Giving Back
1. On March 28, Achen-Gardner Construction employee-owners participated in the Run for World Water 5K, an annual event hosted by Water for People Arizona. The event raises funds to support access to clean water in developing countries. Achen-Gardner also served as a sponsor of the event, which was held at Arizona Falls in Phoenix, a facility the company constructed in 2004.
Awards & Accolades
2. Caliente Construction announced its President & CEO, Lorraine Bergman, is the recipient of the Wink Ames Memorial Award for Pioneers in Construction. The award was presented by the Construction Financial Management Association. Bergman officially joined Caliente in 2000.
Company News
3. Kidder Mathews was selected to provide leasing and property management services for The Cotton Center portfolio in Phoenix, totaling approximately 1MSF across 13 buildings in the Southeast Valley. The firm will manage and lease the portfolio for Trigild, the court-appointed receiver. The portfolio includes a mix of flex, office and industrial buildings, with approximately 356.7KSF currently available for lease. Dave Carder, Chris Jantz, Scott Isacksen and Kurt Kerner will lead leasing, and Peggy R. Maxwell will oversee property management and operations.
Promotions
4. FCL Builders added five new leaders to its Phoenix team as it marks five years in the market. Those individuals are:
- Rocky Rogers, Director of Field Operations, who will oversee project superintendents and field performance,
- Jamey Carpenter, Director of Pre-Construction, will lead estimating and regional resources,
- Kelly Pettigrew, Senior VP—West, will expand oversight to offices in Texas and California in addition to Phoenix,
- Jeff Dalton, Regional VP for Arizona and the mountain states, will lead pre-development and client services operations and
- Jon Diller, Director of Operations, will oversee project execution and client service.
5. Achen-Gardner Construction has recently promoted the following team members:
- Kevin Nunez: Executive VP,
- Mike Gewecke: VP and Field Operations Manager,
- Jamie McCollister: VP, Finance and Administration,
- Jacob Gamboa: Assistant Field Operations Manager,
- Casey Peery: Project Director,
- Cody Nunez: Project Director,
- Brian Froelich: Project Director,
- Matt Schoonmaker: Project Manager,
- Phillip Zhang: Project Manager,
- Israel Santillan Jr.: Project Manager,
- Trey Pacheco: Project Manager,
- Sama Al-Alami: Assistant Project Manager and
- Kaleb Ruelas: Project Engineer.
6. Kim Brown was named Airport Manager for Phoenix Deer Valley Airport, succeeding Ed Faron, who retired after nearly 24 years with the City of Phoenix Aviation Department. Brown most recently served as Facilities and Services Superintendent for the Support Services section at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and has 18 years of experience with the Aviation Department, along with 10 years in prior aviation roles.
New Hires
7. MCR Companies announced the hiring of Dusty Eddy to coincide with its new dedicated multifamily division. Eddy has joined the equity firm as Partner | Head of Multifamily. In this newly created role, he will lead multifamily investment strategy across Phoenix, Las Vegas and Southern California.
8. Alcorn Construction hired Rob Cortazzo as its new VP of Operations. Cortazzo has more than 30 years of industry experience and has held several leadership roles at other construction companies.
9. Shane Hanneman joined Coe & Van Loo Consultants Inc. as Senior Project Manager. Hanneman has more than 30 years of landscape architecture experience and will manage public sector pursuits and project delivery for the firm’s landscape architecture department. Before this position, he was a project manager at J2 Engineering and Environmental Design for five years.
10. Ganem Companies recently hired Brianne Abbasi to lead its Business Development department. Ganem has an extensive background in the restaurant, retail and multifamily real estate subsectors. She is part of The National Association of Women in Construction and the Arizona Chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association and AAED.
11. Sydney Bethel Price joined Colliers Engineering & Design as Project Manager on the Land Use Planning team. Price has more than nine years of experience and previously served as Redevelopment Project Manager with the Town of Gilbert and as a Planning Technician with the City of Tempe.
12. Megan Magee stepped into the role of Office Lead for Rider Levett Bucknall’s Tucson office. She has more than two decades of experience in project delivery and client relationships.
Departures
13. April Kroner has left the City of Tempe’s Economic Development Department. Kroner previously served as the Deputy Director of Economic Development and is moving to Colorado for a new position. She has more than 25 years of experience in community planning and economic development.