Giving Back
1. NexMetro Communities and their Avilla Home neighborhoods, in partnership with St. Mary’s Food Bank, is winding down the “Fill an Avilla” Community Water Drive to help alleviate the dire need for water among Arizona’s most vulnerable residents. Through Sept. 7, volunteers will be collecting cases of water as they aim to fill a 635SF Avilla Home at the new Avilla Grand community in El Mirage. The collected water will be donated to St. Mary’s Food Bank for those in need at heat relief stations in Metro Phoenix on days with Excessive Heat Warnings. Those interested in donating a case of water may drop off sealed bottled water at any of the following Avilla Homes communities, or make a monetary donation on the Fill an Avilla Donation page.
- Avilla Canyon: 27777 N. Black Canyon Hwy., Phoenix, AZ 85085
- Avilla Grand: 11755 West Thompson Ranch Road, El Mirage, AZ 85335
- Avilla Lehi: 3425 East Thomas Road, Mesa, AZ 85213
Awards & Accolades
2. The Arizona Department of Housing, in partnership with the Arizona Housing Coalition, issued the 2023 Housing Hero Awards, named in honor of the late Brian Mickelson, at the conclusion of the 2023 Arizona Housing Forum in Tucson. The awards were:
- Arthur Crozier Partner in Housing: Mayor Becky Daggett, City of Flagstaff;
- Exemplary Multi-Family Project: Solstice of Mesa;
- Innovative Supportive Housing Program: Bread and Roses;
- Outstanding Affordable Housing Initiative: The Connie Hillman Urban Construction Knowledge Center (The CHUCK Center);
- Outstanding State Administered CDBG Funded Project: Kingman Veterans Transitional Housing;
- Tribal Initiatives: WMAHA #8 – Apache Pine.
3. Two Arizona projects by COLWELL SHELOR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE recently won Honor Awards in the General Design category in the 2023 American Society of Landscape Architects ASLA Professional Awards:
- Cloud Song: SCC Business School + Indigenous Culture Center, Scottsdale; for the Maricopa County Community College District;
- University of Arizona Environment + Natural Resource II, Tucson; for the University of Arizona.
4. Avondale Mayor Kenn Weise has been named 2023 Public Official of the Year by the Arizona Parks and Recreation Association.
Company News
5. Tricor LLC is getting ready to launch a $156M capital raise for the construction of 1,000 Build-to-Rent units across the U.S. The Scottsdale-based company will target its upcoming developments in Texas, Florida and North Carolina.
6. Suncrest Real Estate and Land has officially entered the Phoenix Build-to-Rent market sector with its Zora Encanto development, currently under construction at the SEC of Encanto Blvd. and 83rd Avenue. The company’s primary business remains development of master-planned communities with for-sale homes, but officials are looking at two parcels for rental homes in Phoenix near Loop 101 and could have both built by the end of 2025 if all goes according to plan.
7. Hospitality-inspired interior design firm KatzDesign Group is celebrating its 20th anniversary. KatzDesign Group focuses on restaurant interiors, casino and hotel design, medical offices and workplace interiors.
Promotions
8. Chris Kirch was recently named President of Kitchell Contractors Inc. Kirch has been with Kitchell since 2003 and since 2010 has been with the company’s Texas region, helping to grow the company’s footprint in the Austin and Houston markets.
New Hires
9. Two new staff members have recently joined Thomas Title & Escrow. Matt Daniels has come on to serve as VP of National Commercial Sales, and Hollie Campbell has joined as Business Development Officer.
10. With more than 40 years of experience in real estate law, Thomas C. Arendt has recently joined Gallagher & Kennedy as a Shareholder.
11. Aleta Ruark has joined ProStar Realty as Director of the Commercial Real Estate Division.