36,200 TTM Phoenix Job Gains

Metropolitan Phoenix added 36,200 new jobs during the Trailing Twelve Month Period ending February 2012.  The chart below illustrates the formation of an employment recovery that is clearly stronger than the previous two upturns beginning in 1991 and again in 2003:

The reason?  Arizona’s employment base is more diverse. As just one example, bioscience jobs in Arizona grew at an annual rate of 32% since 2002, outpacing the nation by nearly three times (11%).  During the recession, this fast moving segment of our economy still grew by 7% per year (source: FLINN Foundation).  Arizona has been credited as a top 10 state to both conduct and start a business due to its low cost of labor and identity as a market leader in renewable energy and high-tech sectors.

Arizona Bioscience Sector Sustains Strong Job Growth

Heliae Inc., a biofuels firm based in Gilbert, is one of
the young companies that has rapidly added jobs during and since the recession. (Photo courtesy Heliae)

“Biosciences have a $28.8B annual total impact in Arizona.  Bioscience jobs increased by 7.4% in 2009-10.” – Chad Littell

PHOENIX— Neither the recession nor the subsequent economic doldrums have impeded the growth of Arizona’s bioscience sector, a new report shows. During the post-recessionary period of 2009-10, bioscience jobs increased by 7.4 percent, compared to a 1.8 percent decline for the state’s overall private sector, according to a new performance analysis of Arizona’s bioscience sector, commissioned by the Flinn Foundation.

The annual study by the Battelle Technology Partnership Practice found that since 2002 Arizona has outpaced the nation in generating bioscience jobs and firms, and in winning National Institutes of Health grants, the gold standard for biomedical research funding. Even venture-capital funding, long a challenge for Arizona’s bioscience sector, was on an upswing in the past year.

“Through the most trying economic circumstances of our lifetimes, bio in Arizona more than held its own,” said Walter Plosila, senior advisor to the Battelle Technology Partnership Practice. “The bioscience sector is past the ‘promising’ stage. It is now becoming integral to Arizona’s future.”

Since Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap was launched in 2002, bioscience jobs in the state have grown 41 percent to a total of 96,223, versus 11 percent growth for the nation as a whole. Those jobs pay an average annual wages of $55,353, 29 percent higher than the overall average for private-sector wages in Arizona.

Martin Shultz, chair of the statewide steering committee that oversees the Roadmap, applauded the commitment of Arizona leaders. “Over the past decade, officials ranging from school principals to mayors to three governors have made long-term investments in our state’s future by supporting the biosciences,” Shultz said. “The excellent return on those investments is undeniable.”

In NIH funding, Arizona generated $184 million in 2011. That total, though down from 2009 and 2010, which were boosted by NIH federal stimulus awards, is significantly higher than 2008. Since 2002, NIH grants are up 25 percent in Arizona, outpacing the nation’s top-10 NIH states (20 percent) and the U.S. average (17 percent).

Other findings, using the latest available data, include:

• The number of Arizona bioscience firms increased by 27 percent from 2002 to 2010, compared to 20 percent growth for the U.S. as a whole. At the end of 2010, the state had 867 bioscience establishments across five industry subsectors: agricultural feedstocks and chemicals; drugs and pharmaceuticals; hospitals; medical devices; and research, testing, and medical laboratories.
• Research, testing, and medical laboratories remains Arizona’s largest subsector, with 436 establishments, a 49 percent jump since 2002. That subsector also pays the best annual wages in the biosciences, on average nearly $62,000. With respect to regional strength, the Flagstaff metropolitan area has seen a 98 percent increase in medical-devices jobs since 2002, led by W.L. Gore and Associates.
• Venture-capital funding rose sharply after a weak 2010 to $69 million in 2011. This is the second-highest total since 2002, though still well short of the Roadmap goal of $100 million annually.
• Arizona universities spun out 7 bioscience companies in 2011, increasing the total to 60 bioscience startups from university discoveries since 2002.
• From 2002 to 2009, the direct economic impact of the biosciences in Arizona grew 96 percent to $15.6 billion, based on Battelle’s updated analysis. Total annual economic, which adds the impact of the biosciences on other industries, now stands at $28.8 billion.

Beyond the data, several 2011 developments helped Arizona draw closer to the Roadmap’s goals. The Chan Soon-Shiong Institute for Advanced Health announced plans to establish its headquarters and build a powerful health-information supercomputer and data center in Phoenix, investing some $200 million. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed the Arizona Competitiveness Package, which established the Arizona Commerce Authority, and instituted a $25 million deal-closing fund and a tax credit to incentivize hiring.

Mayo Clinic announced that it will establish a new medical-school campus in Scottsdale, partnering with Arizona State University on a master’s degree program in the science of health-care delivery. The University of Arizona and Maricopa Integrated Health System signed an agreement to make MIHS the primary teaching hospital for the UA College of Medicine-Phoenix.

Clinical providers continued to grow, with the $109 million Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center opening its doors in Gilbert, Phoenix Children’s Hospital unveiling its new $588 million facility, and UA and St. Joseph’s Hospital reaching agreement on an affiliation to bring the UA Cancer Center to St. Joseph’s and a planned outpatient clinic on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus.

Looking forward, Shultz said, supporters of the biosciences can consult the “Policy Principles” paper compiled in 2011 by the Roadmap Steering Committee. That document frames examples of key policy steps needed to continue advancing Arizona’s biosciences.

Jack Jewett, president and CEO of the Flinn Foundation, which commissions Battelle’s annual assessments, said that since the Roadmap launched in 2002, the biosciences have improved the quality of life in Arizona. “We see rewarding jobs created at a rapid rate. We see technology incubators brimming with the next generation of innovation. And we see new medical discoveries in Arizona benefiting Arizona patients first,” Jewett said.

The Flinn Foundation is a Phoenix-based, private, nonprofit philanthropic endowment. It was established by Dr. and Mrs. Robert S. Flinn in 1965 with the mission of improving the quality of life in Arizona to benefit future generations. The nonprofit philanthropy supports the advancement of Arizona’s bioscience sector, the Flinn Scholars program, the arts, and the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership.

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For more information:

“Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap: Performance Assessment 2002-11,” Battelle Technology Partnership Practice, 01/31/2012

“Distance Traveled,” Progress Report Brochure, Flinn Foundation 01/31/2012

Attribution: Flinn Foundation http://www.flinn.org/news/1054

Team Toci Of Cushman & Wakefield Sells Tempe City Center For $9 Million

Tempe City Center

Team Toci of the Phoenix office of Cushman & Wakefield (C&W), has sold the 162,274-square-foot Tempe City Center to Presson Corporation for $9 million.  Team Toci is headed by Capital Markets Group Executive Director Chris Toci.

Also part of the team was Dave Seeger, senior director of the office properties division, as well as Chad Littell and Mark Gustin.  Tempe City Center, located at 1400 to 1470 E. Southern Ave., in Tempe, was a mixed use development with office and restaurant space.

It was built beginning in 1984 and includes six buildings on 10.7 net acres, with a two-level subterranean parking garage.  The largest office tower stands 11 stories tall with 128,598 square feet.  The entire development is currently 66 percent leased.

The Arizona Capital Markets Groups’ Team Toci of Cushman & Wakefield, has listed, put in escrow or closed, 98 single-asset and portfolio transactions comprising over 15.796 million square feet with total consideration of over $2.452 billion.

About Team Toci

Cushman & Wakefield’s Phoenix office is home to one of Arizona’s premier investment brokerage teams. The Arizona Capital Markets Group, Team Toci, is comprised of a unique team of professionals who are passionate about the disposition of commercial real estate. Team Toci works with large institutions, special servicers, or individual investors, in each stage of the transaction as it relates to underwriting, packaging, marketing, execution and closing. For more information about Chris Toci or The Capital Market Group please visit the Arizona Capital Market Groups Web site at http://www.capitalmarketsgroupaz.com or call (602) 253-7900. Join Team Toci on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-Toci/343709578987447 and Twitter @teamtoci.

Meet the Team – Chris Toci

Chris Toci - Executive Director

Chris Toci and his team concentrate on the disposition of office and industrial assets throughout Greater Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. Since 1998, Chris and his Phoenix team have listed, in escrow or closed 98 single asset and portfolio transactions comprising over 15.796 million square feet with total consideration of over $2.452 billion. The team enjoys a 98.8% trade-to-ask ratio. In 2005, Chris finished 51st among 11,000 C&W employees and 900 commercial sales professionals. His consistent sales performance over the previous three years was instrumental in his earning the distinction of Executive Director, a title held by only 85 C&W sales producers worldwide. Chris was the first Executive Director in the Phoenix office. His consistent sales volume and marketing successes were instrumental in his earning the 2000 through 2009 Achievement Award for top Capital Markets Producer for the Phoenix office of Cushman & Wakefield. In addition to being named the West Area’s (Phoenix, Denver, and Las Vegas) 2003 top Capital Markets Producer, Chris was the top overall producer for the Phoenix office of Cushman & Wakefield in 2003, 2004, and 2005, 2010 and finished second in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Through the disposition of Esplanade I & II, which closed in May 2005 at $162.5 million, Chris and his team held the record for the largest dollar volume office sale, at the time, ever achieved in the state of Arizona. The successful execution of over 2.6 million square feet comprising in excess of one half a billion dollars in 2005 was paramount in the team receiving the 2005 NAIOP Investment Brokerage Team of the Year award. The team won the NAIOP Investment Brokerage Team of the Year award for 2006, for the second year in a row. In 2008, the team won the AZRE RED Award for Investment Broker of the Year for sales in 2007. The team was awarded the CoStar Power Broker designation in 2006 and 2008.

Chris holds the coveted MAI designation. He is currently a full member in the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Arizona chapter of NAIOP in 2003. He served two terms as Membership Chairman, was the 2006 Programs Chairman and was instrumental in growing the Arizona chapter to the sixth largest chapter in the country. He Served as the NAIOP Chairman and led a 19-member Board of Directors that generated a net income of nearly $190,000.

Chris is a graduate of Arizona State University and holds a current State of Arizona real estate brokers license. After graduating from ASU, Chris enrolled in the Cochise College Professional Pilot program from 1988 through 1990 where he earned his Private, Commercial, Instrument and Certified Flight Instructor ratings. He was inducted into the Honorary Commanders’ program at Luke AFB in December 2004.

Chris and his team have executed investment sale transactions with each of the top three investment managers in the world (ING Clarion Partners, Prudential Real Estate Investors, RREEF). A partial listing of Chris’s other clients include: AmeriVest Properties; Berkadia, BlackRock Realty (formerly SSR); Carlsberg Realty; CarrAmerica Realty Corporation; Colonial Development; CONSECO; CS First Boston; CWCapital, Denali National Trust; DRA Advisors; EJM Development Company; Estes-Samuelson, LLC; First Industrial Realty Trust; Glenborough; Hannay Investment Properties; Hines; Investcorp International; KBS Realty Advisors; Koll Development Company; Lend Lease; LNR Partners, Lowe Enterprises Commercial Group; Mainstreet Capital Partners; MidFirst Bank, Morgan Stanley; Parkway Properties; Perini Land & Development; Principal Real Estate Investors, Rianco (former President of the Dial Corporation); Shea Commercial; The Muller Company; Torchlight Investors, Transwestern Commercial Services; UBS Realty Investors, and Wells Fargo Bank.

Local Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Team Finds Success In Struggling Economy

Local Broker Chris Toci Named in Top 100 Cushman & Wakefield Brokers Nationally

Phoenix (April 12, 2012) — A top performing investment brokerage teams’ executive director, Chris Toci, in the Phoenix office of Cushman & Wakefield (C&W), has been recognized as one of Cushman & Wakefield’s 2011 “Top 100 Producers in America.”

“I am very pleased to announce our Top 100 brokers in the Americas,” said James M. Underhill, C&W CEO of the Americas.  “We had a tremendous year in 2011, and it makes me proud to recognize all those who in many cases had their best year ever.”

“I am honored to be chosen as one of the Top 100 Brokers at C&W,” said Toci. “We as a team pushed ourselves in 2011 to accomplish our goals and we are pleased that our hard work has been successful.”

Toci’s consistent sales volume and marketing successes were also instrumental in his earning the Achievement Award for top Capital Markets Producer for the Phoenix office of C&W from 2000 through 2009.

Toci’s investment brokerage team, The Arizona Capital Markets Groups’ Team Toci, has listed, put in escrow or closed 98 single asset and portfolio transactions comprising over 15.796 million square feet with total consideration of over $2.452 billion.

About Team Toci

Cushman & Wakefield’s Phoenix office is home to one of Arizona’s premier investment brokerage teams. The Arizona Capital Markets Group, Team Toci, is comprised of a unique team of professionals who are passionate about the disposition of commercial real estate. Team Toci works with large institutions, special servicers, or individual investors, in each stage of the transaction as it relates to underwriting, packaging, marketing, execution and closing. For more information about Chris Toci or The Capital Market Goup please visit the Arizona Capital Market Groups Web site at http://www.capitalmarketsgroupaz.com or call (602) 253-7900. Join Team Toci on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-Toci/343709578987447 and Twitter @teamtoci.

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