Author: BEX Staff

Gov. Katie Hobbs recently signed a bipartisan bill to improve housing supplies and affordability by creating a new infrastructure financing option for developments. House Bill 2999 adds a new type of special taxing district, called a State Affordability Infrastructure District, under the Arizona Finance Authority. According to a local news report, the updated financing mechanism will allow districts to use tax-exempt bonds to pay for infrastructure—such as roads, water and sewer—over time. The fact sheet attached to the legislation details how property owners in a development area say the bill’s purpose is to, “Allow real property owners to petition the…

The $18.3B budget compromise package recently announced by Gov. Katie Hobbs and Arizona lawmakers features a three-year halt to the state’s Computer Data Center Tax Incentive Program. Administered by the Arizona Commerce Authority, the incentive program uses sales and use tax exemptions on qualified purchases of data center equipment for up to 10 years, 20 years in some cases, if the applying project meets criteria as a sustainable redevelopment. To qualify, projects generally have to constitute a minimum capital investment of at least $50M. ACA estimates $8.1B in capital investment has been pledged by projects under the program since 2014.…

Giving Back 1. HITT Contracting partnered with the City of Chandler for its annual Operation Back to School event. HITT delivered 100 fully assembled backpacks filled with essential school supplies. Awards & Accolades 2. Arizona State University Professor Mark Stapp has been named one of Phoenix Business Journal’s 2026 Most Admired Leaders for his efforts and achievements in real estate education and development. Stapp is the Fred E. Taylor Professor of Real Estate at ASU’s W. P. Carey School of Business and Executive Director of the school’s Master of Real Estate Development program. He also directs the Experiential Learning Lab…

Sales Transactions 1. Waymo purchased the Waymo Proving Ground, a 5,500-acre autonomous vehicle testing facility in Wittmann, for $220M. The seller, Apple Inc., acquired the property for $125M in 2021. The proving ground includes a 115-acre city course, a 35-acre vehicle dynamics area, a four-mile oval track and a freeway course purpose-built for autonomous vehicle testing. The facility was previously used by Fiat Chrysler. 2. Stonepeak recently purchased Acoya Shea from an entity connected to Harrison Street Asset Management and Cogir Senior Living for $109M. The 147-unit senior multifamily community is located at 7373 E. Shea Blvd. in Scottsdale. 3.…

Mohave County’s efforts to centralize its medical examiner services will be more expensive than originally thought due to rising construction and equipment costs. The Board of Supervisors is expected to discuss raising the project budget in its meeting next week. Having brought medical examiner services in-house in 2021, the plan is to overhaul an existing traffic control building in Kingman. Mohave County Medical Examiner John Hassett currently provides services through his private funeral home in Fort Mohave, with pathologist consulting provided by a former County ME. The County set aside nearly $4M in the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget to build…

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney recently sided with the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona, effectively striking down an Arizona Department of Water Resources rule regarding groundwater. The rule required developers to prove there is a greater supply of groundwater than that required by state law to begin building homes. HBACA filed a lawsuit and argued the rule serves as an undue “water tax” and is beyond the ADWR’s authority. Developers must receive a certificate from ADWR that confirms a subdivision has its 100-year supply of groundwater before commencing construction. Blaney had previously ruled against ADWR in another…

Senate Bill 1418, a Republican-led measure that would prevent most Arizona county boards of supervisors from using zoning and land use regulations to prohibit small-scale, modular nuclear reactors, has been approved in the Arizona Senate and is currently awaiting a House vote. The legislation excludes counties of more than 500,000 residents, meaning Maricopa and Pima. It would apply to the state’s other 13 counties. The act is partially intended to place small reactors where coal-fired power plants once operated, without requiring additional review or local impediment. Transmission infrastructure is already in place at these sites, the thinking goes, allowing them…

Awards & Accolades 1. Brunch & Sip was recognized by Phoenix Home & Garden as the Best Commercial Project of 2026. The tenant improvement project by LGE Design Build converted a former office building into a two-story restaurant. Groundbreakings 2. Gorman & Company has started construction on Casa Grande Apartments, a 64-unit affordable housing community in Casa Grande’s Life on Main redevelopment district. Located at 115 W. Main Ave., the development will include three residential buildings and the adaptive reuse of the historic Shonessy House as a community space and leasing office. Completion is anticipated in 2027. Financing is being…

After extensive discussions over the past several months, the Flagstaff City Council has approved the purchase of 2.1 acres at 320 N. Humphreys St. for $6.3M. The property was formerly planned as an affordable multifamily and senior living community by AllThrive 365, which was previously known as the Foundation for Senior Living. AllThrive was unable to secure the necessary funding and announced it would cancel that plan and enter discussions with the City of Flagstaff to buy the land. Flagstaff will use the proceeds from selling the former downtown courthouse, parking funds and capital reserve funds to pay for the…

Even though construction costs in Phoenix were slightly higher than the national average, a newly released report shows they are continuing to moderate. In its Phoenix Q1 2026 Cost Index, Mortenson reported construction costs in the metro area rose 1.97% over the quarter and 7.05% year-over-year. The company’s National Q1 2026 Index showed the average increase across the country was up 1.7% national and up 6.8% YoY. Major drivers for the national increase were metal and energy costs, data center development disproportionately affecting supply chains and materials availability, and constraints on electrical and power distribution. According to the national findings,…