Author: BEX Staff

The Tempe City Council will consider a measure this week to allocate $1.2M toward studying extending its streetcar transit service into Mesa. If approved, Mesa will spend $800K and the two will join with Valley Metro, which will actually perform the study. The plan under consideration would extend the Tempe Streetcar route along Dobson Road and Rio Salado Parkway. Mesa officials view the addition as a powerful economic development opportunity and say it meets a significant transit need on the west side of the city. The study and public outreach effort will look at the feasibility of the extension and…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX IDM Companies is planning a 121-unit Build-to-Rent development on 12.73 acres at the SWC of 51st Avenue and Elliot Road in the Laveen area of Phoenix. The plan for Curato Laveen features 42 one-bedroom duplex units and 79 two-bedroom units. A total of 225 parking spaces will be provided, although only 182 would be required under the zoning. Project representatives are requesting a rezoning from the current mix of suburban ranch, single-family and planned community to commercial neighborhood retail. The surrounding uses are all single-family residential or vacant land. Under the C-1 Neighborhood Retail zoning,…

The Surprise Planning and Zoning Commission has approved the site plan for another industrial project in the Surprise Pointe Planned Area Development. In this case, the project is a 414.5KSF building from Iconic Equities on 24.95 acres west of the SWC of Dysart Road and Sweetwater Avenue. Surprise approved the PAD in 2006 and a master plan for the overall Surprise Pointe area last November. With those approvals in place, Iconic Equities’ project will not require any further action from Council now that Planning and Zoning has approved the site plan, which calls for approximately 352.4KSF of warehouse space and…

By Town of Queen Creek The Town of Queen Creek has a variety of land available to develop—including utility-served industrial sites—and learning more about the sites just got easier. Queen Creek recently launched an interactive map with industrial property for sale and lease. The economic development tool helps site selectors, industrial developers and prospective businesses easily find sites that fit their needs and projected timelines. “Queen Creek is strategically located with land available for development,” stated Queen Creek Economic Development Director Doreen Cott. “With a growing community and highly educated workforce, Queen Creek is an excellent place for employers to…

By Associated Builders and Contractors National nonresidential construction spending increased by 0.3% in January, 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 $968.7B for the month. Spending was down on a monthly basis in seven of the 16 nonresidential subcategories. Private nonresidential spending was up 0.9%, while public nonresidential construction spending was down 0.6% in January. “Nonresidential construction spending inched higher to start the year and is just below the all-time high established in November,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “On a…

Groundbreakings 1. Findlay Motor Company in Bullhead City recently held a groundbreaking for a 17KSF expansion of its location on Laughlin View Drive. The warehouse facility will feature 12 service stalls, a second floor mezzanine, electric vehicle charging stations, a car wash, and 4.5KSF of parts storage.  Progress Reports 2. After officially breaking ground on the brand new 673KSF, 10-story Valleywise Health Medical Center on Feb. 26, 2020, the public teaching health system is proud to announce the countdown to the grand opening in October. Constructed by Kitchell, the building is 75% complete and on budget. The exteriors and infrastructure…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX Bluestem Partners will build a new 729KSF speculative industrial park on nearly 50 acres in Casa Grande. The Casa Grande Planning and Zoning Commission approved a major site plan for Bluestem Crossroads Industrial Park last November. According to the project description, “The project includes a new 728,974SF, Class-A cross-dock industrial facility on approximately 49-acres west of the intersection of W. Peters Road and S. Florence Boulevard in Casa Grande. The proposed building includes four drive-in doors, 68 dock doors with room for 52 future dock doors.” Bluestem has selected EPS Group, Inc. as the project…

The Mesa Design Review Board recently discussed the design and landscaping for a proposed 53.6KSF warehouse building in the Longbow Business Park. The multitenant building at Lot 7 will provide 43.5KSF of warehouse space and slightly more than 10KSF of office on approximately six acres east of Higley Road and north of McDowell. The planned use is permitted under the existing light industrial zoning with Planned Area Development overlay. The warehouse component is planned with four overhead doors at grade and two truck wells, each of which will have eight overhead door bays. No outdoor storage is planned. The office…

2023 will be a busy year for freeway-related projects in the Phoenix area as more than $1B in Arizona Department of Transportation freeway improvement plans either get underway or continue work already in progress on I-10, I-17, Loop 101 and U.S. 60. A brief snapshot of the projects follows, broken down by freeway. I-10 SR-85 to Verrado Way: Adding a third lane in each direction and rebuilding the interchanges at Miller Road and Watson Road. Completion is expected this summer. I-10 Broadway Curve Improvements: 11 miles of improvements between Loop 202 and I-17, including widening lanes in both directions, reconstructing…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX –BEXclusive As large development areas become more scarce in the Great Phoenix area, the far West Valley continues to grow in appeal for companies looking to build new multifaceted projects. Tait Development is proposing the I-10 Innovation Center II on 30 acres southwest of the SWC of I-10 and 91st Avenue in Tolleson. Through its entity Tolleson 70, LLC, the company has submitted a Planned Area Development rezoning request to the City of Tolleson. The site is currently zoned for agricultural use. Ten acres of the site have I-10 frontage and the other 20 front…