Author: BEX Staff

Casa Grande officials are considering a $115M bond request to fund infrastructure improvements in the city. Potential projects include $41M in road improvements, new trail development, a City Hall expansion, renovations and upgrades to three fire stations, multiple parks and recreation projects, improvements to the Ed Hooper Park/Paul Mason Sports Complex and to the Aquatic Center. City Council members unanimously expressed support for the plan in a recent study session. A resident survey of park priorities is currently in development. If the plan advances, it would be put out for a vote in this year’s general election. (Source)

Economists presenting at the recent 2022 International Builder’s Show in Orlando predicted the compressed housing inventory and high buyer demand, combined with supply chain shortcomings and the ongoing labor shortage will maintain the hot pace of the housing market and its associated impacts on affordability. National Association of Home Builders Chief Economist Robert Dietz reported materials costs have increased 21% Year-over-Year. NAHB has estimated residential construction will have to add 740,000 workers/year to keep pace with demand. Another challenge confronting affordability is the combination of rising inflation and the impending commencement of rate increases from the Federal Reserve to contain…

Groundbreakings 1. City of Phoenix will begin installation of the Drought Pipeline under Glendale Avenue at 21st Street on February 14th as part of the $300M Drought Resiliency Infrastructure Program. The work is expected to take six to eight weeks. Construction for the project continues on Bell Road from 31st to 32nd Street. Additional pipeline work is ongoing along 32nd Street. 2. CapRock Partners has begun construction on the 2.56MSF first phase of its 2.56MSF CapRock West 202 Logistics spec industrial park near 59th Avenue and Van Buren. Completion is expected early next year. 3. Isola Communities has started construction…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX A new bipartisan piece of legislation proposed by Republican State Representative Steve Kaiser and Democratic State Representative César Chávez would, among other items, preempt municipalities from using zoning regulations to restrict residential development and enact ‘zoning by right’ to simplify and accelerate the process for both traditional single-family and multifamily developments around the state. Bureaucratic opposition or inertia is regularly cited as one of three key factors hindering the construction and development industry’s ability to generate supply at a pace that can address demand, the other two being the ongoing labor shortage and construction materials…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX HB 2674 – the bipartisan legislation proposed by Republican Arizona State Representative Steve Kaiser and co-sponsor Democratic State Representative César Chávez to preempt “local laws, ordinances and charter provisions” that limit residential development – has generated increasing levels of controversy among local officials, development opposition groups, housing advocates and other stakeholders dealing with the quagmire minutia of guiding proposed projects through the approval process. Excellent high-level overviews of the bill are available at The Arizona Republic and AZ Big Media. The full text of the legislation is available here. In this piece, we will provide…

Arizona Land Consulting LLC will manage development of a planned industrial center on nearly 2,000 acres in Buckeye west of the municipal airport and south of I-10. The site was once intended as a master-planned community that would have been known as Cipriani. The community was first proposed in 2008. ALC and its investment partners bought the land from Cipriani Land Holdings for nearly $40M earlier this month. Buckeye Municipal Airport is one of four primary industrial areas in the rapidly growing city. ALC officials plan to rezone the Cipriani land for industrial development, after which infrastructure plans must be…

A bill sponsored by State Representative David Cook of Globe that will appropriate $15M to fund an extension of SR 24 and develop a connector that extends from SR 24 along the Central Arizona Project canal alignment has won unanimous approval from the House Transportation Committee. The money, which equals roughly half the estimated project cost, will be taken from the General Fund next year and issued to the Arizona Department of Transportation for distribution to Pinal County. The County will acquire the right of way for the SR 24 extension and develop the connector route. (Source)

The Mesa Board of Adjustment approved a development incentive permit for an industrial project planned near Baseline Road and Horne. The proposed warehouse and office development from AZ Baseline Industrial LP combines three parcels into one to create a 3.67-acre infill lot, according to documents submitted to the City. The developer requested an increase in building height from 40 to 42 feet, permission for truck docks to face the street, and reductions in the landscaping requirements, among others. (Source)

By Sterling Real Estate Partners Sterling Real Estate Partners recently acquired Suites on Scottsdale in an off-market transaction with plans to convert the hotel into market rate apartments. Originally built in 1996, the 114-room extended stay hotel will be transformed into a luxury, 85-unit apartment community. The property is located on the corner of Scottsdale Road and Mountain View Road, just south of Shea Boulevard. This acquisition marks Sterling’s second adaptive reuse project. This is Sterling’s fifth acquisition in the last six months, totaling more than $60M. Sterling had the property under contract since December of 2020 while it processed…

Single-family homes and traditional apartments are not the only residential sectors being hit by a lack of supply. Senior-focused homes are also feeling the pinch. Maricopa County data showed only 505 homes available last month in retirement communities. Real estate professionals in Peoria have called the city’s supply “infinitesimal,” with only 33 homes of any type listed as “active” or “coming soon.” Six of those were manufactured homes. Demographic shifts in birth and death rates could eventually make retirement home supplies more plentiful, but that process will take years. Builders and planning officials have long worried about the risk of…