The Peoria City Council approved the sale of more than 14,000 square feet of city-owned land at 83rd Avenue and Mariners Way for $980,000, a $1.62 million loss compared with what the city bought it for seven years ago.
The sale to developer Dromedary CC, LLC, was approved 4-2, with Councilmembers Brad Shafer and Denette Dunn dissenting.
The land in the P83 Entertianment District will be used for a minimum of 20,000 square feet of office space to accommodate multiple tenants with smaller office needs, according to a staff report. Officials said this economic development project will increase inventory as part of an economic development strategy for office attraction and job creation, as well as enhance the area.
Economic Development Director Jennifer Stein said the product could include those with smaller office needs such as medical, financial services and legal firms.
She added that liability will be eliminated with the removal of a dead asset that has been vacant for about eight years.
The parcel, formerly home to a series of bars and restaurants including McDuffy’s and the Country Rock Bar and Grill, is across the street and to the west of the planned $500 million 17-acre Stadium Point project.
Shafer asked if it might be better to wait and sell the parcel when the market is better.
Peoria bought the land for $2.6 million in 2016, significantly more than its sale price this year.
The loss drew concern from Shafer, who asked if it might be better to hold onto the property for a few years until Stadium Point ramps up, when it might be sold at a higher price.
Stein said it’s difficult to anticipate the market and economic conditions in a few years and how the timing of Stadium Point will interact with this particular office project.
“It was a different market, a different time,” she said. “So we are looking at it today in terms of evaluating and making this recommendation of how we can maximize the value of this particular use by working with a really high-quality developer to deliver a product we need.”
The developer accepts the existing building “as is,” or may demolish it and build new, according to the development agreement.
A design feasibility study and cost estimating effort was completed in late 2019 for the building, 15814 N. 83rd Ave., concluding significant portions could be repurposed in conjunction with a new tenant improvement to create up to 12,600 square feet of net-leasable space in a multitenant, shared facility, according to a Peoria Independent report.
In July 2020, council approved $60,000 for tenant improvements when city officials said the building could best serve the economic needs of the city as a multitenant commercial and institutional use, thus needing interior tenant improvements and minor exterior site improvements.
At the time, the city was under a non-disclosure agreement with a prospective development partner and could not comment.
Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman. We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
Peoria,
Arizona,
City Council,
land,
sale,
real estate,
83rd Avenue,
Mariners Way,
McDuffy's,
P83,
economic development,
office attraction,
job creation,
Stadium Point,
Country Rock Bar and Grill
By 
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here