Author: BEX Staff

Neighborhood opposition has led developer DHI Communities to revise its plan for Ascend at Longbow Highpoint, a planned multifamily community at Recker and McDowell roads. DHI had requested a rezoning for the site from light industrial to develop a 359-unit apartment complex comprised of two- and three-story buildings and featuring 38KSF of retail. Nearby residents inhabiting single-family homes in the area vigorously opposed the proposal before the Planning and Zoning Board in February. The opposition centered around the standard concerns over potentially increased crime, traffic and impacts to neighborhood character, along with the other points of contention concerning height and…

Sales Transactions 1: Western Wealth Capital has purchased the 880-unit apartment portfolio Tucson V in Tucson from Weidner Apartment Homes for $130M. The portfolio consists of Las Brisas (248 units), Aventura (239 units), Alegria (161 units), The Enclave (120 units) and Vista Montana (112 units). The sale was brokered by Hamid Panahi, Steve Gebing and Cliff David of Institutional Property Advisors, a division of Marcus & Millichap, representing the seller and procuring the buyer. 2: JLL Capital Markets announced it has closed the $86.5M sale of The Alexander & The Johnathan, a pair of Class A office assets totaling 219.6KSF feet…

Dysart Unified School District is estimating its new campus needs and expects to require a new high school and two or three elementary schools before 2030. About half the needed funds will come from the Arizona School Facilities Board, but state funding will likely not be available to meet all DUSD’s needs before space needs become critical. A new high school will be essential to handle expected volume increases of as many as 3,000 students before the end of the decade, according to officials. SFB monies are considered likely for this project. The pandemic has affected enrollment numbers, making projections…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX For long-time Arizona residents, the growth and maturation of Glendale is still somewhat surprising. It wasn’t all that long ago the city was viewed as perpetually stalled – a kind of backwater where grand, and occasionally even modest, visions were proposed that then withered on the vine without coming to fruition. The completion of the Loop 101, followed by the long-promised and eventually delivered Loop 303, and, later, the western leg of the Loop 202, finally put the stars in correct alignment, and project after project, employer after employer and rooftop after rooftop have followed,…

Avondale Parks & Recreation staff recently updated City Council on the design and budget status for the Avondale Aquatic Center on the Civic Center campus. CORE Construction has developed an initial cost estimate, and the schematic design process is 30% complete. As planned, the center will have a 10-lane competition swimming pool with two diving boards, and a recreation pool with a play structure, basketball hoops, volleyball space, a lazy river and three water slides. This fiscal year’s budget allocation for the project is $6M. Another $10M is planned in the next fiscal year. Total costs are projected at $25M,…

Developer IndiCap has requested a general plan amendment and rezoning for a 292-acre site on Power Road between Warner and Elliot to allow a two-phase 4MSF light industrial project on undeveloped land. According to comments attributed to attorney Adam Baugh at a recent neighborhood meeting to discuss the project, if the requests are approved, groundbreaking could take place in spring of next year. Market conditions will then determine the timing for Phase II. Baugh said the area’s proximity to two freeways and the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport has made it a long-envisioned employment corridor. The site is currently zoned for light…

Despite impassioned opposition from a small but vocal cadre of nearby residents, the Mesa Planning and Zoning Board last month voted to recommend City Council approve the 359-unit multifamily mixed-use project Ascend at Longbow Highpoint. Planning staff had previously recommended the project for approval by the Board. The 20-acre site near Longbow Golf Club is currently zoned for light industrial. Developer DHI Communities intends to build 359 residential units with additional commercial uses. In meetings between DHI Communities, opponents and a City-hired facilitator to discuss the project, stated concerns included: General opposition to multifamily housing, overflow parking in neighborhoods, noise…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Since the pandemic started wrecking already tenuous project timelines and the availability of labor and materials, experts and construction industry pundits have repeatedly warned contractors to buy and store all the materials they can get their hands on when they find it at reasonable prices and to, most importantly, start adding cost overrun and timeline factors into their contracts. Unfortunately, many contractors, particularly smaller subcontractors, do not have the storage space or upfront capital to buy materials in bulk. For other contractors, like landscapers, materials and supplies must be bought as close to the last…

Giving Back 1. The Arizona Humane Society’s Nina Mason Pulliam South Mountain Campus in Phoenix received a free solar system from the SRP Solar for Nonprofits program. Awards & Accolades 2. The Arizona Housing Coalition has named Tempe Mayor Corey Woods as its Advocate of the Year for Tempe’s efforts to improve affordable and workplace housing supplies. Promotions 3. Ballard Spahr LLP has named David Armstrong Managing Partner for the firm’s Phoenix office. 4. Buehler recently announced three promotions in its Phoenix office. Jeff Hallowell has been named Associate Principal. Bob Zuehl has been promoted to BIM Project Manager, and…

Sales Transactions 1. A partnership between Tides Equities LLC and CIM Group has purchased the 1,012-unit Del Mar Terrance on West Indian School Road in Phoenix for $255M. The seller was Heers Management Company. Trevor Koskovich, Bill Hahn, Jesse Hudson, and Ryan Boyle of Northmarq represented the buyer. 2. Colliers in Arizona, in conjunction with Colliers agents throughout the U.S., announced the $100M+ sale of a nationwide 16-property portfolio sold by a private investment fund. The grouping of assets included charter schools and three non-charter properties. The locations total more than 765KSF of building space and nearly 100 acres of…