Author: BEX Staff

Mesa City Council has approved an $8.4M renovation plan for its historic downtown post office. The former post office and federal office building, built in 1937, will become a community events space known as The Post. The federal government gifted the building to Mesa in 2002 with a stipulation that it be put to public use. At one point, it was planned as a new home for the Mesa Historical Museum. The City scrapped that plan when it appeared the museum use would not be economically sustainable. Mesa voters approved two bond measures that included money for the building. Those…

By Arizona Department of Transportation Expect additional highway improvements in northern Arizona this year as the Arizona Department of Transportation prepares to kick off projects along northern Arizona highways in 2022. Among the most significant projects is the widening of US 93 just north of Wickenburg. The project will widen US 93 to a four-lane divided highway between Tegner Street and Wickenburg Ranch Way. This project is anticipated to be advertised this spring with construction anticipated to start before the end of the year. This continues ADOT’s decades-long effort to convert the entire stretch of US 93 from Wickenburg to…

A coalition of real estate and business leader have formed the housing advocacy group Home Arizona to encourage officials to address housing affordability and development constraints. The Arizona Republic reports there are at least 30 apartment projects canceled or put on hold last year due to neighborhood resistance, political fear and zoning issues. (Editor’s Note: A cursory review of DATABEX multifamily projects with most recent updates of between January 1st, 2021 and February 3rd, 2022 shows 63 projects as Canceled or On Hold.) Arizona is in the midst of a record housing shortage in terms of demand versus supply, with…

By Associated Builders and Contractors National nonresidential construction spending fell 0.7% in December 2021, 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 $820.7B for the month. Spending was down on a monthly basis in 11 of the 16 nonresidential subcategories. Private nonresidential spending was virtually unchanged, but public nonresidential construction spending declined 1.6% in December. Overall nonresidential construction spending was up 3.9% from a year ago. Residential construction spending rose 14.7% over that time span. “Much of the increase in nonresidential construction spending…

Groundbreakings 1. ViaWest has begun construction on the three building, 500KSF Converge Logistics Center near I-10 and Ray Road. 2. Construction started on a the 409-space Parking Garage at The BLVD in Avondale, which will replace the current park-and-ride facility and handle both transit riders and visitors to the planned mixed-use project. 3. The Related Group has announced the start of construction at Town Chandler Apartments, a 420-unit development at Frye and Ellis roads in Chandler. 4. Caliber Companies will break ground this month on The Commons of Mesa, a 144-unit affordable housing development on S. MacDonald Drive. Progress Reports…

Gilbert nonprofit INSPIRE Music Service Hope is attempting to raise funds for a 65KSF performing arts theater destination in the town that would include a 600-seat main theater, 200-seat studio theater, a 10KSF administration space that includes a classroom, rehearsal, dressing rooms and scene shop area. INSPIRE Entertainment, the group’s for-profit business, runs a dance studio with more than 800 students. The nonprofit’s next fundraising event will be a gala on February 12th. The group is still looking at several potential sites for the project and there is no timeline for the planned center’s funding or construction. (Source)

Developer Harrison 15, LLC and the City of Kingman have been working together for more than a year on plans to produce a 400-unit workforce housing multifamily development north of I-40 near Centennial Park. City officials have noted both the shortage of workforce available units and the need to increase diversity in the housing supply in Kingman. No timeline estimate has been announced, but the zoning and permits are in place. The permit timeline was extended to ensure labor availability to build the project. Harrison 15 is working with contractor T.R. Orr, Inc. on the budget and delivery schedule, but…

Ross Stores Inc. has plans to build a regional distribution center of at least 1.6MSF on 213 acres in Buckeye at the SWC of Southern Avenue and Watson Road. The company bought the site from Globe Corporation for $28.3M. Globe was represented by JLL’s Tony Lydon and Marc Hertzberg in the transaction and still retains ownership of approximately 42 acres near the site. Additional project specifics have not yet been released. (Source)

Multimodal transportation options, wildlife disruption, carbon impacts and the effect on congestion relief were just some of the topics brought forth last week in an eight-hour Flagstaff City Council work session to discuss the Lone Tree-Butler Intersection design, part of the Lone Tree Overpass project. Jason Carlaftes, structures team manager of engineering firm WSP USA, reported on the overall improvement proposal, including separated sidewalks and bike lanes, noting that new roadway and bike lines miles are roughly equal. He also reported the project would cause only marginal initial increases to the Vehicle Miles Traveled rating for the area, which could…

Arizona State University and the Arizona Coyotes are negotiating an agreement that would let the hockey team play at ASU’s new arena while it works to find or create a permanent home. The City of Glendale opted not to renew the Coyotes’ lease at Gila River Arena after multiple issues between the two parties over the past several years. The Coyotes are planning to build a stadium and entertainment district on 46 City-owned acres in Tempe, but the proposal has encountered opposition from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport officials and is still under review and evaluation by Tempe. Even if…