Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents Saint Holdings
By Callan Smith | Rose Law Group Reporter
In this week’s continuing Q&A series we spoke with Jackob Andersen, president of Saint Holdings, via email.
Tell us about your holdings across Arizona—you seem to have a mix of income producing and land assets—where and what?
Saint Holdings and Saint Management group of companies owns and manages various projects in Arizona.
These assets include:
- Two shovel ready Advanced Manufacturing and Distribution Industrial Parks.
- Central Arizona Commerce Park (CAZCP) in Casa Grande – home to Tractor Supply Company and the future home to Lucid Motors.
- Inland Port AZ (IPAZ), a 2700 =/- rail served Industrial Park in the heart of Pinal County in the City of Coolidge.
- The 11,447 acres former Mesa Water Farm, now land planned for the much expected and fast approaching future growth of Pinal County and its ideal position in the ‘Sun Corridor’ between Phoenix and Tucson.
- Offices in downtown Scottsdale at the Waterfront.
- Various residential assets.
How did you end up purchasing what had been known for decades as the “mesa water farm” property in Coolidge, how many acres is it and what are you planning there/what do you have entitled?
It is 11.447 acres.
We believe in the path of growth between Phoenix and Tucson. There is an abundance of infrastructure in the area from Power, gas, rail lines, the convergence of the I-10 and I-8 (to major interstates) and several adjoining highways. The will of the leaders of the county, Cities and residents have expressed their desire to see the area prosper and grow.
The entire acreage is all actively farmed.
Due to the property not being fully contiguous, we broke the land into Planning areas and partnered/worked with the County and City of Coolidge to best entitle that various planning areas, annex them into the City and zone the Heavy Industrial corridors.
A Development agreement is in place that will be advantageous to Investors buying land to hold, residential developers and the end users for the commercial and Industrial areas.
Tell us a bit about how you “won” the large Tractor Supply Company (TSC) to locate in your Casa Grande Industrial Park?
I was in Nashville visiting TSC to sell AZ hay products produced on our farms to their retail buyer. Whilst there, I asked to see the real estate department, as I had submitted a PIF (project information form) for Central Arizona Commerce Park (CAZCP) and had not heard from anyone. The young lady I spoke to was very accommodating and took the time to listen to how well suited our Commerce Park was, how much infrastructure we had, how business-friendly the City was and how actively involved I would personally be to ensure that their project would be successful and expedited through the planning process. After the visit their head of real estate put me in touch with the site selector, we linked arms, worked very hard with all the agencies and the City and got the deal done.
What do you see as the future of Casa Grande and the Coolidge area—what is your market outlook for the next say 5 years, what happens there?
Solid sustained growth with continued Economic Development projects landing in the area along with a housing boom that will accommodate affordability and good quality of life for the region. Pinal County was the fastest growing county in the USA in the past and is rapidly heading that way again. Land is still very affordable and there is a desire to grow and we have the advantage of learning from our neighbors and their growth over the years.
I was once in the board of Supervisors office in Maricopa County and on the wall were several maps of the Phoenix/Tucson Metro areas. On the maps were red dots that represented population growth. I believe each map, represented ten years of previous growth and other expected growth. The red dots and growth were very prominent and obviously very thick and heavy in the Pinal central corridor or Casa Grande and Coolidge—the growth was predicted, it has started, and it will continue. The County and Cities have spent the tough times preparing for it and are ready.
You were a leader in getting the Pinal Roads and Freeway proposition approved—why do you feel so strongly about those roads getting built?
Simple—look at the growth corridors in Maricopa County and the mechanisms in place to pay for the roads and freeways to pave the way for that growth… we are not reinventing the wheel, we are doing what is needed to fund much-needed infrastructure that is and will be needed for Pinal County and its current and future residents and workforce. I applaud the County and the hard work of the staff and local Cities in getting this done.
So, as I go around town talking to real estate people it seems like you are everywhere—have you always had so much energy and really what drives you? Red Bull?
I enjoy what I do; I enjoy people. I like to be part of something and all of it without shouting about how great we are. I have a solid but small team of excellent hard-working people, I have a very supportive wife and three beautiful children to come home to. But most importantly… I believe that we are borrowing this world from our children and therefore should leave it in a better state than when we arrived/used it.
You have a great accent—where are you from and how and when did you move to Arizona?
I am Danish by nationality, was born in London, lived there for over 30 years and moved here in 2004. I met my wife in 1999 on a cruise ship in the Caribbean, she was at ASU and transferred her points to attend the American Intercontinental University in London to be with me. Her first visit to London was the wettest April in recorded history so those of you who have been there will know… that’s not much fun. As soon as I had visited Arizona a few times, seen the growth and quality of life, I knew this is where I wanted to be, have kids, raise a family, enjoy life and grow old. Now with three boys all born here, several work projects on the go, we are truly achieving what we hoped for and would not change a thing.
