Author: BEX Staff

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX An outdated and poorly performing Embassy Suites hotel on 3.79 acres on East Thomas Road between 24th Street and the Grand Canal could soon become a 200-unit multifamily complex under a planned unit development request submitted to the Phoenix Planning Department last week. Commercial uses lie to the north, east and west of the 2333 Thomas property, according to the submittal. The Arizona Grand Canal sits to the south, and there is a single-family residential neighborhood beyond that. One of the two parcels making up the property is the hotel, which will be converted, while…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX Custom air handling system manufacturer XNRGY Climate Systems plans to build its manufacturing facility and U.S. headquarters in Mesa, according to media reports. The company announced it had selected the Greater Phoenix area in a press release in January. News reports at the time identified Mesa or Chandler as the potential locations. In the January announcement, the company said it was planning to build a 1MSF manufacturing facility. That target has apparently been revised. XNRGY and project architect Gensler submitted pre-submittal review documents to the City of Mesa this summer. The documents show plans for…

Giving Back 1. Hardhat in Hand – a paid eight-week recruiting program focused on bringing people into the construction trades and providing them with basic knowledge of work in the field – is coming to Meta’s Mesa Data Center through a partnership between Meta and DPR Construction. Other partners include the Maricopa County Community College District and Chicanos Por La Causa. The program begins Sept. 12, and applications will be accepted through Aug. 24. More information is available by emailing MesaHardhatInHand@dpr.com. Boards & Commissions 2. The Valley Metro Rail Board has elected Tempe Vice Mayor Jennifer Adams as Chair for the upcoming…

Sales Transactions 1. The California State Teachers’ Retirement System has purchased a 1.2MSF warehouse facility at 8560 E. Elliot Road in Mesa for $187M. The property is under lease to Amazon through April 2032. The sellers were Carlyle Group and Marwest Enterprises. 2. Newmark announced it has arranged the sale and financing of Villas at Mountain Vista Ranch, a 256-unit, value-add multifamily community in Surprise. Newmark’s Brad Goff, Brett Polachek and Chris Canter represented the seller, Avanti Residential, in the $85M sale to an undisclosed buyer. 3. JLL Capital Markets’ Ben Geelan and Will Mast procured buyer Federal Realty Investment…

By The Arizona Department of Transportation The Arizona Department of Transportation has submitted an application for a federal bridge grant that, if awarded, would allocate nearly $73M toward the construction of the planned West Kingman Traffic Interchange that will provide a connection between US 93 and Interstate 40. If the grant is awarded, those funds would be added to state-matching funds and other federal funds to cover the estimated $160.7M cost of construction. The grant is funded under the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bridge Investment Program and would cover the bridge improvement portion of the new interchange. The West Kingman…

Lucid Group Inc., Pinal County and the City of Casa Grande recently finalized development and lease agreements for an additional 1,400 acres that will expand Lucid’s site and enable development of Phase III of its production facilities. The added acres will bring the Lucid site to approximately 2,000 acres in total, with the expansion allowing Lucid to hire more 6,000 employees at full buildout. For approximately $113.5M, Pinal County purchased the 1,400 total acres of land from 14 different property owners for the lease agreement. Both the County and Casa Grande approved the development, lease and purchase agreements at public…

By JLL Capital Markets JLL Capital Markets announced it has been engaged by the City of Litchfield Park to market for sale a 7.03-acre, fee-simple development site in the heart of Litchfield Park. Zoned for mixed-use and comprising seven lots within Litchfield Square, the property is positioned at the NEC of Litchfield Road and Wigwam Boulevard adjacent to Litchfield Park City Hall. The site is surrounded by residential neighborhoods, luxury golf resorts, and locally owned shops and restaurants. The site is proximate to regional parks and recreation areas. Additionally, the City has invested substantially into infrastructure for area streets and…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX The booming development area near I-17 between Loop 101 and Carefree Highway has added another prospective project to its multifamily mix. Developer Shelter Asset Management has submitted a Planned Unit Development application to the City of Phoenix to enable construction of a 226-unit townhome and apartment community it is calling Home at Happy Valley. The project is planned on 7.7 gross acres near the NEC of 17th Avenue and Happy Valley Road. The property consists of three parcels, but they will be developed as a single site once construction begins. The planned unit mix, according…

Mesa staff presented plans for the new City Council chambers in the Mesa City Plaza to the Mesa Design Review Board for a first review on Aug. 9. The current annex building on the site at Center and Main streets will be demolished as part of the project. Demolition is expected to commence in January. The design and materials for the new two-story terracotta, glass and steel building are intended to convey consistency with both recently constructed and existing buildings in downtown Mesa. The prominent use of glass and multiple angles of visibility are intended to provide a sense of…

During a recent presentation to Prescott City Council about the City’s planned $60M Water Production and Intermediate Pump Station project, Councilmembers, Public Works staff and the City Attorney paused to review whether or not the project should have triggered a public vote before it got underway. The project covers improvements to the city’s water facility in Chino Valley ($19M) and a new intermediate pump station near Deep Well Ranch ($41M). Under a voter proposition approved in 2009, projects valued at $40M or more must go before the public for a vote. That threshold has been increased to $51M due to…