Author: BEX Staff

Payson Mayor Tom Morrissey and former Mayor and current MHA Foundation President Kenny Evans are working together in trying to find more and better workforce housing solution in Rim Country. The target monthly housing payment for workforce affordability in the area would be around $1,250. That equates to a $193K mortgage after a down payment of $20K. The average 2021 sales price for a Rim Country home, however, was $287.5K. Evans’ and Morrissey’s ideas include lowering construction costs and finding more available land for housing construction. Evans and the MHA Foundation have built affordable houses that sell for approximately $100K…

In a panel discussion last month moderated by Pinal County Supervisor Jeff Serdy, representatives from Salt River Project, EPCOR and Arizona Water Company addressed the question of water infrastructure and the pressure on water utilities to expand service. SRP Senior Project Manager in Economic Development Karla Moran said she was impressed by recent growth in Pinal County and how water needs have been addressed, adding that large water users with contiguous parcels under one owner has been a useful economic and development tool. Moran added SRP is planning for 20-50 years down the road and investigating water management on the…

Giving Back 1. The Sundt Foundation awarded $25K in grants to 10 Tucson-area nonprofits during its current giving round. Those nonprofits receiving grants include: Angel Heart Pajama Project, Arizona Dental Foundation, Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Southern Arizona, Our Family Services, Pima Foundation ARC Resource Center, Project Insight, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern Arizona, Sahuarita Food Bank, Southern Arizona Adaptive Sports, and Child Language Center – Wings on Words Preschool. 2. The Sundt Foundation donated over $70K to Valley charities during its current giving cycle. Maggie’s Place received a $7,500 grant for its emergency shelter program. The Foundation awarded an additional $64K in grants…

Sales Transactions 1. ABI Multifamily announced the sale of the Metro Phoenix 5 Portfolio, one of the largest marketed Arizona multifamily portfolio sales to date, for a combined $414.5M between five properties and 1,448 units in Chandler, Gilbert, & Mesa. ABI Multifamily’s Phoenix-based Institutional Apartment Group – Alon Shnitzer, Rue Bax, Eddie Chang, and Doug Lazovick – facilitated the transaction. Sahara Palms & Playa Palms Apartments is an 840-unit garden style apartment community in Gilbert and is the fourth largest apartment community by total unit count in metro Phoenix. Riviera Park Apartments is a 201-unit, garden-style apartment community in Chandler.…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX As has been pointed out on these pages before, when a word is used to describe every situation in the news, it loses its impact. Specifically, when everything is a crisis (COVID, inflation, supply chains, labor shortages, climate, opioids, cream cheese availability, Sharon’s Marie Callender’s pumpkin pie, etc. etc.), nothing really seems a crisis. The national and Arizona housing affordability situation, however, is worthy of the term. While market-based solutions are always preferable to government edicts, much has been learned in the last 60 years about how governments and industry can work together to address…

Yuma County has agreed on a plan to remodel and expand the Health Department’s existing space on W. 28th Street, adding a new building that will share a lobby with the current facility. The $17M project is intended to help the department meet its existing needs and adapt for future growth. The existing 52KSF building has insufficient workspace and lacks cohesive allocations for coworkers to perform their duties in proximity to each other. The new building will allow for growth and provide temporary staff space during the renovations. It will include a large multi-use area for training, meetings and a…

By Dermody Properties Dermody Properties announced the acquisition of 961 acres of land in El Mirage, which will be developed into one of the largest industrial parks in Arizona’s history, with initial development expected to begin in 2022. The firm will develop approximately 10MSF of speculative space over the next 10 years and will develop approximately 300 acres for other third-party owner/users and build-to-suit customers. Novo Development, which has been involved with the project since its inception, will continue to assist with this new venture. The land is being purchased from the John F. Long Family Trust. Located with immediate access…

Officials from the City of Tempe will meet in a closed session this week to discuss the Arizona Coyotes’ controversial proposal to build a $1.7B arena and mixed-use entertainment district on City-owned land at Priest Drive and Rio Salado Parkway. The team submitted a bid in September to create the district, which would include an arena, multifamily developments, commercial, retail and entertainment space on the roughly 46-acre property. The development would be financed by Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo and private investors. An additional $200M to remediate the former landfill site would be used in City sales tax revenues under a…

The second phase of the Cannon Beach mixed-use entertainment property at Power and Warner roads will feature a commercial and retail center on 6.7 acres, according to a recent presentation to the Mesa Design Review Board. According to the site plan, there will be two commercial pad buildings totaling 4KSF and four retail buildings totaling 34KSF. The development is centered around the 3.3-acre Revel Surf lagoon. The site is expected to open in May 2022, according to previous reports. (Source)

As investors continue to hunt for yield opportunities in a red-hot commercial real estate market, secondary asset classes beyond the mainstays of multifamily, office, retail and industrial are seeing increased attention. Following is a brief look at some of the formerly peripheral areas that have experienced heavier traffic in 2021 and are expected to see even more in 2022. Cold Storage Two factors combined to fuel expanded investment and development interest in cold storage. The pandemic generated massive activity in food and cold commodities delivery, and major portions of the cold storage industrial sector are obsolete in terms of facilities…