Author: BEX Staff

Even after adjusting for inflation, softwood lumber prices in both 2020 and 2021 were record-setting, according to a report from the National Association of Homebuilders. The industry benchmark Random Lengths Framing Lumber Composite Price and the lumber futures price – the two most common price quote outlets – do not adjust for inflation. The FLCP price was more than $1,500/thousand board feet in May of last year, almost tripling its pre-pandemic record. The framing lumber price averaged $550 in 2020 and $850 in 2021, both of which were records. Even after adjusting prices for inflation, framing lumber in 2021 was…

On a 4-1 vote, the Yuma County Planning and Zoning Commission has denied recommendation of the County’s Comprehensive Plan. The plan provides a guide for development in the county’s unincorporated areas, particularly in the area of land use. Under state law, counties must update or extend their plans every 10 years. The County Board of Supervisors directed staff last year to keep the existing 2012 Comprehensive Plan and make updates. After hearing comments from agencies and residents pointing out obsolete information, particularly the existing plan’s housing data from 2000-2010, staff told commissioners they intend to update the information but that…

Awards & Accolades 1. The Arizona Masonry Council has announced Dave Endres of Superlite, an Oldcastle Company, as the 2022 Clem Hellmann Award recipient. Boards & Commissions 2. Kirk McClure of JE Dunn Construction has been appointed to the Greater Phoenix Economic Council’s Ambassador Steering Committee. Company News 3. Grand Canyon Development Partners is returning to the Valley and opening a Phoenix office with the intention of growing its development pipeline. The company left Phoenix during the Great Recession to focus on opportunities in Las Vegas. 4. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation has announced the launch of the Taliesin Institute,…

Sales Transactions 1. Wentworth Healthcare Properties recently purchased a four-building, 180KSF medical office portfolio, including three in Arizona, for $56M from Centum Health Properties. The Arizona locations were Princess Medical Center (79.6KSF), Anthem Medical Plaza (49.8KSF) and Sun Lakes Medical Center (39.2KSF). Centum was represented by CBRE. 2. Tri-Pointe Homes, Inc. has closed on 137-acre for $45.2M to build the 468-home Waterson Central phase of its 480-acre, 1,284-home Waterson master-planned community in Gilbert. 3. Commercial real estate firm Lincoln Property Co. has closed on two buildings at AZ 202 Commerce Park in Chandler for $32.5M. The newly acquired project totals…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX BEXclusive It will probably come as no surprise to regular readers of my columns that News Analysis and Media Criticism were two of favorite classes back in college. Today’s outing will be a rare adventure in both. There are a few reasons I targeted my training exclusively toward print reporting rather than broadcast journalism. The biggest reason is broadcast’s superficial detail. A three-minute piece is considered “long form” in standard TV news. That comes out to approximately 450 words, a little more than one-third of a magazine page if there are no pictures. That’s enough…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX Casa Grande’s swelling development roster for high-tech and related manufacturing projects recently received another prospective addition. Recent media reports say Air Products and Chemicals is planning a facility in the city to produce liquid hydrogen. Hydrogen is used in a variety of industrial applications, including semiconductor manufacturing, as well as a fuel source for a growing segment of alternative fuel vehicles. The company has a facility in Chandler, which has been in operation since 1979. The proposed Casa Grande facility would be on 40 acres in the area of Peters and Burris roads on agricultural…

San Luis City Council has approved entering a development agreement with Riedel Holdings LLC for a nearly 187-acre housing development, including a 40-acre shopping center, in the Los Mezquites subdivision at Avenue E and County 23½ Street. The shopping center and 186 housing lots will make up the subdivision’s first phase. The land is part of a 630-acre-plus area Council rezoned from industrial. (Source)

Mesa City Council has approved an $8.4M renovation plan for its historic downtown post office. The former post office and federal office building, built in 1937, will become a community events space known as The Post. The federal government gifted the building to Mesa in 2002 with a stipulation that it be put to public use. At one point, it was planned as a new home for the Mesa Historical Museum. The City scrapped that plan when it appeared the museum use would not be economically sustainable. Mesa voters approved two bond measures that included money for the building. Those…

By Arizona Department of Transportation Expect additional highway improvements in northern Arizona this year as the Arizona Department of Transportation prepares to kick off projects along northern Arizona highways in 2022. Among the most significant projects is the widening of US 93 just north of Wickenburg. The project will widen US 93 to a four-lane divided highway between Tegner Street and Wickenburg Ranch Way. This project is anticipated to be advertised this spring with construction anticipated to start before the end of the year. This continues ADOT’s decades-long effort to convert the entire stretch of US 93 from Wickenburg to…

A coalition of real estate and business leader have formed the housing advocacy group Home Arizona to encourage officials to address housing affordability and development constraints. The Arizona Republic reports there are at least 30 apartment projects canceled or put on hold last year due to neighborhood resistance, political fear and zoning issues. (Editor’s Note: A cursory review of DATABEX multifamily projects with most recent updates of between January 1st, 2021 and February 3rd, 2022 shows 63 projects as Canceled or On Hold.) Arizona is in the midst of a record housing shortage in terms of demand versus supply, with…