Author: BEX Staff

By Associated Builders and Contractors The construction industry lost 11,000 jobs on net in December, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment grew by 14,000 jobs, an increase of 0.2%. Nonresidential construction employment decreased by 7,800 positions on net, with losses in two of the three subcategories. Heavy and civil engineering added 2,300 jobs, while nonresidential specialty trade and nonresidential building lost 8,900 and 1,200 jobs, respectively. The construction unemployment rate was 5.0% in December. Unemployment across all industries dropped to 4.4% but is…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX It appears last month’s ceremonial groundbreaking and celebratory announcement for the KPPC Advanced Chemicals plant may have been premature. The Casa Grande Planning and Zoning Commission rejected a request for a conditional use permit needed for the plant’s development during its Jan. 8 meeting. KPPC has the right to appeal within 10 days, according to officials. The 26-acre site north of Commerce Drive and the Ash Avenue alignment would be home to an 88.7KSF project to produce chemicals used in the semiconductor manufacturing process. A local news outlet reported a primary reason for rejecting the…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX After a planned 566-unit multifamily development from IDM Companies failed to take shape, Panattoni Development Company is now proposing to revert the site to industrial uses for a 448.8KSF warehouse development. IDM had planned in 2023 to build IDM Fountainhead at the SWC of Priest and Alameda drives in Tempe. The company requested and received a General Plan amendment and a rezoning from General Industrial to Mixed-Use, High Density for the project. No development was ever begun. AZBEX was the first outlet to report on the IDM Fountainhead plan. (AZBEX; March 17, 2023) According to…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX The Industrial construction pipeline in metro Phoenix contracted sharply in Q4 2025, according to the latest report from Kidder Mathews, as only 15.8MSF was delivered, a 54% year-over-year decline. Vacancy was also up slightly last quarter, reaching 13.5% and representing a 20 basis point year-over-year increase. The report notes developers are currently prioritizing absorbing existing inventory. Total availability declined 70 bps to 14.9% Direct asking rates for spaces larger than 10KSF rose over the quarter, reaching $1.19/SF NNN, an increase of 6% from $1.13/SF NNN in 2024. Total construction totaled 16MSF, while direct net absorption…

Giving Back 1. LGE Design Build recently held its inaugural clay shoot charity event in support of the Arizona Anti-Trafficking Network. 2. Kidder Mathews recently announced the results of its second annual Holiday Giving Campaign. This year, the company raised $88.3K in support of three nonprofits in the Southwest region of the United States. This includes $36.3K for Feeding America, $30K for Habitat for Humanity and $20K for Northwest Harvest. Boards & Commissions 3. Arizona Commercial Real Estate Women has named its 2026 Board of Directors. The Board consists of: Nicole Solar – President, Lynette Dreitz-Fort – Past President, Carol…

Sales Transactions 1. An entity tracing to SkyREM purchased the Confluence industrial property at the SWC of the Casa Grande-Picacho Highway and North Sunland Gin Road in Pinal County for $51.6M. Opus Group sold the two-building property. JLL’s Greer Oliver, Ben Geelan, Bryce Beecher and Gigi Martin represented the seller. 2. Tratt Properties acquired the former KOREPlex battery plant site, a roughly 214-acre industrial development site in Buckeye, for $32.5M. The seller was KORE Power Inc., which purchased the property in 2022 for $29M before abandoning plans for a $1B lithium-ion battery manufacturing campus. The site is located off Baseline…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Continuing what has been the trend for most of the past several months, the Arizona Construction sector lost 1,100 jobs in November, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 4.3%. The national unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, up from 4.4% in September. In November 2024, Arizona had a seasonally adjusted rate of 3.9%. The national rate was 4.2%. Editor’s Note: Due to the government shutdown, an employment report was not issued for the month of October. Arizona had a not-seasonally adjusted…

House Bill 2704, which was passed by the Arizona Legislature and signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs to fund part of the 30-year renovations planned for Chase Field in downtown Phoenix, called for the creation of a governing board to oversee the ballpark updates. That board is now selected, empaneled and held its first meeting earlier this week. HB2704 allows the board to manage a fund with a 30-year timeline that will be supported by a mix of income and sales tax revenues. The legislation proved highly controversial. Some viewed it as a public subsidy for a private sports organization, while…

AIS Infrastructure, a subsidiary of ASRC Industrial, announced in December a $2B package of contracts for border infrastructure work along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas, Arizona and California. AIS said its BCSS unit, which focuses on border and security-related infrastructure, had been awarded four major design-build contracts by the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The $606M Arizona project crosses the Tucson and Yuma sectors. Components include improving existing barrier systems, building new vertical barriers, construction of patrol and access roads, drainage work and infrastructure for integrated security. HDR Design will lead the engineering, and…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX Arizona State University recently issued a recap showcasing its 2025 construction efforts. Given ASU’s extensive project set, the announcement reflects project completions and ongoing efforts across a range of service areas, including technology education, student housing, administration, sports and economic development. The following projects were completed: ISTB 12: Per the announcement, “Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 12, a 173KSF facility located on the Polytechnic campus, now serves as a central hub for robotics, manufacturing and engineering education. Home to the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks, ISTB 12 features modern instructional and research labs dedicated…