Author: BEX Staff

The City of Chandler is considering $30M in new infrastructure investment to support Intel Corp’s Semiconductor Fab Expansion. Intel’s expansion is currently underway and planned to complete in 2024. It has an estimated total price tag of $20B. The new facilities, however, will need enhanced roads and expansive volumes of water. Chandler City Council is considering a development agreement with the company for public infrastructure financing and construction to support the project. The agreement would have the City spend $12.1M for additional water rights to ensure Intel has enough potable water, a total of 3.1 million gallons/day. Chandler will design,…

Flagstaff is wrapping up the $7.4M Beulah/University roadway project design phase. The project will add a quarter mile of new roadway, as well as a roundabout for Beulah Avenue/University Drive and a pedestrian crossing running underneath Milton Road. Plans include six-foot sidewalks, parkways of 3.5-to-5-feet, crosswalks and separated bike lanes. The roundabout will have dedicated bus lanes and shared-use paths with a raised sidewalk to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists. The City will award a construction contract and begin work on the project in the spring. Flagstaff passed a transportation tax to extend Beulah and realign University in 2000. The tax…

Even as one solar project in Coolidge earned a recommendation for site plan approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission, another has been withdrawn due to public opposition. Orsted Energy won approval for its Eleven Mile Solar Center with some minor site plan revisions. Meanwhile NextEra Energy Resources withdrew its application for the Valley Farms Solar Project. The company’s Storey Solar Project has been approved and is not affected. It was, however, tabled for discussion because issues of dedicated right of way, and some other conditions, still need to be resolved. (Source)

Arizona is one of the largest recipients of parks-related project funding under the Great American Outdoors Act for 2020 and 2021. Projects in the state received $110M in 2020 and $159M this year. GAOA monies are primarily spent for national parks but are also available for federal lands and tribal schools. The National Park Service has been underfunded for years, according to officials. The deferred maintenance amount was $11.9B in 2018. Arizona’s portion of that shortfall was more than $507M, of which $313.8 was for Grand Canyon National Park. Economic development officials say the funding is essential for not just…

By Associated Builders and Contractors Associated Builders and Contractors reports its Construction Backlog Indicator fell to 7.6 months in September, according to an ABC member survey conducted September 20th-October 4th. The reading is down 0.1 months from August 2021, but up 0.1 months from September 2020. ABC’s Construction Confidence Index readings for sales, profit margins and staffing levels each declined in September, but remain above the threshold of 50, indicating expectations of growth over the next six months. “Nonresidential construction backlog declined for a second consecutive month as skills and input shortages hammer the industry,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban…

The Home Builders Association of Central Arizona reports 22,535 homebuilding permits were issued between the start of the year and August. There were 17,759 permits in the same period of 2020. Permits this year fell 9.4% from July to August, and Year-over-Year August permits were down 4.6%. The downward trend began in June and is attributed to a combination of factors, including supply chain constrictions, increasing materials costs, the ongoing labor shortage, and a lack of supply in developed lots. Even with the summer downturn, permits for the year are still up 27% over 2020. (Source)

Awards & Accolades 1. The Arizona Public Works Association handed out its Project of the Year Awards at its 2021 Conference. The full list follows below. Congratulations to all the winners and thank you for your inspiring work. Environmental Category – Less Than $5M Project Name: Raul M. Grijalva Canoa Ranch Conservation Park Managing Agency: Pima County Primary Consultant: Kimley-Horn & Associates Primary Contractor: Hunter Contracting Environmental Category – $5M to $25M Project Name: Twin Peaks-Blue Bonnet Road Gravity Sewer Managing Agency: Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department Primary Consultant: Engineering & Environmental Consultants (EEC) Primary Contractor: Achen-Gardner Construction Environmental…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport’s General Aviation Hangar and Office area is targeted for redevelopment under a recently issued Request for Information. The RFI is looking for companies and ideas to redevelop +/-40 acres (1.74MSF) in the Northwest General Aviation Hangar/Office Area, which is “bordered between South 24th Street to the West, East Air Lane to the North, Honeywell Facilities to the East and Taxiway Alpha along the South border,” according to the request documents. Under a Comprehensive Asset Management Plan recently adopted by the City of Phoenix, the North General Aviation Hangar/Office area is…

Northern Arizona Healthcare has spent the last moth collecting community input and resubmitting its application for its plan to relocate the Flagstaff Medical Center. Officials say the project timeline is unaffected. NAH began exploring plans to relocate the hospital as the focal point of a “health and wellness village” in 2019 after realizing growth in the area required FMC to expand its number of licensed beds and upgrade its technology. NAH originally considered redeveloping the current location, but found the suggestion would have been expensive, time-consuming and disruptive. The new location is in an undeveloped area near Fort Tuthill County…

Developer Real Estate Equities has proposed adding 312 new workforce affordable apartment units to the growing area of north of the Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway. Pre-application documents filed with the City of Maricopa show the site would need a rezoning from light industrial/warehouse to mixed-use. Copa Flats will be a mix of 48 one-bedroom, 108 two-bedroom, and 156 three-bedrooms across 13 three-story buildings. Planned amenities include a clubhouse, pool, outdoor activity area, fitness area and a dog run. Covered parking areas would include photovoltaic systems to offset a portion of the development’s power usage. The developer will retain and separately develop…