Author: BEX Staff

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…

After spiking to 40-year highs across the first half of the year, inflation is finally starting to even out. Private sector and industry analysts, however, speculate this may have more to do with improvements in the global supply chain than the interest rate hikes imposed by the Federal Reserve. John Chang of Marcus & Millichap expects inflation to continue a slow retreat over the next several months and attributes his prediction largely to the fact the average time to ship goods from China is getting smaller. The Federal Reserve is limited as to tools available to counter inflationary pressures, relying…

Groundbreakings 1. According to information from Lee & Associates, eight different industrial projects have broken ground in the East Valley so far in the month of August. They are: Midway Commerce Center,Chandler Airpark 202,Chandler Airport Business Center,Hub@202,Met 202,Gateway Grand,Power Industrial, andAdvanced Industrial Center. 2. A.R. Mays Construction has begun work on Moderne Arrowhead. The 182-unit residential development is situated on approximately 9.40 acres at 67th Avenue and Greenway Road in Glendale. The residential units will be designed as two- and three-story structures and will be located in 12 separate buildings. 3. Merit Partners, along with First Industrial Realty Trust and Diamond Realty Investments,…

By City of Phoenix U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego joined a host of community members and elected officials at the Rio Salado Audubon Center to announce that the City of Phoenix is the recipient of a $25M Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant. City staff submitted an application for the grant earlier this year. Phoenix will use the discretionary federal funding to construct the long-proposed Rio Salado Bike and Pedestrian Bridge, that will cross the riverbed in alignment with 3rd Street and create connectivity between south Phoenix and the city’s downtown…

By City of Scottsdale Scottsdale Airport has received more than $5.4M in grants from the Federal Aviation Administration to improve the efficiency, safety and capacity at the airport. These grants will provide funding to construct an aircraft runup area, reconstruct a portion of the taxiway and taxiway connectors to current FAA safety standards, and rehabilitate a taxiway connector. The entire project will be funded by two grants: • $4,690,602 from Airport Improvement Grant funds • $763,000 from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) During Scottsdale Airport’s busy season there are spikes in business…

Now that staff has compiled a list of potential projects for possible inclusion in a planned 2023 general obligation bond request – the first in 16 years – Phoenix City Council is turning to appointed advisory groups to help it pare the possibilities down to a price tag of $500M, which is how much the City could request without risking an increase in property taxes. In addition to the staff suggestions, committees are also free to make their own recommendations, preferably focusing on one-time expenditures. Council is also requesting citizen input on the various proposals. There are currently eight subcommittees…