Author: BEX Staff

Higley Unified School District in Gilbert is once again considering putting a bond request before voters to shore up its funding. A $95M request failed last November. The District receives $6M annually from the state for capital projects, but $4.4M of that goes to pay for two leases from 2012 for buildings at Cooley and Sossaman middle schools. Roughly $44M has been paid on the leases to date, according to officials. There are 31 years left on the leases, which would total $168M over the full term. Because of the lease obligations, HUSD has had to use monies from its…

Panelists at the recent NMHC 2022 Apartment Strategies Conference noted the surge of Build-to-Rent development nationwide and discussed the state of other building types as well, but labor, or the lack of it, was a leading topic of discussion. Build-to-Rent has emerged from the Sunbelt and become a desirable housing type in many markets, and work from home has created new growth across the board in market-rate apartments. Mike Clow, Executive Managing Director, Global Property Management, Greystar, commented on the growth but tempered it by saying everywhere the company wants to develop, the question becomes, “Do we have enough labor…

Groundbreakings 1. Construction has begun at the 28-story, 352-unit PALMtower (Palm Court Tower) near the Arizona Center in Phoenix. 2. Peoria will start work on an expansion to its Reclaimed Water Pipeline project to place a 7.6-mile pipeline running from the water reclamation facility on Beardsley Road to Paloma Community Park. 3. Groundbreaking is scheduled this month at the 26.6KSF Rancho Solano Preparatory School Lower Campus on Pima Road in Scottsdale. 4. A planned 460KSF expansion of the Red Bull, Rauch Fruit Juice & Ball Corp. Filling and Distribution Facilities in Glendale is expected to get underway before the end…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Approximately 250 construction industry professionals, including 150 in-person attendees, made their way to the BEX Companies 2022 Forecast Event last Friday. In the only event of its kind to compile market data from a proprietary statewide project database and check it against Arizona state sales tax numbers, attendees got a wide-ranging view of every major development sector beyond the single-family, owner-occupied space. BEX Companies Founder and President Rebekah Morris welcomed attendees and offered up a quick introduction, highlighting the fact that Arizona’s economy, as measured by taxable sales, grew 19.79% Year-over-Year as of December 2020,…

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…