PhoenixMart: Leadership change not expected to slow schedule

PhoenixMart: Leadership change not expected to slow schedule - trivalleycentral.com: News

Posted: Wednesday, October 9, 2013 1:00 am
By MELISSA ST. AUDE, Dispatch Staff Writer

Despite a sudden change in PhoenixMart’s company leadership, Casa Grande city officials believe development of the sourcing center will continue on schedule.

Last week, PhoenixMart officials named Jeremy Schoenfelder as PhoenixMart president, replacing Steve Betts, who had served as the chief executive officer since June.

Casa Grande Mayor Bob Jackson said the change is not expected to cause any delays in the project.
“They’re still moving forward,” Jackson said.

In his three-month tenure as the project’s leader, Betts helped advance development of PhoenixMart, Jackson said.

“Certainly he’s done a tremendous amount. When he came in, they needed someone to kick-start the project and that’s what he’s done,” Jackson said.

As the project shifts focus from pre-construction to marketing showroom space in the 1.7 million-square-foot wholesale sourcing center, Jackson believes that Schoenfelder’s expertise will be an asset.

“They’ve hit some (pre)construction milestones and now the focus is on getting tenants in there,” Jackson said.

Betts had been a familiar face in Pinal County, as in recent weeks he gave PhoenixMart updates to the Coolidge City Council, Economic Development Group of Eloy and most recently, the Greater Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce Biz Outlook Luncheon.

Schoenfelder, previously the president of AZ Sourcing — parent company to PhoenixMart and its sister company AZ Outlet Investments — also spoke at a Biz Outlook Luncheon.

Jackson said Schoenfelder has been involved in most of the talks between the city and the developer.
“Jeremy has been involved since day one. He’s earned this position,” Jackson said.

Company executives are finishing up permitting and design of PhoenixMart, which is expected to be built on a 585-acre swath near Florence Boulevard and Toltec Buttes Road. McCarthy Construction has been chosen to build the facility.

PhoenixMart plans are currently under review by city staff. “It’s a huge project. The plans alone are two inches thick,” Jackson said.

Groundbreaking for the project is scheduled for later this month. Betts will continue his involvement with the project, serving alongside other industry leaders as the first member of a new PhoenixMart National Advisory Board, according to an article in the Arizona Commercial Real Estate online magazine. The board will be tasked with providing strategic direction and counsel for the project, according to the article.

PhoenixMart follows a collective marketing strategy similar to other developments in Yiwu, China, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where manufacturers gather in one central location to sell goods on the worldwide wholesale market.

In a September interview with the Casa Grande Dispatch, Betts said he expected each of the facility’s 1,750 showroom suites to be leased and occupied by the time PhoenixMart opens its doors in November 2014.
PhoenixMart also has begun hiring for some positions related to leasing. On its website, PhoenixMart lists full-time positions for a leasing and sales consultant and tenant coordinator to be based in its Scottsdale office.

Source: TriValleyCentral.Com

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