Omninet Seeks Another Extension to Build Phoenix Apartments

Omninet Capital was approved nearly a decade ago to build hundreds of apartments north of Downtown Phoenix, but now seeks two more years before breaking ground.

The Beverly Hills developer led by Neil Kasisha has filed for a two-year extension to build its Omninet West project on the northwest corner of Central Avenue and Pierson Street, the Phoenix Business Journal reported. It would replace a vacant lot.

The requested delay is the second for Omninet, which was approved to begin construction at the end of 2022, but won an extension to break ground last year.

A hearing is set for Feb. 21. If approved, the extension to start work would run through 2025.

The project was approved for 283 apartments atop 15,000 square feet of ground-floor shops and restaurants in a five-story complex approved in 2015, according to the Business Journal.

Two years ago, an attorney representing Omninet told the city’s Planning Commission that the “extremely complicated” project would include 236 apartments and 3,000 square feet of shops. Some 10,000 square feet could be dedicated to rooms for co-working or a fitness center.

In a letter to the city last month, Ed Bull of the law firm Burch & Cracchiolo said the two-year extension sought by Omninet would allow time to obtain financing and for the city to approve the developer’s construction documents and issue building permits.

Omninet turned in its final site plan and construction documents in November.

“Omninet has experienced various delays that necessitate the requested development extension,” the letter from Burch & Cracchiolo said. “Omninet retained ownership of the site after its purchase agreement with a previously anticipated developer expired.”

Following the termination of the contract, Omninet continued to “work through the site’s various design and infrastructure challenges.”

The project was also impacted by materials shortages during the pandemic, Bull said in 2022.

The project site is west of the troubled One Camelback office-to-apartment conversion project and another property that Omninet once planned to develop with more apartments and shops known as Omninet East.

In December, Omninet inked a $166.7 million deal with Los Angeles County to lease 207,300 square feet of offices in Long Beach for the next 15 years.

The Iranian-born Kadisha is a member of L.A.’s prominent Nazarian family through his wife, Dora Nazarian.

In 1985, the billionaire and his father- and uncle-in-laws founded Omninet, which has turned from telecommunications investments to commercial developments, particularly in Las Vegas. Its holdings as of 2020 included 13,000 rentals across the country.

That year, Kadisha sued his neighbor in Beverly Hills for $2 million, alleging the neighbor’s new pool, hot tub, deck and manicured lawn encroached onto his vacant property on Crest View Drive.

— Dana Bartholomew