Author: BEX Staff

Open construction jobs increased to a total of 410,000 unfilled positions in October. That sets a record in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey data for the sector. The 410,000 job openings in construction meant an unfilled job rate of 5.4% in October. The count a year ago was 253,000. (Source)

AZ Water Association is now accepting nominations for water/wastewater operators, professionals, projects, and systems for recognition at the 95th Annual Conference & Exhibition in April 2022. Deadline to submit is February 17th, 2022. More information on the awards and event is available here. AZ Water Awards Construction Professional of the Year (Open to Owners, Designers, Operators & Contractors) Electrician of the Year (Large & Small Systems) Engineer of the Year Environmental Stewardship Gimmicks & Gadgets Health and Safety Professional of the Year Kachina Award for Outstanding Service Laboratory Analyst of the Year Maintenance Mechanic of the Year (Large & Small Systems) Nathan…

Giving Back 1. Western Wealth Communities and Western Wealth Capital have used their annual Rent-Free Christmas program to provide free rent in December for 58 deserving families. As part of the program, 14 families also received a full Christmas package, including food vouchers and presents for the whole family. Awards & Accolades 2. CDC Small Business Finance is the No. 1 U.S. Small Business Administration lender among 7A and 504 firms for fiscal year 2021. It is also Arizona SBA 504 Lender of the Year for the fourth straight year. A total of $793.7M was financed in commercial real estate,…

Sales Transactions 1. Monarch Alternative Capital, in partnership with Tourmaline Capital Partners, reportedly has plans to buy four of the Esplanade buildings in Phoenix’s Camelback Corridor from Clarion Partners and LBA Reality. The price is estimated at approximately $385M. 2. JLL has closed the sale of Block 23, a mixed-use, live-work-play asset in downtown Phoenix. JLL represented the seller, an affiliate of RED Development, and procured the buyer, City Office REIT, Inc. The sale sets a new per square foot record in the city for multi-tenant office trades. The JLL Capital Markets team representing the seller was led by Ben Geelan and Kevin…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX A new adaptive reuse project in Mesa could rehabilitate a vacant four-story medical office building and add a new three-story structure at 560 W. Brown Road that, when completed, would deliver 103 new apartment units. The Mesa Board of Adjustment voted 6-0 at its December 1st meeting to approve a Substantial Conformance Improvement Permit request from Phoenix Devco LLC. Area Overview The area is ripe for redevelopment and renovation. An overview report using data from Yardi Matrix shows the three-mile area around the project site has been as hard-hit as everywhere else by the current…

The Maricopa City Council took up the issue of funding for a new Police Administration Building and Emergency Communication Center at its December 7th meeting. According to the agenda notes on the City website, the item was to “discuss and take action to approve a budget not to exceed $25,388,785 for the new Police Administration Building and Emergency Communication Center and to revise project #38049 to solely include the construction, IT/Communications, and complete outfitting… of the new Police Administration Building and Emergency Communication Center.” Results of the meeting were not available at press time. The updated and upgraded headquarters and…

The Phoenix Business Journal is reporting Carvana’s $25M purchase of the 150-acre Cactus Commerce Center at the NEC of Cactus and Litchfield roads could become a 200KSF reconditioning and inspection center for its vehicle offerings. The news outlet obtained documents from the City of Surprise detailing “Project Oliver,” in which Carvana would build a $64.5M assembly line-style inspection and refurbishment facility. Typical steps in the process would be oil changes, tire and brake service, repainting and other standard maintenance and minor repair services before vehicles are photographed for listing on Carvana’s website and stored for future delivery to one of…

Pre-construction on the long-anticipated Central Station redevelopment at Central Avenue and Polk Street in downtown Phoenix should begin next quarter. The City of Phoenix approved development and lease agreements to renovate and revitalize the transit station site in 2019. The City’s RFP required plans that maintained the bus station and two light rail stations on the property. Plans for the project have changed since they were first approved. A planned 150-room hotel was scrapped due to the pandemic. As a result, the number of apartment units in the tower was increased. The final unit count is not yet available. In…

A study from The Nature Conservancy and AECOM makes an economic case for planning and implementing measures to counter urban heat. According to the study, failing to adopt measures like widespread tree planning and cool roof installation could generate additional costs in terms of lives lost up to an average of $1.5B by 2050. It also predicts temperatures warmer by an average of three-to-five degrees will take 0.5% off the area’s economic output in the same period. Earlier this year, Phoenix opened the Office of Heat Response & Mitigation, one of the first city heat mitigation offices in the country. One goal is to…

Awards & Accolades 1. Optima Kierland and Optima Sonoran Village have both been awarded the American Architecture Award, one of the nation’s highest honors for architectural design. Groundbreakings 2. Stevens-Leinweber Construction has broken ground on two new Class A spec industrial buildings that will open a new section of the Merit Partners PV 303 mega park in Goodyear. The new project will add 880KSF of new space to the park. 3. Following years of preparation and debate, clearing and grubbing work has begun on the Arizona side of the $56M-plus Laughlin-Bullhead City Bridge, the second public bridge to connect the two cities across the…