A fair amount of the property in Fountain Hills is in active use, according to a report by Economic Development Director Amanda Jacobs.

Jacobs provided a quarterly update on Economic Development activity to the Town Council on Nov. 15. A portion of her report focused on occupancy rates for key rental properties as well as vacancy rates for non-residential property.

As of the end of the quarter, Sept. 30, six major rental properties in Town showed above average occupancy. The Havenly at Fountain Hills is still under construction but showed a 76% occupancy and 92.8% leased.

Two major apartment complexes in Town are more than 90% occupied. Park Place on Avenue of the Fountains reported 94% occupied, and Luna, on Fountain Hills Boulevard at El Lago, is 93% occupied.

Two newer developments were just beginning to lease at the time. Casa Del Lago reported 83% leased and Gunsight was 58% and had just completed construction.

The large Four Peaks Vista condominiums reported 65% occupied, which may be a seasonal reflection.

Jacobs also had numbers on vacancy rates on existing non-residential structures. Those indicated commercial properties with a 9% vacancy rate in September; office with a 17.2% vacancy rate; industrial with 1% vacancy and retail with a 5.4% vacancy rate. The latter three were all October numbers.

Jacobs said those numbers were provided by CoStar, a firm that provides commercial real estate data and analytics. The numbers provided are likely lower than actual conditions, according to Jacobs said.

“The reason the numbers are slightly higher is because CoStar only provides vacancies for existing buildings that are actively being marketed,” she said. “There are several properties in Fountain Hills that only rely on signage and are not actively listing the properties for sale or lease.”

Jacobs also reported on vacant land available for development in Fountain Hills. In the residential category there are 1,814 vacant acres, or a 14.7% vacancy rate. There are 58 acres of vacant commercial properties, reflecting a 1.8% vacancy. Within the industrial zoning there are three vacant acres in Town, or a vacancy rate of just 0.02%. There are 44 acres available for lodging reflecting a .3% vacancy.

Jacobs also reported on tourism efforts reflected by hotel occupancy. The occupancy rate for the quarter was 62%.

She said the Experience Fountain Hills tourism website received 13,234 unique visits reflecting a slight reduction (17.6%) year over year. Most of the website hits are coming from other Valley cities (Mesa, Scottsdale and Phoenix) with some notable interest from Los Angeles and Omaha, Neb.

Jacobs also updated the council on ongoing business attraction and retention and expansion for the quarter.

The council is tentatively scheduled to receive an update on the community branding project in January. This will be based on three focus groups and more than 700 survey results.