied 184home community in Goodyear. Then there’s the 208-home Village at Olive Marketplace in Glendale that’s 65% leased and 50% occupied. A 194-home community is rising at Camelback Road and 107th Street, as is a 180-home development in Avondale along with the 272-home Village at Paseo de Le Luces in Tolleson. The Village at Schnepf Farms is the company’s seventh in the Valley and one of 21 projects in a market area stretching from Casa Grande to Prescott. And it’s hardly the last as Felker eyes
see FELKER page 24
Gilbert cinema programmer aims for the unique BY KEN SAIN GSN Staff Writer
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he owners of Majestic Neighborhood Cinema Grill are mapping a strategy aimed at meeting the challenges movie theaters face today. In addition to the impact of the pandemic and government-ordered shutdowns during the last two years, movie theaters also have to worry about competition from streaming – especially as some studios are now releasing films for streaming at the same time they go up on the big screen. Majestic Neighborhood Cinema Grill hired Andrea Canales to bring innovative programming to its venues in Chandler, Gilbert and Tempe. “You have to stand out, you have to be
Andrea Canales is the programmer for Majestic Neighborhood Cinema Grills, which has venues in Chandler, Gilbert and Tempe.
unique,” Canales said. “We pride ourselves on offering a really fun, unique experience for people. We want to make great memories happen at our locations. We find that the easiest way to do that is to play up to nostalgia, things that people really enjoy doing.” Canales, who assumed her new role earlier this month, has been doing programming for a number of independent movie houses in the state for years. “We are very excited to welcome Andrea to our Majestic family,” said Craig Paschich, Majestic’s CEO. “She has deep ties to the Valley’s film community, ranging from her academic relationships to connections with everyday cinephiles, and she truly respects and can accommo-
see MAJESTIC page 24
