Awards & Acolades
1. Two Arizona projects have won the Grand Award in their respective categories in the Pacific Coast Builders Conference Gold Nugget Awards. Mountain Shadows – Villas, developed and built by The New Home Company, won for Best Multifamily Housing Community – Under 15DU/Acre, and Arizona State University, Tooker House, developed by American Campus Communities and built by Okland Construction, won for Best Student or Faculty Housing On or Off Campus Residential.
2. Scottsdale’s Environmental Quality Advisory Board is accepting nominations and submittals for the EQAB Environmental Achievement Recognition Award. Applications are due by Sept. 10.
Groundbreakings
3. Achen-Gardner has begun constructing sewer system improvements on Main Street from Lindsay Road to Val Vista Road in Mesa. The project includes pipe installation, manhole rehabilitation and installations, connections to the existing sewer system, and bypass pumping.
4. El Rio Health broke ground on the expansion its southeast campus at 6950 E. Golf Links Road, Tucson. The current site will more than double in size from 14KSF to 36KSF, supported by a $1M grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Progress Reports
5. Achen-Gardner is currently providing earthwork services on the west side of the Loop 101 north of Union Hills Drive as part of its Loop 101 Waterline Extension CMAR project for West Valley RE Investments. Crews recently completed the water line installation and are placing additional fill for future development.
6. Building permits have recently been issued for several major projects in and around Tucson, including: 2nd permit for Amazon warehouse and distribution center (Permit value $31.7M), Hobby Lobby 54.5KSF shop ($6.5M), The GEICO Call Center at The Bridges ($3.3M), Pima County Church Avenue building remodel ($2.7M), Grace Church construction ($2.5M) and VCA Valley Animal Hospital expansion ($1.6M).
Completions
7. Central Arizona College cut the ribbon on two new buildings at the Signal Peak Campus. CAC paid for the new student union and science building with $33M in bonds the Governing Board approved in early 2016. The college plans to demolish the old buildings and replace them with desert landscaping once operations are fully transferred to the new facilities.
8. After some controversy and years of construction, the 591-bed Flagstaff student housing development known as The Hub has received its certificate of occupancy, allowing students to begin moving in to the building earlier this week.
9. The Arizona Department of Transportation announced the opening of a modern roundabout designed to enhance safety and traffic flow along State Route 88 (Apache Trail) in a growing area of Apache Junction. The $3.3M project, which began in March, also included realigning SR 88 at the interchange, installing lighting, reconstructing turnouts and rerouting Goldfield Wash around the relocated roadway.
10. Residents will begin moving into the newly constructed Mesa Heights Apartments at the end of August. The Housing Authority of the City of Yuma is now leasing three of the six residential buildings, totaling 29 units, to qualified applicants. The remaining 29 units will be leased by Dec. 31.
11. Sigma Contracting, Inc. completed the last two infill buildings for multifamily project Fountains in the Green, which was 100 percent occupied upon delivery. Construction cost of the ground-up project was $1.66M.