Author: BEX Staff

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Anyone hoping for an in-depth look into how the group opposing Axon Enterprise’s master-planned corporate campus and headquarters development in north Scottsdale was funded may never get any actual satisfaction. Taxpayers Against Awful Apartment Zoning Exemptions filed its required campaign finance report with the City of Scottsdale on Jan. 15. That report, however, provides no real insight into the mechanics of TAAAZE’s operation or spending. The report shows zero individual contributions. Not a single Scottsdale resident contributed a single dollar to the campaign. Whether any attempted but had their potential gifts declined is not noted.…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX In April 2023, plans came to light that Ryan Companies was planning an industrial development in Eloy that would have placed between 1.8MSF and 1.9MSF of space on 122 acres at the SEC of Houser and Estrella roads, east of Interstate 10 along the Union Pacific rail line. (AZBEX; April 14, 2023) Activity never got underway for the South Crossing Industrial Park, however, and now the company’s plan has shifted to develop the Southwest Crossing Data Park—a three-building data center development with more than 855KSF of building area and a 400-megawatt capacity. The request for…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX A new 68-unit multifamily townhome development is making its way through the City of Mesa’s review and approval process. Lofts at 121 N Beverly was discussed in the Mesa Design Review Board’s Jan. 14 meeting, with no action being taken. The Planning and Zoning Board is expected to hear the proposal on Jan. 22. According to the submitted narrative, “The general plan designates the area as Neighborhood with a Station Area character overlay. Neighborhood is meant for residential along with small commercial areas. The Station Area overlay is intended to allow for the development of…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX A new report from CBRE shows construction volume in the Phoenix area industrial market declined in Q4 2024. There were 3.2MSF of deliveries and only 2.3MSF of new starts, according to the Q4 2024 Phoenix Industrial Market report. A total of 15.9MSF is under construction. The 3.2MSF in deliveries is made up of 21 buildings. Net absorption increased 11.4% from Q3’s results, for a total volume of 2.9MSF. Vacancy remains steady at 11.2%, and CBRE reports an average NNN/asking lease rate of $1.00. CBRE’s report does not detail the quarterly sales volume. For that information,…

Awards & Accolades 1. The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office announced Rayva in Gilbert and Solar Tech Collective in Tucson have advanced to the semifinal stage of the multi-million dollar American-Made Solar Prize Round 8. Semifinalists receive $50K and proceed to the next round. Four of the 20 semifinalists will receive a $25K cash bonus prize for winning the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Contest. Rayva was also announced as a winner of the JEDIcontest. Boards & Commissions 2. The Central Arizona Water Conservation District Boardmet on Jan. 9 and administered an oath of office to the…

Sales Transactions 1. CBRE’s Rusty Kennedy, Joe Cesta, Rebecca Perlmutter, Evan Koplan, Geoff Turbow and Anthony DeLorenzo represented Bailard in the $27M sale of a 118.1KSF facility located at 7822 S. 46th St. in Phoenix. The space is fully leased to BAE Systems. 2. Commercial Properties, Inc./CORFAC International announced the sale of Key West Business Park at 700-734 N. Golden Key St. in the Gilbert/Queen Creek area. The 96.4KSF property was sold for $19.1M. Commercial Properties’ Cory Sposi, Kelli Jelinek, David Bean and Cory Breinholt represented both the seller, Key West Plaza, LLC,and the buyer, CenterSquare Investment Manager, LLC. 3.…

By Associated Builders and Contractors Associated Builders and Contractors reported its Construction Backlog Indicator inched down to 8.3 months in December, according to an ABC member survey conducted Dec. 20 to Jan. 6. The reading is down 0.3 months from December 2023. Backlog in the commercial and institutional category has fallen by almost a full month over the past year and is now at the lowest level since February 2023. Backlog in the infrastructure category, on the other hand, currently stands at the highest level since August 2023. ABC’s Construction Confidence Index readings for sales and staffing levels improved in…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX In its meeting this week, the Pinal County Planning and Zoning Commission will consider a request by Pinal County to rezone more than 3,200 acres in unincorporated San Tan Valley to allow for future development. The County submitted the application on behalf of the Arizona State Land Department to ready the property for a potential future land auction, or multiple auctions, depending on what developers and development types may find the area of interest. Covering 3,238.7 acres, the site lies between Hash Knife Draw Road to the north, Bella Vista Drive to the south, Schnepf…

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego has taken the unusual step of publicly calling on other Maricopa County cities to step up and do their “fair share” to address the Valley’s worsening housing shortage. Leaders in various Phoenix suburbs have, in response, defended their efforts. Using data from the National Zoning Atlas, Gallego and other members of the Phoenix City Council pointed out in a November meeting 20% of land in the city is zoned to allow for multifamily development, while most other cities had less than 8% of their land similarly zoned. Chandler, Buckeye, Surprise, Goodyear and Queen Creek were the…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX With an annual percent change of 4.12%, Phoenix experienced the second-lowest fluctuation in its comparative construction costs to end 2024. Rider Levett Bucknall’s “Fourth Quarter 2024 North America Quarterly Construction Cost Report” shows San Francisco had the lowest percent change at 3.84%. The greatest changes were seen in Chicago and Boston, with 6.25% and 5.40%, respectively. The average national increase in construction costs was 1.1%, which is similar to the two preceding quarters. Phoenix’s Q3 change was 3.88%. Key data points from the report show: The U.S. quarterly national average increase in construction cost is…