Author: BEX Staff

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX The Casa Grande Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended City Council approval for a 321-acre master plan with single-family, multifamily, industrial and commercial uses at the NEC of Selma Highway and Henness Road. Vista Estates earned a Planned Area Development zoning designation to include “Commercial, Office, Single-Family Residential and Multi-Family Residential uses,” in 2006. Economic conditions prevented that plan from coming to fruition. The site was purchased for $23M by Casa Grande 320 Acres LLC—an entity of Valley Land Group—in 2021. The current PAD request names Casa Grande 320 Acres as the owner and Arizona…

By Associated Builders and Contractors Associated Builders and Contractors reports that its Construction Backlog Indicator declined 0.2 months to 9.0 in January, according to an ABC member survey conducted from Jan. 20 to Feb. 3. The reading is 1.0 months higher than in January 2022. Despite the decline in January, backlog remains elevated by historical standards and is 0.1 months higher than in February 2020, the month before the COVID-19 pandemic began to impact the economy. ABC’s Construction Confidence Index reading for sales, profit margins and staffing levels increased in January. All three readings remain above the threshold of 50,…

Awards & Accolades 1. Two Arizona projects from Norris Design won awards from the National Association of Home Builders at the International Builders Show in Las Vegas. Norris’ work on the Hospice of the Valley Dementia Care & Education Center was recognized with top honors, a Gold Award, in the Best Assisted Living or Memory Care Community category, and TerraSante was recognized with a Gold Award in the On the Boards Community category. Groundbreakings 2. Family Development (Blue Vista Capital Management LLC) recently announced construction starts for two Build-to-Rent projects in the West Valley under its “Villas” brand. Villas Litchfield…

Empty big-box and other former retail parking lots could see a boom in multifamily development around Tucson, according to market reports and local officials. Currently, the owners of a vacant Sears at 5950 E. Broadway are considering placing a multifamily project on the Park Place parking lot, which has more than 1,000 spaces. Part of the Park Place Sears was remodeled and renovated into a multitenant and shell space in 2019. New owners Park Place Partnership LLC bought the building last year and are planning a self-storage development in the basement, according to representatives from CBRE Tucson. The ground level…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX If you’ll look to the top right corner of this page (for the magazine subscribers; web viewers will have to use their imaginations) you’ll see AZBEX is starting a new publishing year. There are always good things about rounding another annual corner. The most obvious has to be we’re thriving and still sharing our findings and insights with a loyal audience that appreciates our work. There’s no doubt that feels good. Another good thing is it gives me that chance to go through the give or take 150 original articles from the last 100 issues…

By Rebekah Morris for AZBEX In the upper right-hand corner of every page of every issue, we dutifully count volume and issue numbers. I suspect very few readers ever ponder what they mean (and really, why would you?), but for us, they do keep pace with our rigid publication schedule. This week marks the 1,400th issue of AZBEX and what we consider our ‘birthday’. The first issue of AZBEX was published on Feb. 16th, 2010. Oh, what a time that was to start a business! If you come to our events, especially the annual Construction Forecast event we just held…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX Mortenson has released its Q4 Construction Cost Index for seven major U.S. Markets. The Index rose 0.2% nationally and 1.2% for Phoenix. Nationally, costs increased 6.2% over the last 12 months, with Phoenix showing a much higher increase of 9.0%. The report shows Phoenix had a total of 29,200 jobs in building construction in December, which marked an increase of 600 versus December 2021. Regarding materials pricing, Mortenson reports that while costs are beginning to level out, challenges with long lead times, transportation logistics and materials shortages persist. As of Q4, Phoenix costs for PVC…

Giving Back 1. The Make Waves Family Foundation has announced a $1M gift to the First Place Global Leadership Institute over the next five years, creating the Make Waves Center for Community Development. The Make Waves Center aims to fuel a new marketplace of supportive housing and community options through replicable, sustainable design, programming and development strategies. It seeks to raise the bar on the quality of life for people with Autism and other neurodiversities—and provide greater peace of mind for families, according to Denise D. Resnik, First Place AZ founder and president/CEO and mother of an adult son with…

Sales Transactions 1. Nella Invest has paid $67.8M to buy the AC Hotel Phoenix Biltmore by Marriott from Holualoa Companies and LaPour Partners. The sellers were represented by JLL Hotels & Hospitality. Nella Invest was advised by Halo Hospitality and DCA Partners. 2. Red Mountain Group has purchased 20 former Big Lots stores from Big Lots for $47.5M in an off-market transaction totaling 463.4KSF. One of the 20 was located in the Roger at Oracle strip mall in Tucson. That 29.7KSF store sold for $2.39M. 3. The 21.4KSF La Paloma Urgent Care on Sunrise Drive in Tucson has sold for…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Another major project is joining the ranks of those seeking development delays due to market conditions and process considerations. The Innovation Centre in Goodyear is a master-planned mixed-use proposal on the 224-acre site of a former racetrack facility that was demolished in 2017. The predominant portion of the plan is a roughly 140-acre industrial development of approximately 2.2MSF. The other components include a 26-acre commercial/retail and entertainment district and a 59-acre office/employment district. Keystone Equities purchased the land and, after two rejections from the Goodyear Planning Commission, secured City Council’s approval for Planned Area Development…