Author: BEX Staff

Phoenix and federal officials announced this week that a major taxiway project at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport will receive $194M in federal funds over the next five years. The 2,000-foot Crossfield Taxiway U project will connect the north and south airfields on the airport’s west side, improving capacity and operational flow. The federal funding comes via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Sky Harbor will cover the difference between the $194M award and the total $260M estimated project cost using funds from airport revenue and passenger facility charges. Last year, the federal government awarded a separate grant of $5.3M…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Credit: Christopher Cherrington/Salt Lake Tribune Much has been written in the last several months on Arizona’s reduced allocations of Colorado River water, the ongoing Millennium Drought and the future of growth and prosperity in the state. Unfortunately, much of what has been written has been incomplete, hyperbolic or badly reported. Rather than nitpicking the ins and outs, we decided to take a broader and more expansive overview in hopes of setting the record a little more straight and providing our readers a more encompassing looking into the state of water supply and development in Arizona…

Industrial and manufacturing projects continue to march steadily forward in Casa Grande, with two new projects coming before the Planning and Zoning Commission this week and another looking to continue its progress. In the first of the new projects, Opus Development Company LLC (The Opus Group) is planning a new speculative light industrial project on 22 acres at the Confluence Industrial Park near Sunland Gin Road and Jimmie Kerr Blvd. Plans call for two buildings of 153KSF and 173KSF, both of which will have heights of 32 feet. The buildings will share an interior truck court, and a rail spur…

By Associated Builders and Contractors The construction industry had 407,000 job openings in August, 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 increased by 54,000 last month and are up by 45,000 from the same time last year. Construction workers quit their jobs at a faster rate than they were laid off or discharged for the 18th consecutive month in August. “Today’s job openings estimate is…

Wages in some CRE sectors are declining, and the mixed signals are causing some confusion. Some analysts believe the construction labor market is hitting an inflection point and starting to soften due to inflation and the ongoing fear of recession. Residential construction wages fell $0.28 from June to July. Nonresidential wages were flat and specialty trades wages increased $0.14. Residential construction wages are up 3.4% year-over-year, but annual growth has been higher than usual throughout the pandemic. Growth rates averaged 6%-7% in 2021. Experts say rising interest rates make it harder for developers and owners to make deals pencil out,…

Groundbreakings 1. Wood Partners held a formal groundbreaking ceremony to mark construction on the 360-unit luxury apartment project Alta Avondale. Opening is targeted for early 2024. 2. Construction is scheduled to begin next month on the 128-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott in Avondale. Trez Capital announced the closing of an $18.75M construction financing loan for Virtua Partners. Quyp Hospitality LLC – an affiliate of Virtua Partners – will develop the hotel, part of a 58-acre mixed-use development. 3. Construction is underway for projects around the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. Work started last month on the Cove on…

Northern Arizona Healthcare’s plans for the new Flagstaff Medical Campus will go before the Planning and Zoning Commission for a work session Oct. 26. NAH’s updated plan was presented to Flagstaff City Council by planning staff and project representatives at a retreat last week, and P&Z will hold two hearings in November before bringing the plans to City Council for two hearings in December. NAH has also planned a neighborhood meeting for Oct. 10. NAH hopes to open the hospital and ambulatory care center in 2027. The City will have to make four minor amendments to the regional plan for…

While construction cost increases have impacted projects on a nationwide scale, water-related projects in the City of Mesa have been hit particularly hard. A forecast last year projected the Central Mesa Reuse Pipeline would cost $72M. An update presented to the Mesa City Council at a recent study session now puts the cost at $183M. The project is especially important to the City’s water use plans, as it will offset the city’s losses from recent cuts in its Colorado River supply allotment once it becomes operational. A planned expansion of the Signal Butte Water Treatment Plant has increased in cost…

By Associated Builders and Contractors According to a September 2022 survey of Associated Builders and Contractors contractor members, 98% oppose President Biden’s proposed rule mandating project labor agreements on federal construction projects of $35M or more. PLA schemes exclude almost nine out of 10 workers from participating in these contracts. “The overwhelming opposition to PLA mandates demonstrates that fair and open competition on federal and federally assisted infrastructure projects is a win-win for taxpayers and the U.S. economy because it ensures all Americans and qualified companies are welcome to fairly compete to rebuild America’s infrastructure,” said ABC VP of Regulatory,…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX The Casa Grande Planning and Zoning Commission will consider two proposals this week that – if approved and built as planned – will add 469 Build-to-Rent units to the city’s housing inventory. Including these two projects – but omitting one master plan that has not established unit counts yet – the DATABEX project database shows a total of nine developments and up to 2,542 Build-to-Rent projects in various stages of planning and development in Casa Grande. Three of those projects: Hancock Cottonwood, The Bungalows on Florence and The Bungalows at Cottonwood and Trekell are under…