Author: BEX Staff

A Government Property Lease Excise Tax development incentive agreement between the developers of VAI Resort and Mattel Adventure Park and the City of Glendale will probably end up before voters. Opposition group Worker Power Institute has submitted more than 5,500 petition signatures to refer the GPLET agreements to a referendum, alleging concerns over property tax incentives for luxury developments and process transparency. Worker Power Institute was the group responsible for referring the Arizona Coyotes’ Tempe Entertainment District proposal to a public vote, where it was ultimately defeated. WPI says Glendale and Maricopa County have certified their petition submission has met…

By Associated Builders and Contractors Construction input prices were unchanged in July relative to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index. Nonresidential construction input prices fell 0.1% for the month. Overall construction input prices are 3.1% lower than a year ago, while nonresidential construction input prices are 2.7% lower. However, prices increased in all three energy subcategories. Natural gas prices were up 11.0% in July, while crude petroleum and unprocessed energy materials prices increased 8.4% and 8.0%, respectively. “Goods prices continue to stagnate in the context of…

Giving Back 1. The Arizona REALTORS has supported the Arizona Housing Fund with contributions of more than $57K since its inception, with a $15K donation this year. AZHF recently awarded $500K in grants for projects to help provide homes to Arizona’s most vulnerable individuals and families. 2. The Terracon Foundation announced the award of a $3,500 community grant to Tucson Clean & Beautiful. The funds will be used to support the Youth Environmental Leadership, Learning & Action Adopt A School mentoring program. Since 2015, TCB has been awarded $17,500 from the Terracon Foundation. 3. PK Associates aided the Justa Center,…

Sales Transactions 1. Westcore has paid $92.7M for the 906.1KSF Hatcher Industrial Park in Glendale. The seller was Ryan Companies US, Inc. Tony Lydon, Marc Hertzberg, Riley Gilbert and Kelly Royle from JLL assisted with the transaction. 2. Institutional Property Advisors, a division of Marcus & Millichap, closed on Cabana Encanto, a 286-unit multifamily housing community in Goodyear, for $61M. IPA’s Steve Gebing and Cliff David represented seller Greenlight Communities and procured the buyer, a partnership between Sunrise Multifamily and Ascent Equity Group. 3. Gannett Co., the parent company for The Arizona Republic, sold its north Phoenix printing facility—a 20-acre…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX The Buckeye Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended approval of a request by Dolphin Partners Inc. and Quantum Capital (Buckeye Tartesso LCC) to amend the Tartesso Community Master Plan, increasing the commercial area for the portion covered by the request by 1,280 acres and reducing the volume of single-family lots from 8,879 to 2,866. The total area under consideration is 1,787 acres. Media reports say P&Z made the recommendation for approval in its Aug. 8 meeting and the City Council is expected to take up the request on Sept. 5. This marks the fifth amendment…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX Following a site shuffle, Merit Partners has filed pre-application paperwork with the City of Mesa updating its plans for Legacy Business Park at Pecos and Crismon roads. Merit originally planned Legacy Business Park Phase I as a two-building, 645.5KSF industrial site on the property next to its currently intended location. Property owner Levine Investment Limited Partnership sold that location to DSV Air and Sea Inc. to develop its 1.69MSF regional headquarters. DSV, in exchange, agreed to give Merit Partners an equivalent property nearby. The new plan for Legacy Business Park sits on 42 acres adjacent…

By Rebekah Morris for AZBEX Now that the reauthorization of the regional half-cent transportation sales tax, Proposition 400E, has been moved forward and will go to voters in 2024, the next legislative hurdle impacting the Arizona construction industry is starting to take shape. ARS titles 28 and 34, which govern the majority of public procurements and the use of Alternative Project Delivery Methods, such as Construction Manager at Risk, Design-Build and Job Order Contracting, have provisions that expire in 2025. Specifically, if the current law sunsets, cities/towns/counties will no longer be able to enter into contracts using the CMAR delivery…

North Phoenix’s Turf Paradise racetrack could give way to an industrial and commercial development to be known as Winner’s Circle Business Park under plans submitted by developer CT Realty. CT Realty plans to acquire the 213-acre site near 19th Avenue and Bell Road for a 2.6MSF industrial and data center development. The current proposal calls for eight industrial buildings and two data centers. The commerce park would sit on roughly 155 acres, with a 36-acre portion set aside for future commercial uses under the most recent plans. Company representatives have said the total project value could exceed $500M. The track…

By Associated Builders and Contractors Associated Builders and Contractors issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Labor issuing a final rule, Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations, which will make drastic revisions to the Davis-Bacon Act and Related Acts regulations that apply to federal and federally assisted construction projects funded by taxpayers. “This is yet another Biden administration handout to organized labor on the backs of taxpayers, small businesses and the free market,” said ABC VP, Labor and State Affairs Ben Brubeck. “Unfortunately, the DOL’s final rule disregards the feedback of ABC contractors, construction industry…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX In an Aug. 8 opinion column in Bisnow entitled “The Construction Industry Needs Undocumented Workers. So Why Is Nothing Being Done To Help Them?” freelance writer Patrick Sisson argues that undocumented labor is vital to addressing the U.S. construction industry’s chronic and ongoing labor shortage and that much more needs to be done to provide those workers with opportunities to work legally and safely. We have decided to provide a summary of Sisson’s piece in today’s issue because, while it is a matter of increasing importance to the industry, it is also rarely reported or…