Author: BEX Staff

Avondale Parks & Recreation staff recently updated City Council on the design and budget status for the Avondale Aquatic Center on the Civic Center campus. CORE Construction has developed an initial cost estimate, and the schematic design process is 30% complete. As planned, the center will have a 10-lane competition swimming pool with two diving boards, and a recreation pool with a play structure, basketball hoops, volleyball space, a lazy river and three water slides. This fiscal year’s budget allocation for the project is $6M. Another $10M is planned in the next fiscal year. Total costs are projected at $25M,…

Developer IndiCap has requested a general plan amendment and rezoning for a 292-acre site on Power Road between Warner and Elliot to allow a two-phase 4MSF light industrial project on undeveloped land. According to comments attributed to attorney Adam Baugh at a recent neighborhood meeting to discuss the project, if the requests are approved, groundbreaking could take place in spring of next year. Market conditions will then determine the timing for Phase II. Baugh said the area’s proximity to two freeways and the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport has made it a long-envisioned employment corridor. The site is currently zoned for light…

Despite impassioned opposition from a small but vocal cadre of nearby residents, the Mesa Planning and Zoning Board last month voted to recommend City Council approve the 359-unit multifamily mixed-use project Ascend at Longbow Highpoint. Planning staff had previously recommended the project for approval by the Board. The 20-acre site near Longbow Golf Club is currently zoned for light industrial. Developer DHI Communities intends to build 359 residential units with additional commercial uses. In meetings between DHI Communities, opponents and a City-hired facilitator to discuss the project, stated concerns included: General opposition to multifamily housing, overflow parking in neighborhoods, noise…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Since the pandemic started wrecking already tenuous project timelines and the availability of labor and materials, experts and construction industry pundits have repeatedly warned contractors to buy and store all the materials they can get their hands on when they find it at reasonable prices and to, most importantly, start adding cost overrun and timeline factors into their contracts. Unfortunately, many contractors, particularly smaller subcontractors, do not have the storage space or upfront capital to buy materials in bulk. For other contractors, like landscapers, materials and supplies must be bought as close to the last…

Giving Back 1. The Arizona Humane Society’s Nina Mason Pulliam South Mountain Campus in Phoenix received a free solar system from the SRP Solar for Nonprofits program. Awards & Accolades 2. The Arizona Housing Coalition has named Tempe Mayor Corey Woods as its Advocate of the Year for Tempe’s efforts to improve affordable and workplace housing supplies. Promotions 3. Ballard Spahr LLP has named David Armstrong Managing Partner for the firm’s Phoenix office. 4. Buehler recently announced three promotions in its Phoenix office. Jeff Hallowell has been named Associate Principal. Bob Zuehl has been promoted to BIM Project Manager, and…

Sales Transactions 1. A partnership between Tides Equities LLC and CIM Group has purchased the 1,012-unit Del Mar Terrance on West Indian School Road in Phoenix for $255M. The seller was Heers Management Company. Trevor Koskovich, Bill Hahn, Jesse Hudson, and Ryan Boyle of Northmarq represented the buyer. 2. Colliers in Arizona, in conjunction with Colliers agents throughout the U.S., announced the $100M+ sale of a nationwide 16-property portfolio sold by a private investment fund. The grouping of assets included charter schools and three non-charter properties. The locations total more than 765KSF of building space and nearly 100 acres of…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX The Surprise City Council approved rezoning and annexation requests for a residential project plan on nearly 94 acres of Maricopa County land at the NEC of 163rd and Grand avenues, near Pinnacle Peak Road. The site sits northwest of Sun City West and the Loop 303. The property is divided into two sections. The larger lot, 69.44 acres, was rezoned from Rural Residential to Residential Low Density for 272 single-family lots. The second, 24.53-acre, lot was rezoned to Residential High Density and will be the site of an approximately 240-unit Build-to-Rent development. The final count…

A commercial project centered around a self-storage development and featuring retail and restaurant components on six lots at the SWC of Ellsworth and Pecos roads in Mesa has been recommended for preliminary plat approval by the Mesa Planning and Zoning Board. The Tech Center @ Ellsworth project, also known as the Klusman-Legacy-Pecos Master Development, sits on 10.58 acres. The preliminary plat request follows a previously approved site plan, and the planned build area is 111.9KSF. W Holdings is the owner, identified in City documents as NEC E&G LLC and Ellsworth 92 LLC. The project design firm is M3 Design LLC.…

San Luis officials recently appeared before the Arizona House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee to request $33M for a project that would expand Cesar Chavez Blvd. to four-lanes. Cesar Chavez is San Luis’ most heavily traveled roadway, joining the city’s east and west sides, as well as connecting to SR 195. San Luis has wanted to widen the road from two lanes to four for more than 10 years. The $33M sought by the City would fund Phase I of the widening efforts. The appropriations bill under consideration is HB 2651. (Source)

The Scottsdale Development Review Board unanimously recommended approval last month for Streetlights, a proposed 314-unit apartment development on 5.7 acres in the north part of the city. The proposal by Streetlights Residential to develop the 5.7-acre site is part of the One Scottsdale master plan centered around Scottsdale Road and the Loop 101 freeway. Streetlights will feature 13-studio, 182 one-bedroom, 108 two-bedroom and 11 three-bedroom units. The residential spaces will be in three-and four-story buildings, and a 5½-story parking garage is also planned. Streetlights is expected to start construction in June. Representatives of One Scottsdale master developer DMB Associates, Inc.…