Author: BEX Staff

By Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is home to the first City of Phoenix project to benefit from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed late last year by Congress, starting with construction of a long-awaited cross-field taxiway connecting the north and south airfields. The taxiway project was approved April 20th by the Phoenix City Council. The 2,000-foot taxiway will join the north and south airfields on the west end of the airport, allowing for better aircraft flow for airfield operations. Design has begun on the project and Federal environmental approvals are expected late this summer. Approximately…

The latest Dodge Construction Network report shows total construction starts fell 12% in March, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $903.8B. Nonresidential starts fell 29%, caused primarily by three major manufacturing facilities breaking ground in February. Nonresidential starts would have increased by 10% had those projects been removed. So far for 2022, construction is 9% higher than for the first three months of 2021. Nonresidential starts are up 26%. Total construction year-over-year is up 15%, and nonresidential is up 25%. Nonbuilding starts had the smallest March decline, dropping 2%. Environmental public works were up 35%, and miscellaneous nonbuilding was…

Plans for the redevelopment of Metrocenter Mall in Phoenix are expanding, and the new price tag could approach $1B. The City of Phoenix is working on an agreement with Concord Willshire Capital LLC. The company announced a redevelopment plan in December, in association with TLG Investment Partners and Hines. The initial plan included 2,600 multifamily units and 100KSF of retail and service space that included boutiques, restaurants and bars, a park and other outlets. That plan had an estimated cost of $750M. Concord Willshire is currently working to acquire 80 acres across five parcels at the site. A new City…

An alliance of environmental activist groups including the Center for Biological Diversity, Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection, the Friends of Ironwood Forest and the Tucson Audubon Society have filed a federal lawsuit in Tucson looking to halt development of Interstate 11 between Nogales and Wickenburg. They allege the Federal Highway Administration did not consider harm to the desert, wildlife and air quality when it approved the road’s route around the west side of Tucson. They claim those effects would be less severe if the highway were co-located with I-10 and I-19. Even though interstates are, by definition, highways, the complaint…

The City of Phoenix will purchase the former Kmart site at I-17 and Northern Avenue and lease an adjacent building to create a workforce and education center. The site had previously been considered for a food distribution center. Since the store closed there had been multiple considerations for its use, including commercial, industrial and multifamily developments. It is one of the few remaining locations available for redevelopment on the I-17 corridor. Work to redevelop the site and its educational uses will continue as part of a joint effort with Arizona State University, the Maricopa Community College District and West-MEC, which…

Sales Transactions 1. Harrison Street Real Estate has sold a 27-property healthcare real estate portfolio of 1.2MSF in 10 states, including Arizona, to Northwest Healthcare Properties for $600M. The Arizona component consisted of six properties in the Tucson area totaling $58.49M. the properties and prices were: Micro-hospital, 7475 S. Wilmot Rd., $20.22M;Micro-hospital, 5620 W. Cortaro Farms Rd., $20.44M;Medical Office Building, 4892 N. Stone Ave. $7.13M;MOB, 551 W. Magee Rd., $3.45M;MOB, 1055 La Canada Dr., $3.88MMOB, 1704 W. Anklam Rd., $3.37M Harrison street was represented by JLL. 2. CrackerJax Land Company, LLC has acquired the approximately 27-acre site located at 16001…

The auction of a 650-acre Arizona State Trust Land site, the planned location for the proposed LG Energy Solution battery plant in Queen Creek, went off as expected this week. The international energy and electronics giant was the sole bidder, paying the minimum of $84.44M for the site at the NEC of Ironwood and Germann Roads. Last month, AZBEX was the first outlet to report on plans for the estimated $2.8B, 1MSF project, which includes development and intergovernmental agreements between LG Energy Solutions Ltd., Pinal County and the Town of Queen Creek. (AZBEX; March 18th). The project has since been…

By ViaWest Group ViaWest Group, in a joint venture with American Opportunity Zone Advisors LLC, has acquired an 8.8-acre land parcel in Goodyear. This unimproved land site is situated immediately south of their Goodyear Crossing Industrial Park project and marks the fourth Opportunity Zone deal for ViaWest Group. Goodyear currently ranks as one of the top 10 fastest growing cities in the US and additionally as Arizona’s second fastest growing city. This site is located 3.2 miles south of a full-diamond interchange on Interstate 10, and within a mile of the future Loop 303 southern extension from I-10. This position…

By Banner Health Banner Health is planning construction for a new, comprehensive medical center in the Southwest Valley of metro Phoenix. Banner Health is the leading health care provider across metro Phoenix, recognized for building new hospitals and ambulatory care sites to meet patient needs as communities grow. Most recently, the non-profit health care system opened Banner Ocotillo Medical Center in Chandler in November 2020, which was Banner’s 13th hospital in the metro Phoenix market. The newest hospital is slated to open in Buckeye in 2024. The four-story, 330KSF hospital will be located on the NWC of Verrado Way and the I-10…

The latest Producer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows residential constructions materials prices (not including energy) increased 1.4% in March, yielding an 8% increase since the beginning of the year. Building materials prices are up 20.4% year-over-year and 33% since March 2020. Services prices are 39% higher since the start of the pandemic. Key findings include: Softwood lumber up 6% in March, up 90.4% since September 2021;Gypsum products up 1.6% in March, 9% since January 2021;Steel products down 4.9% in March, but more than double their pre-pandemic prices. (Source)