By Corina Vanek  – Reporter, Phoenix Business Journal

While some Valley commercial real estate transactions have continued during the spread of Covid-19, some have had to add “Covid clauses” to their contracts to account for delays caused by closures and other effects of the pandemic.

Ray Cashen, president and designated broker of Phoenix-based Cashen Realty Advisors, said certain aspects of his business, especially land and industrial brokerage work, have remained very active, even during the pandemic. He said he has 17 land sales in escrow that are moving forward and has clients looking for a total of 300,000 square feet of industrial and office space to lease.

Cashen said he recently brokered the $7.9 million sale of two buildings in the Mesa Fiesta Corporate Park to Wellspring Medical Services, near the former Fiesta Mall in Mesa.

He is also involved in the work to reposition the now vacant Fiesta Mall into medical and education uses. The last remaining tenants moved out of the mall earlier this year, readying it for redevelopment.

In west Phoenix, Cashen said he is working with four potential tenants at the Metro South Corporate Park development, which contains 200,000 square feet of remaining leasable space. MSCP LLC signed an 87,000-square-foot, 15-year lease at the development.

“Arizona is still poised well for business,” Cashen said. “When you’re investing millions of dollars, like these businesses are, you’re not looking at just the next six months.”

Cashen said so far he has not seen discounts in rents or decreases in land valuations, but some sectors, like hospitality, will likely see drops in valuations through the next year.