Arizona Projects 04-17-20

Groundbreakings 

1. Sundt Construction, Inc., and its joint venture partner DPR Construction recently started tenant improvements at the Biomedical Sciences Partnership Building on the University of Arizona Biomedical Campus in Phoenix. The improvements, a $20M construction manager at-risk project, includes 48KSF of improvements on the third and fourth levels and a portion of level five, which will add a wet lab and administrative research spaces to support additional faculty recruitment for the College of Medicine-Phoenix. 

2. The Phoenix Suns’ renovations of Talking Stick Resort Arena are well underway and even ahead of the original schedule. Before the coronavirus shutdown that suspended the NBA season, the Suns planned to go into full demolition mode on the arena at the beginning of May. The schedule has been moved up to get ahead with the hope most of the $230M renovations will be finished by the start of the scheduled 2020-21 season. 

3. Construction is currently underway for the new 12.5KSF Fountain Hills Medical Center (FHMC), located at 9700 E. Saguaro Boulevard. Facilities Contracting Inc. expects the project to be complete in November/December 2020. 

4. Keystone Homes has broken ground on a new 147-unit detached rental community in downtown Fountain Hills. Five phases of construction are planned to begin at La Montana, working west along Avenue of the Fountains to Westby Drive and north to Palisades. 

5. Liberty Neighborhood Park located in The Meadows community at Camino A Lago in north Peoria has begun construction. Toll Brothers Inc. expects the park to be complete in October 2020. The park will include shaded playgrounds and picnic ramadas, a restroom, walking trails, multi-use turf, pickleball courts, a large sports field for baseball or soccer, and oversized parking. 

Progress Reports 

6. Senderos at South Mountain, a two-story, 96-unit, 156.9KSF gated multifamily community at 9700 S. Central Avenue, Phoenix, will open its doors in May. MEB Management Services has been selected as the property management firm for the complex. 

7. If all goes as planned, Phase 1B of the Camp Verde Sports Complex will be finished by the end of September. Tierra Verde Builders and its subcontractors have started building two baseball/softball fields and two football/soccer fields at the complex on State Route 260 east of the Verde Ranger Station. 

8. The restoration of Navajo Elementary School, 4525 N. Granite Reef Road, Scottsdale, is nearly complete, marking almost two years since a fire put the school out of commission. Overall, the district will spend about $5.8M on the restoration of the school. 

Completions 

9. The Arizona Department of Transportation has completed freeway-improvement work to enhance safety and provide more room for drivers who use westbound Interstate 10 west of downtown Phoenix. The project added a new right lane along westbound I-10 between 27th and 43rd avenues, west of the I-17 “Stack” interchange, as part of $10M in improvements. 

10. Meridian Road, a multi-phase project, now extends south from Cherrywood to Combs, providing an important north-south connector for Queen Creek and the region. Phase one opened April 15th with an interim two-lane roadway, including a bridge over the Queen Creek Wash. Phase two will begin later this year. Logan Simpson completed the environmental permitting, T.Y. Lin completed the design and Rummel Construction, Inc. completed the construction.