DMB Associates promoted Charley Freericks to president this week. Here are some of the Arizona real-estate veteran's opinions on the housing market and DMB's future.
Question: How would you describe metro Phoenix's current housing market? Economy?
Answer: There is significant anecdotal evidence for the beginning of a recovery. In housing, in retail, office and in employment. I look for it in discretionary-spending places -- if restaurants have wait lists, if at sporting events seats are filled and there are lines at concessions. DMB's communities and commercial centers tell the same story: Month to month and year over year, the negative trends have reversed, and the numbers are going the right direction. Consumer confidence is returning, and that is when recoveries get traction.
Q: What will Eastmark do for Mesa? Verrado for West Valley?
A: Eastmark is something very special. This new DMB community will help redefine the Gateway area. In the past, we have been market- and place-makers with communities such as DC Ranch, Superstition Springs and Verrado. But with Eastmark, we are reshaping and enhancing an already established area and serving as a catalyst for new activity in this center of regional importance.
Remember, this area was formerly Williams Air Force Base, and following its closure, it was repurposed as the regional reliever Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. The combination of ASU Polytechnic, the aerospace-aviation employers and the airport itself has produced a significant, and emerging, center of commerce.
Verrado, another former desert proving ground, continues to evolve and grow as our long-term vision is realized. Banner has their new medical facility under construction, retail and offices are filled, and housing is in recovery. Verrado has performed better than many areas in the West Valley. It's a testament to DMB's community life and neighbor engagement. Homebuyers in this market want a place to call home and invest in their community. We are also under way on attracting employers to the region so the vision for a true live-work-educate-play community can be realized.
Q: What's next for development in Arizona for DMB?
A: Today, we have one of the finest portfolios of large-scale communities and mixed-use commercial properties in the West. DMB is fortunate to have great sponsorship and commitment for the long term. We have been selective in order to achieve our goal of creating the country's finest living environments. For now, we are working to capture every housing and employment opportunity that will help us achieve the vision for our communities.
Q: When do you think metro Phoenix's homebuilding market will recover?
A: The recovery is starting here now. It's tempting, but impossible, to forecast the bottom or top of a market. But here is what I know about recoveries: First you crawl, then you walk, then you run. While we may not be running right away, we are in recovery.
One of our primary differentiators is thinking about how people will live in our communities, and we make every effort to create places that will live well over time. As we move forward, buyers are again looking for how they want to live and where they can be proud of their home, neighborhood and community. People want to live where they can be engaged, involved and connected. Our communities are recovering faster because people value places with stability and engagement.
Q: And how often do people misspell or mispronounce your last name?
A: Wow! Both my first name and last name are hard to spell, so one or the other is always wrong. "Freericks" came over from Germany unchanged at Ellis Island. The only benefit is I can tell right away if I know the person addressing me.
by Catherine Reagor - Apr. 13, 2012 04:11 PM The Arizona Republic | azcentral.com
Reagor: New DMB head rosy on housing
Showing posts with label dmb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dmb. Show all posts
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Housing plat OK'd for proving-ground land - USATODAY.com
The first residential project on land formerly occupied by the General Motors Desert Proving Ground is on the books in Mesa.
The Planning and Zoning Board has approved a preliminary plat for 796 single-family homes on the northwestern corner of Ray and Signal Butte roads. The site is about 2 miles south of a large First Solar Inc. panel-fabricating plant under construction.
Mesa has fought several battles in recent years to keep housing away from the nearby Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and from tracts in the area that are deemed more suitable for business.
But this parcel is 2 miles from the airport's eastern border and would be part of the 15,000 dwelling units envisioned in a plan for the DMB land that the City Council approved in 2008.
John Wesley, Mesa's planning director, said the housing tract does not require City Council scrutiny because no rezoning is involved.
Councilman Scott Somers, who represents southeast Mesa, said he visited DMB's Scottsdale headquarters on Monday and is encouraged by the company's plans.
"From what I see so far it looks pretty good," Somers said. "They have lived up to the Gateway area plan. They're looking for a different look."
The neighborhood will be lushly landscaped and will offer a break from the block walls that typify many Valley neighborhoods, he said.
Somers said high-quality housing is essential for the former GM property. "I'm looking for something more eclectic or that has a theme to it," he said, mentioning Phoenix's historical Willo district.
The DMB project narrative did not list a prospective developer for the site.
It notes that according to the community plan for DMB's Mesa proving-grounds development, the property "will form the basis of the social fabric of the community and will be designed as intimate neighborhoods that encourage walking and social interaction."
The document promises small neighborhood parks, narrow streets to encourage slower traffic and strong connections to other portions of the DMB property, including what has been called the Great Park in the center of the 5-square-mile development.
DMB and Mesa believe the GM site will develop in stages over the next few decades and has the potential for future high-rise business centers at, for example, the intersection of Ellsworth and Elliot roads.
DMB spokeswoman Cassidy Campana said the company is talking with several homebuilders about the newly approved tract but that no deals have been made and there is no timetable for construction.
"We're working real hard to be prepared for when the economy comes back," Campana said.
Somers said it will take a while to lay infrastructure, and the development might not be ready to launch until 2013.
The inaugural project for DMB's property was supposed to have been a ritzy Gaylord resort and conference center, another upscale resort, a championship golf course and high-end shopping about a mile east of the Ellsworth-Elliot intersection.
Groundbreaking for the Gaylord originally was scheduled for no later than this coming New Year's Eve. But within days of the project being announced in September 2008, the economy spun into recession, decimating the travel and convention industries.
Mesa granted Gaylord a three-year extension for its groundbreaking deadline. The Nashville-based company has told the city that its project here is still alive and will proceed when the economics pencil out.
Tempe-based First Solar Inc. jumped to the front of DMB's line in March when it announced plans for a 1.3million-square-foot solar-panel assembly plant. The plant is to open in 2012.
Wesley said Pacific Proving LLC, which bought the southern portion of the former GM facility, also has a couple of housing proposals, but they have not been brought to the Planning and Zoning Board.
By Gary Nelson The Arizona Republic Dec 10, 2011
Housing plat OK'd for proving-ground land - USATODAY.com
The Planning and Zoning Board has approved a preliminary plat for 796 single-family homes on the northwestern corner of Ray and Signal Butte roads. The site is about 2 miles south of a large First Solar Inc. panel-fabricating plant under construction.
Mesa has fought several battles in recent years to keep housing away from the nearby Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and from tracts in the area that are deemed more suitable for business.
But this parcel is 2 miles from the airport's eastern border and would be part of the 15,000 dwelling units envisioned in a plan for the DMB land that the City Council approved in 2008.
John Wesley, Mesa's planning director, said the housing tract does not require City Council scrutiny because no rezoning is involved.
Councilman Scott Somers, who represents southeast Mesa, said he visited DMB's Scottsdale headquarters on Monday and is encouraged by the company's plans.
"From what I see so far it looks pretty good," Somers said. "They have lived up to the Gateway area plan. They're looking for a different look."
The neighborhood will be lushly landscaped and will offer a break from the block walls that typify many Valley neighborhoods, he said.
Somers said high-quality housing is essential for the former GM property. "I'm looking for something more eclectic or that has a theme to it," he said, mentioning Phoenix's historical Willo district.
The DMB project narrative did not list a prospective developer for the site.
It notes that according to the community plan for DMB's Mesa proving-grounds development, the property "will form the basis of the social fabric of the community and will be designed as intimate neighborhoods that encourage walking and social interaction."
The document promises small neighborhood parks, narrow streets to encourage slower traffic and strong connections to other portions of the DMB property, including what has been called the Great Park in the center of the 5-square-mile development.
DMB and Mesa believe the GM site will develop in stages over the next few decades and has the potential for future high-rise business centers at, for example, the intersection of Ellsworth and Elliot roads.
DMB spokeswoman Cassidy Campana said the company is talking with several homebuilders about the newly approved tract but that no deals have been made and there is no timetable for construction.
"We're working real hard to be prepared for when the economy comes back," Campana said.
Somers said it will take a while to lay infrastructure, and the development might not be ready to launch until 2013.
The inaugural project for DMB's property was supposed to have been a ritzy Gaylord resort and conference center, another upscale resort, a championship golf course and high-end shopping about a mile east of the Ellsworth-Elliot intersection.
Groundbreaking for the Gaylord originally was scheduled for no later than this coming New Year's Eve. But within days of the project being announced in September 2008, the economy spun into recession, decimating the travel and convention industries.
Mesa granted Gaylord a three-year extension for its groundbreaking deadline. The Nashville-based company has told the city that its project here is still alive and will proceed when the economics pencil out.
Tempe-based First Solar Inc. jumped to the front of DMB's line in March when it announced plans for a 1.3million-square-foot solar-panel assembly plant. The plant is to open in 2012.
Wesley said Pacific Proving LLC, which bought the southern portion of the former GM facility, also has a couple of housing proposals, but they have not been brought to the Planning and Zoning Board.
By Gary Nelson The Arizona Republic Dec 10, 2011
Housing plat OK'd for proving-ground land - USATODAY.com
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