Author: BEX Staff

Northern Arizona Healthcare’s specific plan and zoning map amendment requests for its Health and Wellness Village master plan were scheduled to go before the Flagstaff Planning and Zoning Commission this week.  Plans for the 172.6-acre development, to be completed over 23 years, include a new Flagstaff Medical Center campus, 752KSF hospital and 205KSF ambulatory care center. Future plans include 315 housing units, medical research space, an outdoor wellness retreat and multiple retail and hospitality outlets. Items included for discussion under the specific plan include traffic and public safety considerations, as well as economic development impacts. City staff had favored Planning…

In a move intended to spur affordable housing construction, the Glendale City Council has unanimously voted to approve waiving community development fees on projects that receive Arizona Department of Housing tax credits. Fees can range from approximately $300K to $1M. City officials say the goal is to help developers cover funding gaps in financing and building their projects. Fees for projects not receiving ADoH credits may also be waived if they meet affordability requirements and enter into an approved development agreement. Glendale will monitor the impact of the waivers on City finances, since development fees go into the general fund,…

Construction starts were up 6% in February for a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $912.8B, according to data from Dodge Construction Network. The bump was fueled by strong activity in home building and manufacturing, with single-family buildings posting its first gain in the last 13 months. Still, year-to-date activity remains 17% below the levels reported in 2022, and analysts are worried about weak performance in commercial and institutional buildings. Residential building starts increased last month to an annual rate of $320B, with single-family starts up 4% and multifamily up 22%. Infrastructure and other non-building starts were down 5%. Manufacturing starts…

Groundbreakings 1. The Babbitt Ranch Energy Center, a 161MW wind project from NextEra Energy Resources, is now under construction on Babbitt Ranches property in Coconino County, north of Flagstaff. This facility is scheduled to begin delivering clean energy to SRP customers by early 2024.  2. Wexford Developments and Wexford Real Estate Investors recently announced two groundbreakings. The company will break ground March 28 on Elkwood Flagstaff, a 224-unit community designed by Stewart + Reindersma Architecture, with Decca Builders, Inc. serving as general contractor. Wexford will also hold a groundbreaking for the 200-unit First and Farmer community in Tempe on March…

By City of Tempe Tempe wants to transform a sprawling site in the heart of the Apache corridor into a living and shopping hub with a significant expansion of affordable housing and a new grocery store for the neighborhood. The nearly eight-acre site includes the Apache Central Center, home of the former Food City, and two adjacent parcels near Apache Blvd. and Dorsey Lane. All three parcels are owned by the City. As envisioned, the site could be a landmark housing and retail development in the area. The project site comprises 7.55 acres located at the NEC of Dorsey Lane…

Banner Health is buying an approximately 48-acre site at the SWC of Loop 101 and Hayden Road as the location for a planned $400M hospital and cancer center. Banner Scottsdale Medical Center will be “a destination hospital,” according to company officials and feature a Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, cardiovascular and advanced orthopedic care, and emergency department, intensive care, women and infant services, surgery and imaging. The total build area is expected to total approximately 384KSF, and the facility will have 106 patient beds and 20 observation beds. Completion is currently targeted for some time in 2026. Banner offers several…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX A little more than a year ago, I talked with Withey Morris Partner Jason Morris to get his take on the state of zoning and entitlement issues around Arizona. (AZBEX, Feb. 22, 2022) Since he was forthcoming, effuse and exceptionally quotable in his responses—and since the intervening year has been chock full of variations on the same themes—I decided to reach out again to get Morris’ take on what’s changed, what hasn’t and what the future may hold. The hot topic last year was HB 2674, a bill in the Arizona House that would have…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX The Buckeye Planning and Zoning Commission recently advanced more than 1,400 new residential units across three projects. Officials say the City is working to catch up on housing stock to serve its exceptional growth after years of underbuilding. Hancock Communities at Rooks Hancock Communities is requesting a rezoning for nearly 77 acres west of the NWC of Rooks and Broadway roads at the 263rd Avenue alignment from planned residential to multifamily to build an 847-unit multifamily community. According to the submitted project narrative, “The proposed multifamily development will consist of an estimated 847 units, providing…

Even though voters rejected the half-cent Proposition 469 sales tax to fund the Pinal Regional Transportation Authority last November, Pinal County officials are hopeful its Transportation Improvement and Maintenance Program tax will be renewed before it expires at the end of 2026. Unlike the Prop 469 request, which was intended for large-scale transportation projects, TIMP has been in place for nearly 40 years and has become an essential part of the County’s road repair and maintenance efforts as well as those of its cities and towns. Pinal County received $12.2M from the tax in fiscal year 2021. The constituent municipalities…

Awards & Accolades 1. Menlo Group Commercial Real Estate announced that Mark Haslip has earned the SIOR designation from the Society of Industrial and Office REALTORS®. He is the sixth of Menlo Group’s nine advisors to win the designation. 2. Ranking Arizona has released its list of the 2023 Top 10 Office Brokerages in Arizona. They are: Colliers, CBRE, Kidder Mathews, Menlo Group Commercial Real Estate, Avison Young, Davis Commercial AZ, Commercial Properties Inc., Newmark, JLL, and Cushman & Wakefield. Promotions 3. The City of Avondale has promoted Harold Siguenza to Public Works Assistant Director. He now leads the Field Operations Division, including…