Author: BEX Staff

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX The Higher Education session of the BEX Leading Market Series is always one of the year’s best attended, and 2025 proved no exception. The audience for the Dec. 16 event was treated to a panel moderated by Cassie Saba, Arizona Higher Education Construction Core Market Lead at event sponsor DPR Construction, and comprised of: Diane Jacobs, Founder of Holly Street Studio; Stephen Schierenberg, Director – Office of University Architect at Arizona State University, and Joshua Wright, Chief Facilities Planning Officer at University of Arizona. Panelists, Projects and Planning One of the unusual features of the…

The Yuma Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended approval for a requested rezoning to allow a new residential development on 2.8 acres at 1980 W. Colorado Street. T3AZ LLC’s plan will demolish a manufactured home park and construct 53 single- and multifamily units. Dylan Freeman of Precision Structural Concrete and Freeman Development represented the project before the commission. The Yuma City Council approved a General Plan amendment in October, changing the land use designation from low-density residential to high-density residential. The rezoning conforms with the recently approved change. City staff told commissioners the current site plan calls for 53 units,…

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has approved changes to the County’s zoning regulations as part of an effort to modernize its land use approach. Included in the major update are data center definitions officials say will help clarify where the project type is allowed. AZBEX has reported extensively on data center regulation changes in cities and counties around the state. Our coverage is available here. Under Maricopa County’s updates, data centers will be permitted in either IND-2 (general industrial) and IND-3 (heavy industrial) areas. Land not already zoned for data centers will have to go through rezoning on a…

By Associated Builders and Contractors The construction industry added 28,000 jobs on net in November, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has expanded by 58,000 jobs, an increase of 0.7%. Nonresidential construction employment increased by 28,800 positions, with gains in all three subcategories. Nonresidential specialty trade added 18,700 jobs, while nonresidential building and heavy and civil engineering added 5,100 and 5,000 jobs, respectively. The construction unemployment rate was 4.1% in November. Unemployment across all industries rose to 4.6% and is 0.4 percentage…

Awards & Accolades 1. Main 45, a 45-unit, townhome-style development by Elliot Barkan Development, has received the Best Site Plan award from Mesa Development Services. The project is located on 3.5 acres at the SWC of Sossaman Road and Main Street. Project team members included Rose Law Group, Presence Design, Land Development Group Civil Engineering and Adamson Landscape Architects. The project was recognized as part of the City of Mesa’s 2025 Development Advisory Forum Awards. Groundbreakings 2. Macerich has announced a redevelopment initiative at Chandler Fashion Center, focused on the south side of the property near Harkins Theatres. The project…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Project representatives and local officials have been in discussions over a proposed $12.5B data center in Mohave County for nearly a year-and-a-half, and the appropriate land use, zoning, water and power plans are in place for the project to continue to move forward. The project may face new challenges, however. Mohave County recently approved a requirement that data centers secure a Special Use Permit to develop in areas zoned for airport uses or light, general or heavy manufacturing, which could add another wrinkle to the proposal. Combined with that, some members of the Board of…

The Phoenix City Council Economic Development and the Arts Subcommittee expressed a desire to move forward with an expansion of the Phoenix Convention Center during its Dec. 10 meeting. Vice Mayor Ann O’Brien recommended staff discuss the expansion further in March. The March discussion will include a presentation outlining the next steps. The expansion may feature an additional hotel adjacent to the Convention Center. Discussions to increase the capacity of the Convention Center are a result of the Center experiencing record attendance. Subcommittee members also discussed the growth of competing convention centers in different markets. Several competitors are currently working…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Resuming a pattern of losses that was briefly interrupted in August, the Arizona Construction sector lost 1,800 jobs in September, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 4.2%. The national unemployment rate rose to 4.4%, up from 4.3% in August. In September 2024, Arizona had a seasonally adjusted rate of 3.8%. The national rate was 4.1%. Arizona had a not-seasonally adjusted increase of 24,200 nonfarm employment jobs month-over-month. “Prior to the pandemic (2010-2019), private sector employment averaged a gain of 28,800…

Giving Back 1. Chicanos Por La Causa’s workforce solutions program has graduated its first class. The YouthBuild Phoenix program provides at-risk youth aged 17-24 with the opportunity to earn their high school diploma or GED, receive job training, and gain valuable work experience—all at no cost. The program focuses on improving workforce development opportunities for young people, helping participants build leadership skills, engage in community service and develop career pathways that lead to long-term success in the labor market. The program focuses on construction and other hands-on skills training while participants work on building affordable housing in their communities. 2.…

Sales Transactions 1. Embrey Partners sold The Quincy at Kierland at 15826 N. Scottsdale Road to Stockdale Capital Partners. The 266-unit luxury multifamily property sold for $110.3M. Institutional Property Advisor’s Steven Gebing and Cliff David represented the seller. 2. Service Properties Trust sold Hospitality Capital Partners a five-hotel portfolio for $72M as part of a larger NPA transaction. The properties consist of: Sonesta Select Phoenix Chandler, Sonesta Select Tempe Downtown, Sonesta ES Suites Tempe, Sonesta ES Suites Flagstaff and Sonesta ES Suites Scottsdale Paradise Valley. 3. SR Building LLC sold the 144-bed Santa Rosa Care Center for $30M. The property,…