Author: BEX Staff

A plan from Shea Connelly Development on behalf of St. Benedict Catholic Church would create a new 138-unit senior facility on 19.2 acres of the church’s 48th Street campus near Chandler Blvd. in Phoenix To facilitate the St. Benedict Senior Living project, Shea Connelly has requested rezoning of 4.62 acres of the planned site from Commercial Park/General Commerce Park to R-3A residential. The request states the rezoning is compatible with surrounding uses. St. Benedict Senior Living is billed as a high-end senior living development that will feature 66 independent living units, 44 assisted living spaces and 28 memory care units. …

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 3.4% in April, down from 3.5% in March, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. The national rate decreased to 3.4% from 3.5%. In April 2022, the state had a seasonally adjusted rate of 3.6%, as did the national rate. Including Construction’s gain of 1,900 employees in April, the state had a gain of 13,800 non-farm jobs. “Prior to the pandemic (2010-2019), private sector employment averaged a gain of 8,600 jobs in April,” the report states. The private sector gained 10,300 jobs…

Giving Back 1. Facings of America announced it exceeded its $60K fundraising goal for its 2023 Design for Dogs event supporting the Arizona Animal Welfare League & SPCA. In addition to other activities, the event featured a doghouse design + build competition made up of 16 teams from several leading firms. In total, this year’s event raised $86.2K. 2. Lōkahi Traffic Engineering/Lōkahi Teams launched scholarship programs earlier this year for area high school students and honored eight scholarship winners on April 28. The program was open to Arizona students who plan to attend college in the fall of 2023. Awards…

Sales Transactions 1. Sunrise Capital Investors has purchased the historic 14-story, 56KSF Luhrs Tower office building and an associated parking garage in Phoenix for $20.4M. The tower sold for $6.9M, while the garage went for $13.5M. Sunrise intends to perform modernization upgrades in the office spaces and creative suites. The seller was a joint venture between Lincoln Property Companies and Invesco Real Estate.  2. The Rockefeller Group has paid $8.7M for 16.57 acres in two parcels totaling 151 permit-ready Build-to-Rent lots. 8181 S. 20th St. features 68 lots on 9.2 net acres and sold for $4.896M. A parcel on Euclid…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX Following a national and regional trend to increase residential inventories supplies and services, two projects that will convert aging hotels into residential and service management spaces have recently been announced in Metro Phoenix. Grand Hotel – Mesa Mesa City Council has approved a plan to buy the 72-room Grand Hotel on Main Street for $7.4M using pandemic recovery monies. Approximately $4M will come from Maricopa County’s American Rescue Plan Act funds, with the remainder coming from Mesa’s ARPA allocation. While final conversion plans have not yet been finalized, when renovated, the facility will serve as…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Earlier this week, Tempe voters rejected three measures that would have green-lighted the $2B-plus proposal from the Arizona Coyotes to build a new hockey arena and multi-faceted mixed-use entertainment district on 46-City-owned acres. The Coyotes development would have been largely self-funded. The agreement between the City and the team clearly laid out both parties’ obligations. Since the rejection, the various controversies and the terms of the plan and supporting agreement have been extensively covered both here and elsewhere; we won’t bother to rehash them. I’ve said before that one of my favorite movie scenes is…

The Sunshine Acres Children’s Home has submitted plans to the City of Mesa to convert 36 acres of its 100-acre campus at Higley Road and East Longbow Parkway into a resort and water park with a 250-room hotel, 21KSF of retail, a conference center and four restaurants. Plans also call for a separate 125-room limited-service hotel and a 220-room dormitory for the CAE Flight School. A thrift and boutique store to process and sell donated goods, as well as items produced by residents, will also be included. Power Hotel Group would develop the land for Sunshine Acres, which would retain…

The updated Capital Improvement Plan discussed in recent talks on the Chandler municipal budget is estimated at $1.964B over 10 years. The last 10-year CIP totaled $1.665B. The recently discussed plan includes inflation adjustments, provides money for maintenance and aging infrastructure and targets the completion of arterial streets. The capital budget for Fiscal Year 2024 is expected to be $856.5M, up 46.4% and part of an overall budget of $1.656B. Among the projects under discussion for the next two years are: Detroit Basin storm drain improvements. Improvements along Chandler Heights Road, McQueen Road to Val Vista Drive. Completion of the…

By Associated Builders and Contractors Associated Builders and Contractors reported today that its Construction Backlog Indicator increased to 8.9 months in April from 8.7 in March, according to an ABC member survey conducted April 20 to May 3. The reading is 0.1 months higher than in April 2022. After declining to a seven-month low in March, backlog rebounded in April due to strength in the infrastructure category. Regionally, backlog increased in the Northeast and West but fell in the South and middle states. ABC’s Construction Confidence Index reading for sales and staffing moved higher in April, while the readings for…

Groundbreakings 1. Bourn Companies has announced demolition is underway at the former Foothills Mall on Ina Road and La Cholla Boulevard in Tucson and construction is expected to begin in August for its $500M replacement project: Uptown. The $500M, 51-acre destination development will feature retail, restaurant, an event stage, splash pad, apartments, hotels and a public market.   2. HonorHealth broke ground this week on an expansion project at HonorHealth Scottsdale Shea Medical Center. The $60M project will involve the construction of a new state-of-the-art Cardiovascular Center of Excellence. The expansion at 9003 E. Shea Blvd. will be completed in phases…