Author: BEX Staff

By Associated Builders and Contractors National nonresidential construction spending grew 0.9% in November, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $930.1B for the month. Spending was up on a monthly basis in nine of the 16 nonresidential subcategories. Private nonresidential spending was up 1.7%, while public nonresidential construction spending was down 0.1% in November. “The average nonresidential contractor starts 2023 with considerable backlog,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Not coincidentally, contractors also have significant confidence regarding current year prospects, according to…

Giving Back 1. Brycon was able to spread the Holiday cheer amongst 14 different families within the Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation. This was made possible through Brycon employee donations as well as subcontractor Stith Electric. With these generous donations, Brycon was able to raise more than $8K, which went to the PCH families for Holiday gifts and essential home items. Awards & Accolades 2. Brycon received the ‘Chandler 100’ Award from the Chandler Chamber of Commerce. Moving up six spaces from last year, Brycon was ranked at Number 25 on a list composed of 100 great Chandler-based companies. 3. Trend…

Sales Transactions 1. Investors Capital Group has paid $86M for Desert Mirage, a 258-unit apartment complex on Guadalupe Road in Gilbert. The seller, New York Life Insurance, bought the property in 2014 for $32.8M. 2. Northmarq’s Phoenix Investment Sales team of Trevor Koskovich, Jesse Hudson, Ryan Boyle and Logan Baca brokered the $53M sale of a 144-unit Build-to-Rent community at 250 N. Ellsworth Road in Mesa. Northmarq represented seller Taylor Morrison. The buyer was Ellsworth Housing Partners, LLC. The new owner plans to rebrand the property as The Logan at Ellsworth. 3. Vestar DRM-OPCO LLC (Vestar) was the sole bidder…

A pre-application request from Emmerson Holdings, LLC looks to develop 238 acres in the 487-acre Cortona master-planned community with a diverse assortment of housing options. Cortona Phase II – located at the NEC of Hartman and Steen roads – would feature a mix of traditional single-family owner-occupied houses, Build-to-Rent, garden-style apartments, motel-style “auto-court” units and alley-loaded homes with small side and backyards. Cortona was originally planned for all single-family homes, but the developer has modified the plan to provide a diversity of housing types and styles. Along with the residential units, the plan features a 10-acre commercial site and a…

The Coolidge City Council has approved a Public Roadway Construction and Participation Agreement with Pinal County for roadway improvements near the future site of Procter & Gamble’s plant in the Inland Port Arizona master site. Coolidge will now be responsible for a minimum of $7M in improvements around the planned site. Under the incentive agreement with P&G, the City will complete four miles of roadway and railroad crossing improvements. Pinal County has pledged at least $2M toward the project. Planned components include adding two lanes on Vail Road between Hanna and Shedd roads, on Arica Road between SR 87 and…

A new City-commissioned report from Matrix Design Group shows Tempe’s efforts to improve affordable housing stocks have not been able to keep up with surging prices. Tempe’s occupied rental market has a smaller percentage of affordable units than any similarly sized college town in the study. The study concludes that Tempe will have to more than double the number of lower-income units to address what it calls a “severe deficit.” Those towns have at least 80% of their apartments renting at affordable rates for people earning less than $63K. Tempe’s share is just 26%, and the city’s 93% residential occupancy…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX City staff has recommended the Phoenix Planning Commission approve a rezoning request for a 249-unit multifamily development on 4.79 acres near the NEC of 7th Avenue and Camelback. Owner Larkspur Lane Investment Properties, LLC (Magnolia Property Co.) has requested rezoning to “WU Code T5:5 UT (Walkable Urban Code, Transect 5:5, Transit Uptown Character Area)” from the current site zoning of “C-2 TOD-1 (Intermediate Commercial, Interim Transit-Oriented Zoning Overlay District One),” according to the staff report. Given the proximity of the proposed Magnolia 7th and Camelback community to light rail and the Uptown neighborhood as a…

Developer Keeley Properties is proposing a residential development with 135 townhomes and 668 apartments in five buildings, along with general commercial space on nearly 28 acres at the SEC of Neely Street and the Union Pacific Railroad in Gilbert. The site is currently homed to Foxworth-Galbraith Lumber, which is planning to sell the site and relocate its operation. Project representative Adam Baugh of Withey Morris, PLC introduced the project at a Dec. 14 neighborhood meeting, primarily attended by residents of the Neely Ranch community. Keeley is seeking a General Plan amendment and rezoning of the site from general industrial to…

The recently passed $1.7B bill to fund the federal government through Sept. 30, 2023 includes $85M for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s “Yes in My Back Yard” incentive program to help communities eliminate exclusionary housing policies – including density restrictions, restrictive parking requirements and zoning restrictions and other complications – that can impede new housing development. The YIMBY program was advocated by the National Apartment Association and the National Multifamily Housing Council. The grant program is intended to fund local community efforts to update zoning codes and foster community engagement in support of new development. That national funding…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 4.1% in November, up from 3.9% in October, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. The national rate was unchanged at 3.7%. In Nov. 2021, the state had a seasonally adjusted rate of 3.9%, and the national rate was 4.2%. The state had a net gain of 32,300 non-farm jobs over the month. “Prior to the pandemic, NSA nonfarm employment averaged a gain of 28,800 jobs in November (2010-2019),” the report states. Government gained 6,100, which is far greater than the pre-pandemic…