The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), the state’s Medicaid program, has moved out of downtown because it wanted to downsized its office and didn’t need the 25,000 square feet of space it had at La Placita Village, 110 S. Church Ave.
The agency moved to a 13,000-square-foot office at 1010 N. Finance Center, Suite 201, near East Speedway and North Kolb Road. The move will save the agency more than $1.4 million over the next five years, according to Monica Higuera Coury, assistant director of AHCCCS’ Office of Intergovernmental Relations.
 Rooney Ranch Professional Offices in Oro Valley recently sold for $9.7 million. |
"Agency-wide, we have approximately 350 employees working from home," Coury said. "We also have a number of employees, including in the Tucson office, that telecommute a few times a week."
Because of state budget deficits, Coury said, streamlining operations was "a priority for the agency." But there were several other reasons why AHCCCS decided to move from its downtown La Placita Village site, Coury said, including:
AHCCCS has elderly and physically disabled individuals who struggled with access and parking at La Placita. The new location is compliant with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, provides easier access to parking and has better security.
"Overall, our risk management issues have been greatly minimized with the new location," Coury said.
Despite the new location, the agency’s phone numbers remain the same: (520) 205-8600 or 1-800-824-2656.
California firm pays $9.7 million for Rooney
Rooney Ranch Professional Offices, a 35,500-square-foot office complex at 10425 N. Oracle Road, Oro Valley, has been sold to Berkeley Land Co. in Danville, Calif., for $9.666 million.
Constructed in two phases in 1991 and 1998, the 3.2-acre complex is comprised of two single-story buildings and one two-story structure, with 12 tenants in suites ranging from 364 square feet to 12,615 square feet.
Berkeley Land Co. purchased the property from Transmark Company, which has its Arizona main office at 3561 E. Sunrise Drive, Suite 105, as well as an office in Greenwood Village, Colo. Since 1992, the company has been developing pad sites and peripheral properties located in and adjacent to malls and power centers.
"Oro Valley is a growing community, with a very educated work force, which has continually attracted stable businesses," said Adam Karon, a principal of Transmark. "We have had very limited tenant turnover, and when space has become available it leases up rapidly."
Transmark has put another of its Tucson properties on the market — a single tenant office building, adjacent to a Trader Joe’s store, 4209 N. Campbell Ave.
Property management firm buys downtown building
Morrison, Ekre & Bart Management Services, a real estate management company established in 1998, has purchased a downtown historic building at 116-120 E. Congress St., for $1.1 million. The move will allow the firm to expand its business. The seller was Warren Michaels.
Crystal McGuire of Buzz Isaacson Realty, who represented the buyer, said a residential living space on the building’s second floor will be converted into office space.
Previously located at 1039 N. Sixth Ave., the company also has an office in Phoenix and manages rental housing properties in six states besides Arizona. The firm provides fee-management services to over 14,000 apartment units and over 300,000 square feet of commercial property.
Presstek sells property here to reduce debt
Presstek Inc., a company based in Hudson, N.H., has sold the land and building of its Lasertel property at 7775 N. Casa Grande Highway for $8.75 million but has leased back part of the building needed to run its Lasertel business.
Presstek plans to use sale proceeds to reduce outstanding debt.
Foreclosure picture improves in Pima County
Pima County foreclosures were down 23 percent in June from May and up just 1 percent over what they were in June 2007, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosed properties.
There were 834 foreclosures in Pima County in June, down from 1,090 in May and only 10 more than were reported in June 2007. The rate of foreclosures in June was one for every 501 homes.
Despite the improvement in Pima County, Arizona continued to have the third highest rate of foreclosures in the United States, due largely to the 10,118 foreclosures in Maricopa County, which accounted for 78 percent of the state’s total. The rate of foreclosures in Maricopa County is one for every 148 homes.
Statewide Arizona averages one foreclosure for every 201 homes, putting it behind only Nevada, at one for every 122 homes, and California, at one for every 192 homes.
Among cities, Stockton, Calif., has the highest rate of foreclosures, at one for every 72 households. Phoenix has the 12th highest rate of foreclosures.
Pima home sales climb for sixth straight month
For the sixth consecutive month, June home sales continued to increase in Pima County, showing gradual market improvement, according to the Tucson Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service’s Monthly Statistical Digest.
The report showed that active listings continued to decrease in June, down to 8,140 from 8,527 in May and 8,665 in June 2007.
The average sales price of $257,449 was up from $250,803 in May but down 12.3 percent from June 2007.
Pending contracts totaled 951, less than half the 2,053 contracts that were pending in June 2007.
Geographically, most home sales took place on the northwest side.
Top custom home builder files for bankruptcy
T. F. Robertson Companies, 450 N. Sixth Avenue, a licensed general contractor building custom and semi-custom homes in Tucson since 1989, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on July 3.
Under the direction of Timothy F. Robertson, a registered architect, the company has built over 300 homes ranging in value from $200,000 to $1.8 million and has been listed consistently in the top five among Inside Tucson Business lists of customer builders.
The firm has carved a niche in developing high-end custom and semi-custom homes in Starr Pass. Its most recent project there was building homes starting at $400,000 in Alta Loma Estates
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