Solis site goes for $30 million

An 11-acre redevelopment site for a planned hotel and condominiums in downtown Scottsdale was sold last week at a trustee sale for $30 million.

AZ-Waters Edge LLC submitted the only bid and will take title of the land northeast of Scottsdale and Camelback roads, said attorney Lawrence Petrowski of Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP, the trustee.

Scottsdale Canal Development LLC, which started assembling the property along the Arizona Canal in 2006, had planned a 240-room Solis Scottsdale hotel and 140 condos on a site that now includes a SRP substation.


"It's a huge disappointment," said Mark Madkour, Scottsdale Canal Development principal. "It was a huge amount of effort, time and money."

Madkour and his investors lost millions of dollars on what was to be a $600 million project.

IMH Financial Corp. of Scottsdale foreclosed on the property in May 2011. AZ-Waters Edge is affiliated with IMH Financial.

Scottsdale Canal Development also lost ownership of a site at 68th Street and Indian School Road it had intended to use for the relocated Salt River Project substation, Madkour said. It paid $7 million for the property.

Westcor gets new deadline

Westcor has again deferred its lease payment until May 31 for 112 acres of state trust land northeast of Scottsdale Road and Loop 101.

The Valley mall developer owed the Arizona State Land Department $2.2 million by April 30 for the site, which has long been planned for a regional mall.

Westcor made $1.26 million in lease payments through 2010 but deferred its payments in January and December 2011. In April 2008, Westcor bid $32 million for the site to secure a 99-year lease.

State Land Commissioner Maria Baier has the discretion to defer lease payments for up to five years.

by Peter Corbett - May. 4, 2012 03:10 PM The Republic | azcentral.com




Solis site goes for $30 million

Proposed Solis property slated for trustee sale

The proposed Solis project (formerly Waterview) on Camelback Road east of Scottsdale Road.



A vacant downtown Scottsdale property that was cleared for a luxury hotel and condominiums is scheduled for a trustee sale next week.

A development group headed by Mark Madkour of Scottsdale Canal Development had plans to build the 240-room Solis Scottsdale hotel and 140 condominiums on the 10.57-acre property.

But the lender foreclosed on the property and Scottsdale Canal Development filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last fall.

The site northeast of Scottsdale and Camelback roads and east of the Arizona Canal has been vacant for nearly three years. Madkour's group tore down aging apartments along 73rd Street to prepare the property for development.

Madkour said Scottsdale Canal Development might bid at the trustee sale.

"We still feel we are the best one to move forward with this project," he said. "There's been interest in the northern portion for multifamily development but that doesn't help the situation."

Scottsdale Canal Development had an ambitious $600 million project pegged for the site with a 72-foot hotel, underground parking, six condo buildings, walking paths and two bridges over the canal. The company also planned to move a Salt River Project electrical substation from the site to a spot northeast of 68th Street and Indian School Road.

Most of the opposition centered on relocation of the substation.

Vacant site an eyesore

Tony Viti, who lives north of the site in Villa Monterey Unit 1, said he hopes the property gets developed but he is not sure he will ever see it.

"It doesn't look good," he said. "It's just sitting there with some graffiti on the fences."

Still, the vacant property is an improvement over the apartments that had been on the site, said Viti, who is vice president of the Villa Monterey Unit 1 homeowners association.

"We had all kinds of people walking through our neighborhood," Viti said. "We had guys sleeping back by the canal."

Investors hesitant to buy in

Scottsdale Canal Development defaulted on a series of loans for the project.

Boulder Capital is owed more than $12 million, according to U.S. Bankruptcy Court records.

Madkour said he is trying to line up other investors for the project.

"We have three strong candidates that could come in and help us with a joint venture," he said.

"It's been extremely challenging," Madkour said. "We didn't walk away because we really believe in the project...I firmly believe in the location."

Madkour said he has been trying to lure investors over the past two years but they are hesitant.

"Arizona is just so tarnished by this imploded real-estate market," he said. "It really is on a black list for some people."

by Peter Corbett - Apr. 19, 2012 12:29 PM The Republic | azcentral.com



Proposed Solis property slated for trustee sale