Author: BEX Staff

By U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA Rural Development Arizona State Director Charlene Fernandez announced that USDA is providing nearly $66M to improve access to jobs, health care, and infrastructure for people in Arizona’s historically underserved communities across the Rural Partners Network. The funding will create jobs for rural people and help them expand their businesses. It will provide affordable, well-built homes for seniors and low-income families in rural areas. It will help farmers and ranchers transition to clean energy and find new and better markets for their products, and it will give people in remote areas access to modern water…

By Roland Murphy Nearly 200 attendees braved some of the worst weather in recent Phoenix history to attend the “Yes In My Backyard: Ensuring Housing Supply for Arizona’s Future” Symposium at Papago Golf Club on Feb. 22. The event was moderated by Nico Howard of HOME Arizona and Mark Stapp of the W.P Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, the two hosting organizations. While the three-and-a-half-hour symposium covered nearly every aspect of the current state of affairs in Arizona housing—from current economic and demand conditions to future policy planning—three core issues of concern to the construction and development…

By Creation RE/PE Creation has announced the acquisition of 18 prime acres in the Scottsdale Airpark with plans to develop a $60M industrial center. The company will break ground later this year on Thunderbird Commerce Park, a 243.4KSF, Class-A industrial building east of the SEC of Scottsdale and Thunderbird roads. With direct adjacency to the Scottsdale Airport, the building features include 51 truck doors, 32-foot clear height, 3,000a power, four EV dual charging pedestals, 130-foot truck court depth and 322 car spaces. Creation sourced this land on an off-market basis and is currently processing entitlements through the City of Scottsdale.…

Following voters’ rejection of Proposition 469 last year, which would have funded road projects through the Pinal Regional Transportation Authority via a half-cent sales tax, Pinal County leaders are reaching out to see what voters would be willing to pay for. In the November election, voters in areas where big-ticket projects were planned tended to vote in favor, while those in other areas voted overwhelmingly against them. Leaders hope to hold a number of meetings and outreach sessions to develop a unified transportation plan to cover road maintenance and construction tailored to communities across the area. A current 25-year half-cent…

The Goodyear Planning and Zoning Commission met recently to discuss transportation infrastructure upgrades that could total more than $476M. Goodyear has seen significant growth since its last transportation master plan update in 2014, according to Transportation Planning Manager Chris Bridges. Among the challenges presented by that growth have been an overall increase in commercial trucking and increased traffic volumes on Camelback Road. A set of roadway improvements for Camelback between the Loop 303 freeway and 152nd Avenue is in the design stage. Another growth-related problem has been the general increase in traffic, particularly on two-lane roads such as Cotton Lane…

Awards & Accolades 1. Mattamy Homes’ Saguaro Trails community in Tucson was recently recognized as the Community of the Year at the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association 2022 Awards. Groundbreakings 2. SkyBridge Arizona broke ground on SkyBridge Building 109, the developer’s latest addition to its 435-acre mixed-use project immediately adjacent to the runway at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in Mesa. Building 109 is the first of two 250KSF, Class A manufacturing/warehouse/logistics buildings that SkyBridge plans to break ground on at Gateway Airport during the first half of this year 3. Trilogy Investment Company, in a joint venture partnership with Cimbra Partners LLC (through its subsidiary Cimbra Investors Encanto, LLC)…

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, Councilmember Sal DiCiccio and City Manager Jeff Barton have teamed up to secure a place in the 2023-2024 capital budget for a new fire station in Ahwatukee. Fire Station 74 will be built on the NWC of 19th Avenue and Chandler Blvd. The station will be between 12KSF and 13KSF and have three bays with a fire engine and a medical rescue vehicle. Upon opening, Station 74 will be crewed by a staff that will start at the training academy in the coming fiscal year because the funds in the 2023-2024 operating budget include $3M per…

The Goodyear Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended approval of Globe Corporation’s request to rezone a vacant 153-acre site in downtown Goodyear for a mix of residential and commercial uses. The City Council will take up the measure and a new development agreement with the company at its Feb. 27 meeting. If approved, the rezoning will create the GSQ Regional Center Planned Area Development. Globe completed the new GEN-1 office building and parking garage in the Goodyear Civic Square at Estrella Falls master plan last year. The pending request seeks to rezone the new site’s prior Planned Area Development, which…

The Surprise Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended approval of a General Plan Amendment necessary for BNSF Railway’s plans for a hub facility on 3,500 acres near Wittman. The Commission voted 6-1 to recommend changing the site’s character from Neighborhood to Employment. The request will now advance to City Council, where it must pass by a two-thirds margin. If the amendment is approved, BSNF will be able to file for rezoning and annexation for the site near 219th Avenue and U.S. 60. BSNF plans to develop a regional rail facility that will feature warehousing and distribution as well as transfer…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX The Scottsdale City Council has authorized $10M in General Fund monies to cover cost overruns for the City’s planned Fire Department training facility. The project was originally approved as one of 58 in the 2019 $319M bond package. At the time, it was specified to include a 10KSF facility. That size was much smaller than the project’s actual need, and the planned space was expanded to 27KSF last year, and the conference room seating was expanded from 100 to 171, with another $5M added to the $18M originally estimated in 2018 to cover the changes.…