Author: BEX Staff

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX More than 150 attendees gathered in the auditorium of the Arizona Heritage Center in Tempe this week for the latest news on the shifting Arizona Construction market from two of the state’s leading experts on both the long-term history and day-to-day happenings in the sector. The 2023 Midyear Update on Arizona Construction was a first-time program for BEX Companies, serving as a follow-up to January’s annual Construction Activity Forecast Event, which has quickly expanded to become one of the “must see” programs for industry insiders trying to keep their fingers on the pulse of the…

By ORION Investment Real Estate and BEX Staff Rockefeller Group announced it has acquired two sites for the development of 152 Build-to-Rent townhomes. The two sites, approximately 1.75 miles apart, total 16.5 acres in Phoenix’s South Mountain corridor. The first site, located at 8181 S. 20th Street, is 9.2 acres and sold for $4.9M. The seller was The Bruckal Group, which had called the project Baseline Townhomes. The second site, located at 825 E. Euclid Avenue, is 7.34 acres and was purchased for $3.8M in an off-market transaction. The seller was Proximity Rental Homes, and the development had been known…

By The David R. Sellers Foundation The David R. Sellers Foundation has announced the launch of its first-ever “Project Build Hope” capital grant program that will award one deserving Greater Phoenix-based nonprofit with design-build construction services, the planning and execution of a fundraising event and a minimum of $50K in capital. With applications now open through Sept. 1, the inaugural program is available to nonprofits that demonstrate a strong need for design-build services. Through this grant, the organization will receive full schematic design and consultation services that may include site analysis, master planning, budgeting, conceptual design, interior design and the…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Starting with former Gov. Doug Ducey’s veto last summer of legislation to send a renewal of the Proposition 400 half-cent transportation sales tax to voters to approve or reject, through a multi-part special coverage issue on the history, impacts and future of Prop 400-related transportation issues and economic development, and even as recently as this week, AZBEX has been sounding the alarm about what a failure to renew the measure could mean for Arizona’s future. (AZBEX; Oct. 14, 2022 and others) Other news outlets have been slow to pick up the story, but as a…

Groundbreakings 1. Construction has begun on the eight-building, 330KSF Sossaman Business Campus at Sossaman and Elliot roads in Mesa. The business park was designed by ADW Architects. Arco Construction Company serves as the general contractor, and leasing is through CBRE. An official groundbreaking ceremony will be held June 20, and completion is scheduled for Q1 2025. Progress Reports 2. Omni Hotels & Resorts has announced its renovation project at the Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia should be complete this fall. The multimillion-dollar refurbishment will feature improvements to all 293 guest rooms and 38 suites, as well as more…

The Mesa Planning and Zoning Board has recommended approval for a request to rezone a 5.7-acre property near Greenfield and McDowell roads for development of a 78.4KSF light industrial project. Equipment manufacturer and supplier Western Semi Solutions had requested a zoning change from Light Industrial to Light Industrial with a Planned Area Development overlay. Plans call for a shell building with a height of 40 feet. Truck docks and a loading area will be located on the west side of the building and an eight-foot masonry wall will screen the site from the public. Access to the location will be…

The Biden Administration has designated Phoenix as one of five “workforce hubs” to develop skilled workers in advanced manufacturing operations like semiconductors, electric vehicles and renewable energy. The other hubs are Columbus, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Baltimore and Augusta, Georgia. Phoenix was selected due to the area’s strength of public and private investments in semiconductor technology, mineral and battery manufacturing and optical cable. Leading representative projects include the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company plant in north Phoenix, Intel’s $20B Chandler expansion and LG Energy Solution’s planned $5.5B battery facility in Queen Creek. The administration plans to work with local officials, education providers,…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Carefree Partners is adding to its growing list of planned projects in the West Valley with the recent rezoning of nearly 62 acres in Buckeye for a future light industrial site. The Buckeye City Council approved a request to rezone the “property fronting onto Arizona State Route 85 (SR85) and just south of Maricopa County Road 85 (MC85) in western Buckeye,” from Rural Residential to Light Industrial in its May 16 meeting. While Carefree Partners has no immediate plan to start construction and has not provided any timelines, a preliminary site plan shows four buildings…

Phoenix City Council voted unanimously last week to approve zoning for Home at Happy Valley, a 226-unit apartment community planned for 7.8 acres at Happy Valley Road and 17th Avenue. The proposal had drawn opposition from some nearby residents, primarily because of its density and concerns about potential traffic impacts. After several meetings with neighbors, developer Shelter Asset Management reduced the unit count from an originally planned 280 units down to 226, added a buffer sidewalk on 17th Avenue and agreed to limit traffic on 17th Avenue as well. While no rental rate estimates have been provided, project representatives have…

Negotiations are ongoing between Governor Katie Hobbs and Republican Arizona legislators in an attempt to send a renewal of the Proposition 400 half-cent transportation sales tax to Maricopa County voters. Despite unanimous support from all 32 agencies in the Maricopa Association of Governments, former Gov. Doug Ducey vetoed legislation last year that would have put the renewal on the ballot, saying it amounted to a tax increase and did not provide sufficient focus on road projects, among other objections. Various attempts to both crush the tax as it currently operates and to renew it largely have both languished ever since.…