Author: BEX Staff

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX On Nov. 30, the Maricopa County Republican Committee filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court seeking to decertify passage of the Proposition 479 renewal of the Maricopa County half-cent transportation tax from the November election. The lawsuit names Arizona Secretary of State Aaron Fontes, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and State Treasurer John Allen as defendants. Maricopa County is requesting a dismissal of the complaint. Voters approved Prop 479 in the Nov. 5 election as a renewal to the previous Proposition 400 half-cent transportation tax that funded modern extensions to the Maricopa County…

Giving Back 1. A group of Brycon employees joined together recently to volunteer at St. Mary’s Food Bank. St. Mary’s provides food to families, children, seniors and various shelters/agencies in need, all at no cost. The Brycon team assisted with packaging and food distribution. Awards & Accolades 2. BOMA Greater Phoenix held its 2024 Fall Gala Member Awards Dinner at The Clayton House in Scottsdale. Members were honored in 10 categories. They were: Allied Partner of the Year (tie): Cynthia Aburto, Allstar Pro Painting, and Dave Little, K.M. Facility Services; Builder Engineer of the Year: Jeff Potts, Shorenstein Realty Services;…

Sales Transactions 1. St. Clair Holdings LLC sold The Bungalows on Estrella at 15545 W. Hudson Way in Goodyear for $56M. The 183-unit rental property was sold to M3 Multifamily. St. Clair Holdings originally purchased the property in 2021 for $73.2M. 2. Cushman & Wakefield announced the firm advised an entity controlled by Bank of America in the sale of 20 East Thomas Road, a 25-story office tower totaling 548.9KSF in Midtown Phoenix. The property, which happens to be the third largest office building in the state, sold for $23.7M to U-Haul International. U-Haul intends to occupy the majority of…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX DMCI Enterprises is proposing a mixed-use development on approximately 14 acres at the NEC of Camino de la Tierra and Valencia Road in the unincorporated Pima County community of Drexel Heights, approximately 2.5 miles west of Interstate 10. The Tierra Valencia project plan materials say the area has seen significant growth recently. The property is currently covered by two zoning designations. The four acres on the west nearest Camino de la Tierra is General Business, while the remainder is designated Transitional. The eastern section is separated from the western by a County-owned drainageway. Most of…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX The Flagstaff City Council has unanimously approved a rezoning necessary to allow development of Lake Mary Housing, a proposed 202-unit apartment and townhome community on 13.96 acres on South Lake Mary Road, approximately two miles south of Interstate 17. Atlantic Developments & Investments, Inc. requested the rezoning from estate residential to high density residential. Flagstaff’s estate residential zoning allows for large-lot homes and limited agricultural uses. Maximum allowed density under the proposed zoning would be 262 units. Both zoning designations carry with them a resource protection overlay. As part of the request, Atlantic submitted a…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX The Goodyear Planning and Zoning Commission is holding a first hearing this week to consider a major General Plan Amendment for 268 acres at the SWC of Citrus Road and Roosevelt Street. The request by Rankin Real Estate LLC would allow the 14 parcels making up the site “to develop with a mix of commercial, business park, and industrial uses. A rezoning application will be submitted in conjunction with the Major General Plan Amendment,” according to the submitted narrative. The site, which is being referred to as I-10 Citrus Gateway, is currently zoned as a…

By Associated Builders and Contractors Associated Builders and Contractors issued the following statement applauding the withdrawal of the U.S. Department of Labor’s rule overhauling regulations related to government-registered apprenticeship programs, or GRAPs. “ABC fully supports government-registered apprenticeship programs as a key component of the construction industry’s all-of-the-above solution to upskilling the more than half a million new workers needed in 2024 alone, but the DOL’s proposed apprenticeship overhaul was out of touch with the needs of employers and apprentices, and was a missed opportunity to modernize and expand the apprenticeship system,” said Ben Brubeck, ABC VP of regulatory, labor and…

By Associated Builders and Contractors The construction industry had 249,000 job openings on the last day of October, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting. Industry job openings decreased by 9,000 for the month and are down by 164,000 from the same time last year. “Construction industry job openings fell again in October and are down nearly 40% over the past year,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu.…

Awards & Accolades 1. The new Clark Park Community Center was recently honored with a Distinguished Architecture Award from the American Institute of Architects Arizona. The design and construction team consisted of: Haydon Building Corp., project construction; Wood Patel & Associates, Inc., civil engineering; Holly Street Studio, architect; Dig Studios, landscape architect; Aquatic Design, pool design, and Nicole Mueller, public art. Groundbreakings 2. The Arizona Department of Transportation will begin work in early December along Interstate 40 to construct a new interchange that will in turn connect with a new roadway serving the east Kingman area. The Rancho Santa Fe…

Northern Arizona University is considering the inclusion of approximately $350M in potential housing projects in its master plan for the Flagstaff campus. If approved, the additions could add as many as 1,200 beds to the campus. NAU previously stated it has more than 10,000 beds dedicated to student housing, 98% of which are reportedly occupied. The University has attempted to combat the housing shortage by returning beds removed for COVID-19 and increasing the count of triple bedrooms. NAU said the proposals under consideration are to fill the current bed deficit. The additional beds will provide upper-division undergraduate students who cannot…