Author: BEX Staff

The Tucson Unified School District will ask voters to approve a $480M bond package in the November election. TUSD has 87 schools under its umbrella with an average facility age of 55 years. The District is home to more than 40,000 students. The package request breakdown covers: Existing facility repairs and upgrades: $263.9M; Health, security and safety: $75.5M; Technology updates: $66.4M; Classroom and learning space improvements: $43M, and Student transportation and support vehicles: $31.2M. Officials said TUSD’s last bond was approved almost 20 years ago. (Source)

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.4% was unchanged for the month of May, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. The national unemployment rate increased to 3.7% from 3.4%. In May 2022, Arizona had a seasonally adjusted rate of 3.7%, while the national rate was 3.6% Including Construction’s loss of 1,300 employees in May, the state had a loss of 19,100 non-farm jobs. “Prior to the pandemic (2010-2019), NSA nonfarm employment lost 6,700 jobs on average in May,” the report states. The private sector lost 14,600 jobs over…

Awards & Accolades 1. Several Arizona developments were honored at last month’s Gold Nugget Awards, presented by PCBC—the annual event of the California Building Industry Association and the Leading Builders of America. The winning Arizona projects, their cities and builders were: Home of the Year: Bronco – Cavallo, Scottsdale, Camelot Homes; Master Planned Community of the Year: Award of Merit: Waterston, Gilbert, Tri Pointe Homes Arizona; Master Planned Community of the Year: Award of Merit: Sterling Grove, Surprise, Toll Brothers; Best Custom Home 5,000 – 7,500SF: Award of Merit: Troon Ridge Residences, Scottsdale, Schroeder Construction LLC; Best Custom Home 7,500…

Sales Transactions 1. Rosewood Property Company bought the 661-unit, 66.4KSF Extra Space Storage facility at 770 N. Kolb Road in Tucson for $13.5M. 2. Cushman & Wakefield announced the firm has brokered the sale of an approximately 1.0-acre high-rise apartment redevelopment site in downtown Phoenix. The buyer, Masyno Holding LLC, acquired the transit-oriented property at the NWC of 1st and McKinley streets for $12M. David Fogler and Steven Nicoluzakis with Cushman & Wakefield’s Multifamily Advisory Group in Phoenix represented seller Glasir Capital Partners. The buyer was represented by Mark Bramlett with Lee & Associates 3. RAB Properties AZ, LLC paid $5.25M for…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX The Tempe skyline could soon see more changes, as developers are planning two new tower-based apartment projects that would, if built, be among the city’s tallest buildings. 211 E. 7th St., owned by College Enterprises Inc., is a 0.6-acre parcel planned for a 29-story tower that will include 380 apartment units, along with other uses. The project’s attorney, Berry Riddell LLC, had previously requested a continuance from the Tempe Development Review Commission, which now plans to discuss the proposal July 25. Skye Tempe The Hubbard Street Group is proposing Skye Tempe approximately half a mile…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX Cordia Energy is planning to add a fourth water chilling and circulation plant to serve its downtown Phoenix customer base. The proposed plant will sit on 2.67 gross acres at the NWC of 6th and McKinley streets, with a building footprint of 12,136SF. Other media outlets reported last week that the plant was to be a huge development and built underground, neither of which is correct. Cordia’s three downtown Phoenix plants comprise a chilled water system capable of providing more than 27,000 tons of cooling and storing 100,000 ton-hours of ice for additional cooling. The…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX – BEXCLUSIVE Developers, particularly multifamily developers, have been wary of Fountain Hills for several years, as the town has earned a reputation for difficulty in securing zoning and entitlements for new projects. With the Town Council’s June 6 denial of a rezoning as part of an 80-unit proposal for Senderos at Fountain Hills, the town has declared itself effectively closed for business and given the development community a loud and clear signal that even the best proposal stands little-to-no chance of bearing fruit. Even though Senderos at Fountain Hills is a smaller development than we…

Environmental services company Republic Services, Inc. is planning to expand its headquarters with a new 240KSF facility in the master-planned City North development near Desert Ridge Marketplace. The company is acquiring approximately 10 acres in the development and relocating its headquarters from its current location near Scottsdale Road and Mayo Blvd. Republic representatives said the company chose the new location after examining sites in other states. The City of Phoenix recently approved a development and incentives agreement with Republic Services and City North developer Crown Realty & Development. Under the terms, Phoenix will provide $2,500 to the company for each…

Earlier this week, the Republican legislators working to prevent the renewal of Maricopa County’s Proposition 400 half-cent transportation sales tax passed a bill with several partisan priorities included, such as eliminating a light rail extension to the state capitol, among others, and sent it to Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs, who will veto it. Hoping to end the stalemate and advance the measure to voters, six Valley mayors issued a letter in which they planned to find “another avenue” to bring the question to voters next year if there is no solution reached before then. Other leaders later signaled their support.…

The Phoenix City Council has approved several new water conservation policies and restrictions under a resolution called “The Sustainable Desert City Development Policy.” The policies look to reduce water consumption among both residential and commercial users and focus largely on improving efficiency before buildings are constructed. The resolution passed on an 8-0 vote, with one councilmember absent. The approved measure is a statement of intent. The policies will be codified through ordinances and changes to the building codes over time. Staff will first have to assess how to practically implement the items, and the changes will have to undergo a…