Wrigleyville West Completion Postponed

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

Healthcare Trust of America Inc. has been very active with its purchases recently. Its newest target was the Phoenix area. Its acquisition of Desert Ridge Medical Campus near the Mayo Clinic has extended the amount of square footage the trust currently owns in Arizona. It is now the largest owner of medical-office buildings in the state, with a total of around 1.37 million square feet, according to Mark Engstrom, executive vice president, who was quoted by the Arizona Republic. The deal totaled $32.75 million and will further increase the trust’s already-increasing revenue, which currently stands at $70 million.

Also making real estate news is the new sports-oriented development the city of Mesa is handling for the Chicago Cubs. A new training facility, including a stadium used for spring training games and an entertainment district, is planned, but it looks like the latter part of the project will not be seeing the first home runs hit at the facility. It has become clear now to city officials that Wrigleyville West, as it has been dubbed, could encounter several setbacks because of dire economic conditions.

The East Valley Tribune quotes Mesa City Manager Chris Brady as saying that the first year of activity will likely consist of temporary retail fixtures such as gazebos and tents until larger, more reliable, investors can be found. The idea is to attract people to the area for more than just the month of March, and a strategy should be carefully devised to get things up and running for the opening day of the stadium. Spending for the facility will be substantial, and the new tax revenue the city has registered justifies $84 million for the stadium and an additional $15 million in infrastructure related to the project.