Author: BEX Staff

Sales Transactions 1. Tide Equities sold the 472-unit Midtown on Main Street Apartments in Mesa for $137M. The buyer was Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. 2. MODERNE Communities closed on $106M for the build-out of two new Build-to-Rent projects. The company will break ground on MODERNE at Rocking K Ranch in Vail this month in December and will begin construction on MODERNE at Roosevelt in Tolleson in early 2022. 3. Stealth W Jefferson LLC, SBSS W Jefferson LLC and CI448 W Jefferson LLC have purchased a 466KSF industrial facility on 45 acres at 91st Avenue and Van Buren in Tolleson…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX In our last issue, we looked at how development fatigue and resistance to the current pace of change in the Valley are harming housing affordability and putting the area economy at risk. Today, let’s look at another trend that poses even greater threats: Organized resistance groups. While nearly every development proposal meets with some degree of resistance from a percentage of area residents worried about traffic, density, building heights and the omnipresent “impacts to neighborhood character,” it is (so far) only an unlucky few who encounter organized resistance groups. In 2019 the National Apartment Association…

A $100M mixed-use development will soon be coming to 20 acres in Gilbert near the SanTan Village shopping center. Northside at SanTan Village is planned to feature a 120-room hotel, two high-end office buildings totaling 250KSF and six boutique retail and restaurant spaces totaling 32.5KSF. The development will also feature shared community spaces and a half-mile fitness track around its perimeter. According to news reports, the project is being developed by SanTan Development Group Inc. and Okland Capital as a joint venture. The Gilbert Town Council staff report shows SanTan Development Group Inc. is affiliated with LeSueur Investments. Okland Construction…

By Milhaus Multifamily developer Milhaus has closed on its second residential apartment development in Tempe. The $56M Qualified Opportunity Zone development at 2119 E. Apache Boulevard will offer 219 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartment units and five live-work spaces. The complex will be Milhaus’ first-ever partially solar-powered property with solar panels on carports to help reduce common area electricity usage. Amenities will include a pet-friendly spa and bark park, resident lounge with a coffee shop and in-house barista, communal kitchen, rec/game room, coworking and office spaces, pool and outdoor entertainment deck with fire pits, fitness center and yoga studio, and…

A report from Rounds Consulting Group commissioned and released by Arizona Sonoran Copper Company claims reopening the Cactus Mine west of Casa Grande could generate $8.5B over the project’s expected lifespan. The mine is expected to have an 18-year operational life with five years to prepare before opening and five years to clean up and restore the site after operations end. The report estimates nearly 1,400 direct and indirect jobs, with $90M in labor income, as a result of the project. The estimated total tax revenue from the project is $366M. A rezoning request was recently recommended for approval by…

By Associated Builders and Contractors National nonresidential construction spending was up 0.9% in October, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $814.2B for the month. Spending was up on a monthly basis in 13 of the 16 nonresidential subcategories, with spending in the commercial subcategory virtually unchanged for the month. Private nonresidential spending was up slightly by 0.2%, while public nonresidential construction spending increased 1.8% in October. “On the surface, there is much to be encouraged by in October’s construction spending data,”…

Awards & Accolades 1. The International Concrete Repair Institute has announced the winners of its 2021 Project Awards. The Arizona Dam Spillway Repair Project in Phoenix – submitted by Gervasio & Associates, Inc. – earned an Award of Merit in the Longevity category. Groundbreakings 2. Build-to-Rent community MODERNE at Rocking K Ranch in the southeast Tucson area of Vail will break ground this month. It will include 224 single-story, single-family homes on 17.1 acres. 3. Developers GID and SunCap Property Group, along with Graycor Construction Company, joined with local dignitaries and project stakeholders to break ground three brand new, fully speculative industrial buildings…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Since 2017, market researchers have estimated Metro Phoenix needs 150,000 additional housing units to meet demand by 2030. Economic and market forces have combined to make sure the Valley construction and development market has lagged behind that target every year since. In the last five years, we have never come close to the +/-15,000 units/year deliveries needed. The construction workforce lags far behind its pre-Great Recession numbers. The pandemic and its economic devastation proved to be a speedbump, but a speedbump with canyon-like repercussions. The materials supply and labor chains were strained well before anyone…

By Roland Murphy and Rebekah Morris for AZBEX Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 5.2% in October, down from 5.7% in September, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. The national rate decreased to 4.6% from 4.8%. In Oct. 2020, the state had a seasonally adjusted rate of 6.8%, and the national was 6.9%. The state had a net gain of 30,400 non-farm jobs over the month. “Historically (2011- 2020), nonfarm employment has recorded a gain of 29,000 jobs in October,” the report states. Professional & Business Services had the largest gain with…

Glendale City Council has voted unanimously to approve to annexation requests for industrial developments that will produce a combined total of nearly 4.25MSF of new space. Organics Loop 303 will consist of 850KSF in two buildings on 75 acres at the SWC of Sarival Avenue and Loop 303. The second project, Parkway 303 West, will construct six buildings totaling 3.4MSF on a 262-acre site at the SEC of Peoria Avenue and Cotton Lane. Commercial development of nearly 66KSF could also be included. Council also heard details on Ergas 303, a planned 1MSF, four-building industrial project on 63 acres near Northern…