Author: BEX Staff

By BEX Staff for AZBEX At a groundbreaking ceremony earlier this week, Arizona State University leaders and other area officials kicked off an $87.5M construction investment intended to add two buildings and three new schools to the ASU West Campus and spur a 10,000-student increase in enrollment. The Arizona Republic reported the two buildings consist of a three-story 55KSF academic building and a 134.6KSF, 500-bed residence hall. Project documents show the academic building, which will front Verde Mall, will include space for several new academic programs and will include a drawing studio, a gallery, active learning classrooms, computer labs and…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX After receiving aesthetic review approvals from the Yuma Design and Historic Review Commission on March 22, two new projects can move ahead with their construction plans. Extended Stay America Hotel In the first, civil engineering and site design firm Dahl, Robins & Associates had requested the review on behalf of owner Yuma Land Company LLC for an Extended Stay America Hotel planned for 550 S. Rio Vista Drive. The planned four-story, 124-room hotel would be situated on 2.9 acres of currently vacant, undeveloped land and would have a gross floor area of 53.9KSF, according to…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX A 1MSF-plus non-residential mixed-use proposal that had sat dormant for more than a year has come back to life and resumed the entitlement process in Avondale. Ashley Furniture HomeStore had filed a minor General Plan amendment and rezoning request for a 70.08-acre site at the NWC of 107th Avenue and Roosevelt Street in March 2021. Following a series of reviews and responses, progress stopped on the plan until late last year, when a revised set of requests was submitted. Under the updated proposal, project owner Ashley Furniture HomeStore and developer Hodgdon Group Reality have planned…

The City of Surprise plans to break ground in early Fall 2023 on Heritage Senior Apartments, a 99-unit low-income senior housing development in the Original Town Site. The $23M development is expected for completion by December 2024. The 2.54-acre site is located to the south of the existing 100-unit low-income Heritage at Surprise Apartments and next to the Multi-Generational Community Resource Center, which is planned to open in 2025. Heritage Senior Apartments has received significant grant funding. In what was reported to be the largest award under the program, it received $9.1M under a federal Housing and Urban Development 202…

By RED Development and Life Time RED Development announced Life Time will join PV, the more than 100-acre redevelopment of the former Paradise Valley Mall, with a first-to-market, fully integrated concept consisting of an athletic country club and luxury-for-lease residences slated to open in 2026. Life Time debuted its Life Time Living concept in 2021 in Coral Gables, Fla. and connects residents’ at-home and wellness lifestyles to make healthy living easy and fun with functional space design, amenities and high-end living and convenience. The planned 11-story Life Time Living Paradise Valley will include more than 300 luxury residential units for…

By National Multifamily Housing Council The March edition of the NMHC Quarterly Survey of Apartment Construction & Development Activity once again found small improvements in terms of more limited price increases, slightly fewer construction delays and some easing in the labor market. However, while costs and delays may be falling from their post-pandemic peaks, they remain substantial headwinds to the creation of badly needed housing—particularly at low and middle-income price points. Construction delays remain common, with 79% of respondents reporting delays, but that is better than 84% in December, 90% in September and 97 % in June 2022. Notably, respondents…

Awards & Accolades 1. The Vantage Data Centers development by McCarthy Building Companies in Goodyear has been awarded a STAR Site designation from the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s Voluntary Protection Program for “exemplary and comprehensive safety and health management systems.”  Groundbreakings 2. Diversified Partners announced it will break ground April 6 on the 11-acre, $125M Mercy Center development on the SEC of Val Vista Drive and East Mercy Road. Project components include a two-story retail, restaurant and office space, a two-story flagship Starbucks, a regional headquarters for Bell Bank in a three-story bank building, a five-story Residence…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX The Blazin’ M Ranch resort in Cottonwood wants to expand. The Cottonwood Planning and Zoning Commission will meet this week to discuss a General Plan land use amendment and zoning change for an approximately 8.3-acre site on Mabery Ranch Road where owner Mabery Ranch Company LLC hopes to expand the existing Blazin’ M Western Ranch Frontier Town on the NEC of the property and create “a luxury 1800’s Western-themed resort providing a variety of accommodation options. The applicant has hired a Hollywood set designer and set decorator to provide design details that will provide an…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX EVelution Energy wants to build North America’s first cobalt processing plant in Yuma County. The Arizona Republic reported that earlier this month, the Yuma County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a special-use permit request that will allow the company to build the facility on 138 acres between Tacna and Dateland. According to the submitted site plans, the estimated footprint for the facility will be 130KSF. The article also cites an economic assessment from the Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation that the operation can generate up to $300M related to the development, construction, infrastructure improvements and…

The Tempe City Council and the Coalition for Affordable Housing met last week to discuss the current state of housing and affordability in the city. The Coalition was created in 2018 to identify, procure and manage affordable housing opportunities. It currently controls nearly $10M in assets. Most units were bought with federal grants, but others were donated by Tempe. It currently owns 55 rental units and is experiencing a 94% occupancy rate, according to the presentation from Coalition Board of Directors President Irma Hollamby Cain. Six units are in use by partner agencies and five are undergoing rehabilitation. Cain reported…