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  #61  
Old Posted Aug 7, 2013, 3:06 AM
sh9730 sh9730 is offline
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Arq,

I ve seen the ad for leasing consultants also, but not sure what is "shady" about it....standard type want ad for that type of position in my experience.

Remember, this eventually will have a lot of real estate components associated with it beyond the actual center itself with hotels, apartment complexes, and single family development all in the later phases. Also, Im not surprised by the real estate bent since the developers are big real estate people and of course the recently hired CEO is heavily real estate experienced.

I guess I can respect those who don't believe the project will ever come to fruition (although with all the recent developments that argument is getting harder to make), or that is will be a long term success, or even that you dislike the premise of the "EB-5" investors, but I don't get any "unprofessional" vibe from this thing at all.

Remember these are the same people who developed the Chinese Cultural center downtown PHX so they know what they are doing as far as bringing a project to reality..
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  #62  
Old Posted Aug 7, 2013, 3:13 AM
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Arquitect Arquitect is offline
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Originally Posted by sh9730 View Post
Arq,

I ve seen the ad for leasing consultants also, but not sure what is "shady" about it....standard type want ad for that type of position in my experience.

Remember, this eventually will have a lot of real estate components associated with it beyond the actual center itself with hotels, apartment complexes, and single family development all in the later phases. Also, Im not surprised by the real estate bent since the developers are big real estate people and of course the recently hired CEO is heavily real estate experienced.

I guess I can respect those who don't believe the project will ever come to fruition (although with all the recent developments that argument is getting harder to make), or that is will be a long term success, or even that you dislike the premise of the "EB-5" investors, but I don't get any "unprofessional" vibe from this thing at all.

Remember these are the same people who developed the Chinese Cultural center downtown PHX so they know what they are doing as far as bringing a project to reality..
I'm not sure how familiar with Phoenix you are, but I am pretty sure no one would call 40th street "downtown Phoenix".

Also, I'm not sure how familiar you are with the Chinese Cultural Center, but it has been in great decline for a number of years now. Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against the place, in fact I used to go eat there often before many of the restaurants closed, and I still do most of my shopping for Asian goods there, since Lee Lee's is really far away from where I live; but the center is really struggling. It has a lot of vacancies, and many of the great restaurants that used to be there have closed down. It seem like every time I go, I notice more empty store fronts.

I am sure whomever developed it put a lot of work into it, but it is clear that they have done near to nothing to prevent it from dying once it was finished. Is this the same approach they will take with Phoenix Mart?

Last edited by Arquitect; Aug 7, 2013 at 3:26 AM.
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  #63  
Old Posted Aug 7, 2013, 4:11 AM
sh9730 sh9730 is offline
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Arq,

Point taken about "downtown" - I forgot the forum Im on here is extremely familiar with the distinction of a downtown vs just in the urban area of a city. Mea Culpa on that one..

I also have only been to the CCC a couple of times so am not as intimate with the reasons for any decline - but if what you say is true, it is unfortunate but hardly alone in struggles in recent years..

Finally, again - I have no vested interest in the PhoenixMart project (although if I had a real estate license I might have applied for that job listing...) other than being a CG homeowner who wants this area to thrive and am hopeful this project will be a success as it will really help define what Casa Grande can be as far as a center point between Tucson and Phoenix.

But I have attended numerous presentations at city council, planning commission, chamber of commerce meetings, etc. on the project beginning almost 2 years ago, so have a pretty good feeling for the principals and their representatives and so far I ve not felt we were being misled in any way as to the type, scope, financing mechanisms, etc. on this project.
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  #64  
Old Posted Aug 7, 2013, 3:43 PM
dtnphx dtnphx is offline
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Originally Posted by Arquitect View Post
I'm not sure how familiar with Phoenix you are, but I am pretty sure no one would call 40th street "downtown Phoenix".

Also, I'm not sure how familiar you are with the Chinese Cultural Center, but it has been in great decline for a number of years now. Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against the place, in fact I used to go eat there often before many of the restaurants closed, and I still do most of my shopping for Asian goods there, since Lee Lee's is really far away from where I live; but the center is really struggling. It has a lot of vacancies, and many of the great restaurants that used to be there have closed down. It seem like every time I go, I notice more empty store fronts.

I am sure whomever developed it put a lot of work into it, but it is clear that they have done near to nothing to prevent it from dying once it was finished. Is this the same approach they will take with Phoenix Mart?
While I agree with your call out that 40th St is not considered Downtown, I would be more careful schooling someone about how familiar with Phoenix they are since the Chinese Cultural Center is on 44th St.
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  #65  
Old Posted Aug 7, 2013, 4:16 PM
RichTempe RichTempe is offline
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Originally Posted by sh9730 View Post
Arq,

I ve seen the ad for leasing consultants also, but not sure what is "shady" about it....standard type want ad for that type of position in my experience.
Perhaps unprofessional is a better description than shady. I've been in the recruiting field for a number of years, and an unsolicited, blast email to random people is not an effective recruiting strategy. I don't have any sales or real estate experience whatsoever, so I'm not sure how this ended up in my inbox.

I have seen other examples of this kind of email recruiting and in my opinion it's sloppy and I always question the seriousness of whoever is sending the emails. It's usually a recruiter/sourcer who is supposed to reach 'x' number of people to hit their numbers, so they just send something without any real attempt to target people with the qualifications that would be required for the position.

According to LinkedIn, the person who sent me this email is based out of Chicago and their profile shows a grand total of 2 connections. Also, the application link just directs you to a page where you can upload your resume. Most companies will have an application website that has you provide a lot more than just a resume, as well as telling you additional information about the organization and the job itself.

Anyway, this is just my long winded explanation on why I think the PhoenixMart people are unprofessional at best and shady at worst. Just my opinion of course.
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  #66  
Old Posted Aug 17, 2013, 1:53 AM
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Looks like the project is closer to becoming a reality. Only 5 GCs left in the running, all of them Phoenix based:

Quote:
Five contractors—(in alphabetical order) Haydon Building Corp., Hensel-Phelps, McCarthy Building Companies, Okland Construction and Sundt Construction, Inc.—have been invited to propose on the project. Phoenix Mart did not disclose what it anticipates for construction costs. Once proposals have been received, the company plans to move quickly towards a final decision. One bidder told AZBEX that this was an excellent group of competitors. “Quality builders with integrity,” was the description.
“If the bid proposals are clear cut, we could make a decision on the contractor in as soon as a week after the cut-off,” says executive vice president Jeremy Schoenfelder. “If we need further clarifications or want to talk with one or two firms, it could take up to a month to make the final decision.” The company plans a ceremonial groundbreaking in September and hopes to be under construction before the year ends.
Source: http://azbex.com/phoenix-mart-narrow..._id0_h397_w380
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  #67  
Old Posted Aug 22, 2013, 7:52 PM
sh9730 sh9730 is offline
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Here is an article that explains the Phoenixmart concept pretty well given at a local speech by the new Phoenixmart CEO:

http://www.trivalleycentral.com/eloy...a4bcf887a.html
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  #68  
Old Posted Sep 20, 2013, 7:34 PM
sh9730 sh9730 is offline
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Here is the latest article on Phoenixmart - McCarthy Contstruction has been selected as the GC and they are shooting for an 11/2014 opening.

The CEO Betts has been making the rounds lately giving interviews and speeches as Chamber of Commerce etc.. He is doing the same today in Casa Grande and it sold out in about 2 mins....

http://roselawgroupreporter.com/2013...h-phoenixmart/
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  #69  
Old Posted Sep 21, 2013, 7:02 AM
sh9730 sh9730 is offline
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Video Presentation by CEO with latest architecture reps

When I posted earlier I didn't realize they would be filming the presentation at the CG Chamber of Commerce today.

Here is a link to the presentation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eomFVCBVshA

Its about 45 mins long - and much of it is a video that has been available at Phoenixmart.com for a bit now - but there are a couple of highlights:


Folks on this forum will probably be interested in watching at about 25 mins and beyond where there are some of the latest construction drawings of the façade and interior of the building. They have changed somewhat since the original designs were released...clearly the same style, but much more refined now. The PM people make it very clear they are using a high end architect for this project in an effort to keep it interesting for the international visitors they intend to be visiting.

Otherwise they confirmed the timeline as:

Soft groundbreaking with huge marketing release in late October followed by mostly horizontal work (infrastructure etc) thru February and actual vertical building work beginning in spring with completion in November 2014.
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  #70  
Old Posted Oct 31, 2013, 5:49 PM
sh9730 sh9730 is offline
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OK - the groundbreaking date has been announced on the Phoenixmart facebook page as Nov 7th...

https://www.facebook.com/PhoenixMart?hc_location=stream

This of course will just be the dog and pony show - not sure when the "real" work will begin - probably not until into the new year.....

But it appears like this is all moving ahead finally....
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  #71  
Old Posted Nov 7, 2013, 5:57 PM
sh9730 sh9730 is offline
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Groundbreiaking this morning was well attended (My guess 500+ people) and professionally done. They plan to start at risk grading in the next couple of weeks and hope to start vertically (such as it is since its whole concept is the largest single story structure in the country) by February.

When talking with the principals this morning I said it would be good if the project was 50+% leased at opening. I was told it will be significantly higher than that.
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  #72  
Old Posted Nov 7, 2013, 10:45 PM
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How is this project fucking happening?

They have a sketchy non SEC-compliant advertisement for investors and it's gone from that to groundbreaking in only several months from its initial announcement?

There must be serious hidden money behind this that would allow such timelines. Announcement to construction rarely happens in less than a year for anything remotely big, especially for something like the first phase of the "largest single story structure in the country."
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  #73  
Old Posted Nov 8, 2013, 2:32 AM
HX_Guy HX_Guy is offline
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Yeah this project puzzles me. I mean it seems HUGE, both in size and in scope and I would expect to hear a lot more buzz about it but really there isn't much considering the scale.
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  #74  
Old Posted Nov 8, 2013, 3:36 AM
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Originally Posted by combusean View Post
How is this project fucking happening?

They have a sketchy non SEC-compliant advertisement for investors and it's gone from that to groundbreaking in only several months from its initial announcement?

There must be serious hidden money behind this that would allow such timelines. Announcement to construction rarely happens in less than a year for anything remotely big, especially for something like the first phase of the "largest single story structure in the country."
Arizona is a repository for "dark money" after all so some shady real estate hustle doesn't surprise me in the least. I still contend that this is a Ponzi scheme. Casa Grande taxpayers will be left with the bill just like Glendale now must fund an overdeveloped and under-performing Westgate. Who in there right mind is going to travel out to the middle of nowhere for this? At least Chicago's The Merchandise Mart is in the middle of an Alpha+ world city's downtown.
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  #75  
Old Posted Nov 8, 2013, 5:49 AM
sh9730 sh9730 is offline
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Wow - you guys amaze me - no research - just "feelings". There is no hidden surprises here - the initial planning for this project began over 4 years ago with site visits and such both here in AZ and in other locations across the country. Casa Grande was selected and the official "announcement" of the project was in fall of 2011, so even that was over 2 years ago and not months as the above post suggests.

There is no question, and no hiding from the developers that a vast majority of this funding is coming from Chinese investors using the US GOVT sanctioned EB-5 program, so yes some Chinese investors and their families will get VISAs - IF IF IF - the 3000 guaranteed jobs (the 9K plus is what is expected from the studies but only 3K are REQUIRED per the EB-5 program) are still there 2 years from now.

So though this may have been somewhat under the radar to many - I was posting about this on other forums over 2 years ago and I attended all the city planning meetings and Council meetings and every aspect of financing etc was discussed.

There has been VERY LITTLE city give back on this project other than assigned staff time and some credits for impacts that Phoenixmart will cause (road improvements etc). There is NO city bond financing or the like involved with this project so I cannot see how the city will be on the hook for anything unless the project completely fails and the site becomes a nuisance or the like.
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  #76  
Old Posted Nov 8, 2013, 1:58 PM
KevininPhx KevininPhx is offline
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Originally Posted by sh9730 View Post
Wow - you guys amaze me - no research - just "feelings". There is no hidden surprises here - the initial planning for this project began over 4 years ago with site visits and such both here in AZ and in other locations across the country. Casa Grande was selected and the official "announcement" of the project was in fall of 2011, so even that was over 2 years ago and not months as the above post suggests.

There is no question, and no hiding from the developers that a vast majority of this funding is coming from Chinese investors using the US GOVT sanctioned EB-5 program, so yes some Chinese investors and their families will get VISAs - IF IF IF - the 3000 guaranteed jobs (the 9K plus is what is expected from the studies but only 3K are REQUIRED per the EB-5 program) are still there 2 years from now.

So though this may have been somewhat under the radar to many - I was posting about this on other forums over 2 years ago and I attended all the city planning meetings and Council meetings and every aspect of financing etc was discussed.

There has been VERY LITTLE city give back on this project other than assigned staff time and some credits for impacts that Phoenixmart will cause (road improvements etc). There is NO city bond financing or the like involved with this project so I cannot see how the city will be on the hook for anything unless the project completely fails and the site becomes a nuisance or the like.
Thanks for a reasoned and reasonable response. Not sure what the CG vitriol is all about, but small cities do plan big things.
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  #77  
Old Posted Nov 12, 2013, 7:03 PM
azsunsurfer azsunsurfer is offline
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Originally Posted by sh9730 View Post
Wow - you guys amaze me - no research - just "feelings". There is no hidden surprises here - the initial planning for this project began over 4 years ago with site visits and such both here in AZ and in other locations across the country. Casa Grande was selected and the official "announcement" of the project was in fall of 2011, so even that was over 2 years ago and not months as the above post suggests.

There is no question, and no hiding from the developers that a vast majority of this funding is coming from Chinese investors using the US GOVT sanctioned EB-5 program, so yes some Chinese investors and their families will get VISAs - IF IF IF - the 3000 guaranteed jobs (the 9K plus is what is expected from the studies but only 3K are REQUIRED per the EB-5 program) are still there 2 years from now.

So though this may have been somewhat under the radar to many - I was posting about this on other forums over 2 years ago and I attended all the city planning meetings and Council meetings and every aspect of financing etc was discussed.

There has been VERY LITTLE city give back on this project other than assigned staff time and some credits for impacts that Phoenixmart will cause (road improvements etc). There is NO city bond financing or the like involved with this project so I cannot see how the city will be on the hook for anything unless the project completely fails and the site becomes a nuisance or the like.
The first line of your response is exactly what I have been trying to say in other parts of the AZ forums. Thank you!
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  #78  
Old Posted Dec 18, 2013, 3:24 AM
alexico alexico is offline
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cheesy name!
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  #79  
Old Posted Dec 18, 2013, 5:00 PM
Obadno Obadno is offline
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cheesy name!
Chinese project... Having been to China, it seems to me that they have very literal in naming schemes. They don't tend to do flashy names or creative names, they just name stuff what it is.

Like in bejing they have the ring roads, named 1st, 2nd and 3rd ring roads. Business park by the airport => Airport City, Medical center => hospital city, Wholesale marketplace near phoenix => Phoenix Mart.

To us that seems cheesey
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  #80  
Old Posted Dec 18, 2013, 6:59 PM
KevininPhx KevininPhx is offline
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Originally Posted by Obadno View Post
Chinese project... Having been to China, it seems to me that they have very literal in naming schemes. They don't tend to do flashy names or creative names, they just name stuff what it is.

Like in bejing they have the ring roads, named 1st, 2nd and 3rd ring roads. Business park by the airport => Airport City, Medical center => hospital city, Wholesale marketplace near phoenix => Phoenix Mart.

To us that seems cheesey
Why cheesey? Chicago's Merchandise Mart is a beloved and historic building/neighborhood, and has been for eons. From a marketing perspective, I think it's a brilliant name. Would anyone be discussing this on a skyscraper page if it were called The Shops at Case Grande?
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