Saturday, May 19, 2018

Can U Believe It? Another Real Estate Deal Here on Main Street!

There's more than the weather getting hot here in 'The Old Donut-Hole'. After a big facelift and a major top-to-bottom exterior renovation, the old glass-and-steel box previously known as The Valley National Bank has found a new buyer after being on-the-market for more than four years. ...Scroll down below
. . . the old clock out front might be historic, but that's about all . . .
This building received GPLET incentives from the City of Mesa. What you see is a
make-over of some kind that bears no resemblance to the 1950's-style modern mid-century architecture
"CBRE has arranged the sale of One MacDonald Center, a 59,843-square-foot, five-story historic office property located at the northeast corner of Main Street and MacDonald Drive in downtown Mesa . . " 
[Image from 'Latest Deals' published in AZ Big Media]
Real Estate | yesterday |
Historic office building in Mesa sells for $5.6M
CBRE has arranged the sale of One MacDonald Center, a 59,843-square-foot, five-story historic office property located at the northeast corner of Main Street and MacDonald Drive in downtown Mesa, Arizona. The property, which was 81 percent leased at time of sale, commanded a sale price of $5.6 million. 
Barry Gabel, Chris Marchildon and Will Mast with CBRE Capital Markets, Institutional Properties in Phoenix, represented the seller, Omninet Capital, LLC of Beverly Hills, California. The buyer was Robert Bisetti, an individual Phoenix-based investor. 
“We are excited to be involved, along with many other real estate companies, in the beginning stages of the transformation of downtown Mesa,” said Robert Bisetti. 
Located in a central downtown Mesa location, One MacDonald Center is situated amongst numerous retail and restaurant amenities, hotels, City of Mesa municipal buildings, museums and the Mesa Arts Center, and is walking distance of two Valley METRO Light Rail stops.
_______________________________________________________________________
WHO IS ROBERT BISETTI, the new buyer of One Macdonald Center?
According to his LinkedIn Profile

Robert Bisetti Business Owner
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Industry: Commercial Real Estate
Current
  1. Metro Phoenix Bank,
  2. Think Art Gallery
Previous
  1. Bisetti's Italian Ristorante,
  2. Bisetti's Holdings, Inc.,
  3. Bisetti's Desserts, Inc.
Education
  1. Colorado State University
 
Director Bisetti PhotoRobert Bisetti (Director)"Mr. Bisetti has not only achieved an impressive track record of being an entrepreneur but also has real-world banking knowledge. Mr. Bisetti currently owns/operates a Scottsdale-based commercial art gallery known as Think Art Gallery that provides wholesale art to a variety of clients such as custom home builders, interior designers, and architects. Mr. Bisetti also owned Bisetti’s Italian Restaurant located in Fort Collins, Colorado for 29 years. This family-owned restaurant later expanded into the dessert industry through Bisetti’s Desserts. Mr. Bisetti had grown Bisetti's Desserts into a wholesale food distribution service that spanned 13 western states, later selling the dessert division in 1997. Since then, Mr. Bisetti has been active in commercial real estate endeavors ranging from brokerage services to real estate development.
Additionally, Mr. Bisetti served as a Board member for a number of years for a successful nine-branch Colorado community bank having total assets in excess of $800 million
_______________________________________________________________________
From an old image this is what that real dragstrip-stretch of downtown Mesa looked like: Valley National Bank is the big blue glass-and-steel box you see at the center 
 

Here On Main Street: RailMesa & Heat Sync Labs Are Recipients of A $25,000 Grant

GOOD NEWS retrieved by your MesaZona blogger when there was some free time to check the inbox. It helps explain the relocation of HeatSynch Labs into a bigger space at 148 W Main Street, one property in a downtown Mesa investors portfolio in what was once the open courtyard of historic Chandler Court @ NWC Macdonald Street *
(Please see below. The original exterior is intact)
PRESS RELEASE
OneMain Financial and Main Street America Announce Six Winning Cities to Receive $25,000 “Made on Main Street” Project Grants
Grants Will Support Community Transformation Projects in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, and Washington
    
EVANSVILLE, Ind.--()--“Made on Main Street,” a partnership program between OneMain Financial and Main Street America that provides community action grants for innovative beautification projects, today announced six cities from across the nation that will each receive a $25,000 grant to help improve their local communities. The six winning cities are Mesa, Arizona . . .
These cities join Goldsboro, North Carolina, which was awarded the first grant in March, for a downtown revitalization project that is currently underway.


“We are deeply committed to the communities we serve, and it’s an honor to help local citizens revitalize their downtown areas,” said Jay Levine, President & CEO, OneMain Financial. “Celebrating these transformational projects alongside neighbors and friends is a key element of these projects. Our local branches offer community members assistance in improving their financial health, and “Made on Main Street” is an extension of our positive footprint to help make meaningful changes. Together, we hope to build stronger communities by improving the places where we live and work.”
“Made on Main Street” organizers encouraged local change-makers to submit proposals for innovative ideas that would enhance their community. The winners were selected by Main Street America, a program of the National Main Street Center, whose mission is to build vibrant neighborhoods and thriving local economies. The winning organizations are RAILmesa (Ariz.) . . .
“We received nearly 60 applications, and it was exciting to see the level of creativity, and thoughtfulness that went into the proposals for each project,” said Patrice Frey, National Main Street Center President & CEO. “While it was difficult to select only six communities, our decisions were based on the ability of local leaders to roll up their sleeves and engage with community members to create long-term economic improvement through a small, creative revitalization project.”
The winners’ proposals outlined how they will invest the money.
RAILmesa in Mesa, Arizona, will help expand access to their all-volunteer community maker space, Heartsync Labs, by holding community classes, upgrading the physical space, and purchasing new tools.
“Made on Main Street” organizers will work with winning organizations to host a community celebration event in each community. The events, hosted by OneMain Financial, will take place this summer and fall, and will include free, family-friendly activities, food, and fun.
About OneMain Financial
OneMain Financial (NYSE: OMF) has been offering responsible and transparent loans for over 100 years. With more than 1,600 locations throughout 44 states, the company is committed to helping people with their financial needs. OneMain and their 10,000 team members are dedicated to the communities where they live and work. For additional information, please visit OneMainFinancial.com.
Original Exterior from an earlier image
of Chandler Court 
About the National Main Street Center
The National Main Street Center has been helping revitalize older and historic commercial districts for more than 35 years.
Today, its Main Street America network of more than 1,600 neighborhoods and communities, rural and urban, share both a commitment to place and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development. 
 
The organization is a non-profit subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Contact:
Kempner Communications
Katie Kempner, 305-467-6338
Katie@kempnercommunications.com 
 
Source of Press Release: Businesswire
_________________________________________________________________________________
Blogger Notes:
* People who have lived here in Mesa knew this location as the site of Everybody's Drug Store. Corinne Brooks and her husband bought the historic property in 1964. From a recent impromptu conversation, she said her phone's been 'ringing-off-the-hook' with offers to buy.
> There was news of a sale of a property at the same intersection of Main/Macdonald on the NEC: One North Macdonald, better known as Town Center. That's in another post today. 
 
> OMF's Mesa Branch is located at 454 N Lindsay Rd, Ste A8, Mesa, AZ 85213 with other branches in Chandler and Gilbert
 

Putin expects all "foreign armed forces" to leave Syria

except those invited, and the U.S. is just one of the invaders creating conflicts and deadly consequences.
Published on May 19, 2018
Views: 436
During his meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Sochi, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his guest that Russia expects all "foreign armed forces" to leave Syria. "The 'foreign forces' in Syria include US, French, Iranian and Hezbollah fighters," he said. The meeting between the two presidents seemed to be setting the stage for a new phase in Syria's seven-year-old civil war.

Wedding-Of-The-Year + Pie Dishes The Queen | O My!

It's not your fault Tim WTF
[He's in Australia and pissed-off he wasn't invited . . . Pissed-off Royally for sure!]
Published on May 19, 2018
Views: 44,280
Even in Australia, Pie can't avoid the "celebrations"

Prehistoric + Live Dinosaurs In Front of & Popping-Out of Facades

Probably not the post headline these dudes wanted, but your MesaZona blogger just couldn't resist stretching the Double-Entendre :)
Published on May 2, 2018
Thanks in part to the creative team at Dimensional Innovations, the Arizona Museum of Natural History now has a replica of an Acrocanthosaurus on its facade.

53 N. Macdonald
Mesa, AZ 85201
www.azmnh.org

Strong Coronal Hole, Storm Watch, Orion, TESS | S0 News May.19.2018


Published on May 19, 2018
Views: 8,300+

Friday, May 18, 2018

The Feds Find A New Frontier Here in Arizona


O Yeah - and so much more to explore in these fertile fields. Let's dig into it - this from The Daily Beast: 
SCAM JAM
An Arizona PAC Appears to Have Blatantly Ripped Off Donors. Now, the Feds Are Coming After It.
This is a new frontier for the Department of Justice—and a long time coming.

(Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast)
"The Department of Justice on Thursday brought federal criminal charges against two Arizona men accused of using fake political groups to defraud thousands of unwitting donors out of millions of dollars . . ."
READ MORE > Daily Beast
_______________________________________________________________