Author: BEX Staff

Now that Glendale and the Arizona Coyotes have parted ways as far as the team’s ongoing tenancy at Gila River Arena is concerned, the City’s plan moving forward is to renovate the facility to make it more attractive for other events, such as concerts and other live performances. Glendale has hired HOK to create a preliminary design. City Manager Kevin Phelps told the Arizona Republic initial designs could go to City Council as early as next month. He estimates the renovation could cost in the $40M-$50M range. Glendale still owes $129M from the arena’s original development. A financial plan for…

The Mesa Design Review Board recently heard details on plans for Building C at The Cubes at Mesa Gateway. Building C will make up 1.2MSF on nearly 86 acres of the planned 4MSF total development on nearly 268 acres near Pecos Road and the Crismon Road alignment. According to the project narrative, the project includes a gateway, truck staging lanes, a refueling station and parking for more than 300 personal vehicles and 775 trailers. The planned building height is 47 feet. (Source)

On a 7-0 vote, Gilbert Town Council has approved a plan to take portions of 46 parcels on Ocotillo Road, Val Vista Drive, Pickett Court, Greenfield Road, 154th and 156th streets for a 1.5-mile road improvement project. Only nine of the properties are within Gilbert. The other 37 lie on Maricopa County islands. The Council approved an agreement with the County to condemn the property on Gilbert’s behalf if property owners refuse to sell. Gilbert will annex the County properties once the project is finished. Gilbert has budgeted $2.95M for land purchases under the plans. The project will upgrade 1.5…

By Associated Builders and Contractors Construction input prices rose 0.6% in December compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data. Nonresidential construction input prices also rose 0.6% for the month. Input prices for all three energy subcategories decreased for the month. Crude petroleum was down 16.4% in December, while unprocessed energy materials and natural gas were down 13.1% and 12.0%, respectively. Prices in all three energy subcategories, however, are still up significantly on a year-over-year basis. Overall construction input prices are up 22.3% from a…

When the price of lumber got too out of hand and crested at more than $1,515/thousand board feet, buyers who could afford to wait stopped buying, sawmills increased production to meet pent-up demand and prices fell to $389 by August. The relief was short-lived, however, as prices are now back to $1,111, a 186% increase over August. This time around, the cause is not poor logistics planning and demand estimations thrown off by the pandemic. Wildfires in the northwestern U.S. and British Columbia forced production to scale back, and mudslides, flooding and record rains have slowed shipments through the Port…

Boards & Commissions 1. Arizona Speaker Russell “Rusty” Bowers has appointed Port of Tucson CEO Mike Levin to the Rio Nuevo Board. Levin’s term began this month. In other Rio Nuevo news, Mark Irvin has resigned from the Board after 12 years. 2. The Greater Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce has named a new Chair and Board Members. Brian Gardanier, Arizona Public Service Co., is the new chair, replacing Ole Solberg, Solberg Engineering. Board leaders are: First Vice Chair Brian Kellar, Banner Casa Grande Medical Center; Second Vice Chair Matt Herman, Norris RV, and Treasurer Daniel Tartakovsky, The Promenade at…

Sales Transactions 1. Cortland Growth and Income OP, LP purchased a $245M, 754-unit portfolio from Tucson Rental Homes in a sale that closed on December 29th. The larger properties included: Tucson National Casitas, 119 units, $38M; Tanque Verde Casitas, 105 units, $34M; Richland Heights Homes, 38 units, $12M. Sabino Canyon Homes, 44 units, $14M; Tucson Apartments on Tanque Verde Creek, 96 units, $32M; Cortaro Casitas, 135 units, $44M, and La Mariposa Casitas, 142 units, $46M. With the exception of Tucson Apartments on Tanque Verde Creek, all properties consist of stand-alone casita units. Art and Clint Wadlund with Berkadia Tucson represented…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Developers have added two new proposals to Avondale’s rapidly growing list of private projects in development. Since DATABEX launched in 2016, 50 private project requests of more than $5M have been submitted in the city that was once a sleepy farming and bedroom suburb. Of those, only three have been canceled and only three more are currently listed as on hold. The new additions add an estimated $93M and 715KSF to a six-year project pool of almost $2B and more than 10.5MSF. Fairway Commerce Center LaPour Partners is requesting a general plan amendment and rezoning…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Jet Aviation is planning a new hangar and aircraft vehicle storage facility on 3.26 acres across two adjacent parcels in Scottsdale. The planned development parcels are located at 7819 E. Greenway Road (35KSF) and 14901 N. Airport Drive (107.3KSF). The Airport Drive parcel is owned by Scottsdale Airport and leased to the company. The plans consist of a 29.4KSF aircraft hangar, 4.2KSF of support space and a 9.5KSF terminal “for transient and based aircraft,” according to a project overview video prepared by Scottsdale planning staff. The Greenway Road portion of the project will serve as…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Even though economic development officials can (and should) continue to tout the fact that the cost of living in Arizona is significantly less expensive than it is in California as they try to recruit firms to relocate, it’s safe to say Arizona’s long-vaunted affordability is dead as a street-level issue. According to a January 12th article in GlobeSt.com citing data from Apartment List, four Valley cities ranked in the Top 10 for 2021 U.S. rent growth. 2021 ranks as the highest year for rent growth since Apartment List started keeping track in 2017. In a…