370 units for Desert Ridge

One-half of a Desert Ridge parcel approved for 722 apartments was sold last week.

Greystar Real Estate Partners of Charleston, S.C., paid $10.5 million for 13 acres in northeast Phoenix. The site is on the northern portion of the parcel at the northeast corner of 56th Street and Deer Valley Drive.

The seller was Westfield Capital Partners, which, according to broker Michael Lieb, recently bought out its partner, Greystone Property Development.

Westfield/Greystone bought the entire 26-acre parcel in 2007 for $28.5 million.

Greystar hopes to build 370 apartments on its 13-acre site. Rents are expected to range from $850 to $1,600 for the units, which will be 575-1,100 square feet.

Construction is expected to begin by the second quarter of 2013. Development costs, including land and buildings, are estimated at $50 million to $60 million.

The project will be called Elan Desert Ridge.

Last year, the project was divided into two phases to aid in financing.

The land already has been rezoned for multifamily housing, a category that covers apartments and condominiums.

Westfield is holding on to the southern half, where about 350 units are allowed.

The Elan development could be the first housing in Desert Ridge east of 56th Street and north of Loop 101.

The Arizona State Land Department had sold most of the land by 2008, but the effects of the recession led most of the buyers to return the land to the department.

Desert Ridge is a master-planned development that includes 5,700 acres. Its southern boundary is Reach 11 and the Central Arizona Project canal. On the north, it is bounded by Pinnacle Peak Road, and on the east by 64th Street. The west boundary is irregular, going as far east as 32nd Street.

by Michael Clancy - Jul. 6, 2012 12:26 PM The Republic | azcentral.com


370 units for Desert Ridge