Author: BEX Staff

As the West Valley continues its rapid and expansive growth, cities in the area are running into the realities of an inadequate housing supply, particularly in multifamily. Buckeye, the nation’s fastest growing city, has not had any multifamily units built since at least 2010. Surprise and Goodyear saw 5% and 10%, respectively, of their delivered housing units over the last 10 years made up of multifamily. While mayors and other officials look to increase supply, and with it manage demand so as to maintain affordability, an affordable apartment development proposal from developer Dominium Management was withdrawn in Buckeye due to…

Mesa Planning Director Nana Appiah wants officials involved in evaluating large commercial and residential projects to speed up the review process. Appiah has expressed concern with how long Planning and Zoning and particularly Design Review Board meetings last. He has called the three-to-four-hour DRB meeting length “unsustainable” and has begun examining possible ways to streamline them. Appiah said an improved process is essential given Mesa’s degree of growth and the volume of newly proposed projects under consideration. His office received 886 applications in 2019 and 823 in 2020. The first six months of 2021 saw 569 planning applications. Appiah notes…

A measure seeking to block the Resolution Copper Mine development is currently connected to the $3.5T budget reconciliation bill, even as the U.S. Forest Service advances efforts to consult with Native American groups regarding the project. The Save Oak Flat Act (HR 1884) was attached to the reconciliation package by the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee. HR 1884 would overturn a 2014 land swap authorization that would enable Resolution’s owners to operate the mine in exchange for company-owned land elsewhere. The plan was approved in January in the last days of the Trump Administration but reversed by the…

Awards & Accolades 1. The Greater Phoenix Economic Council was recognized as the top economic development organization in the for populations greater than 500,000 at the International Economic Development Council annual conference. Giving Back 2.As a result of its 2021 call for applications, the SRP Solar for Nonprofits program announced it selected one of the largest foster care agencies in Arizona, Aid to Adoption of Special Kids, as the recipient of a new solar system, which will be located at the AASK office based in Chandler. The donated solar system will be built on top of a parking lot structure, or…

Sales Transactions 1. Equus Capital Partners, Ltd. acquired a 74 property, 7.3MSF industrial portfolio located across the Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas. The $1.5B, 342-building portfolio is comprised of predominantly multi-tenant in-fill shallow bay properties and is approximately 98% leased. 2. CBRE announced the $132M sale of two office buildings totaling 300,000 square feet in Tempe to Strategic Office Partners. The sale is the highest-priced and largest office transaction year to date in 2021 within the region. CBRE’s Barry Gabel, Chris Marchildon and Will Mast represented the seller, Boyer Company. Bryan Taute and Charlie von Arentschildt of CBRE were the leasing…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Banyan Residential has begun the submittal, review and approval process for its latest Phoenix development. According to a project narrative submitted to the City of Phoenix on September 23rd, Banyan Residential 48th Street and Washington will be a 515-unit multifamily development at the intersection’s SWC. The company is seeking approval for a Planned Unit Development on the vacant nearly 18-gross-acre site. Because it is located so close to Phoenix’s Gateway Transit Oriented District, Banyan will use the City’s Walkable Urban Code standards as its guideline, adding in some project-specific adaptations due to site conditions. The…

As the Arizona Coyotes continue to search for a new interim venue after the upcoming season, their last month at Glendale’s Gila River Arena, more details have come to light regarding the team’s proposal to build a $1.9B mixed-use arena complex in Tempe. The Coyotes were the only respondent to a Gila River Arena request for proposals to develop such a project at a Tempe-owned landfill site on the NWC of Priest Drive and Rio Salado Parkway. According to published reports, the Coyotes’ two-phase project would create a total building area of 3.4MSF. Components include a 16,000-seat arena, 54KSF practice…

CRG, the real estate development arm of Clayco, will move ahead with The Cubes at Mesa Gateway after closing on 268 acres between Pecos and Germann roads for $30M. Plans for the site call for up to 4MSF of industrial space to be created as speculative and build-to-suit development. Construction at the $300M complex is scheduled to begin in Q2 2022, with the first buildings finishing before the end of the year. The entire development should be built out by late 2024, according to company officials. Potential uses include specialized manufacturing, e-commerce and large-scale distribution. Potential building configurations range from…

By Arizona Department of Transportation A virtual public meeting about a study of planned improvements along Loop 303 between Interstate 17 and Lake Pleasant Parkway in the north Valley is scheduled for Wednesday evening, October 20th. The Arizona Department of Transportation will host the virtual meeting about the ongoing study of improvements that include new freeway lanes and other potential upgrades. That includes direct freeway-to-freeway ramps at the I-17/Loop 303 interchange and a future Loop 303 interchange at 67th Avenue. Information also will be provided about planned construction of new Loop 303 traffic interchanges at 43rd and 51st avenues starting…

Camelback Spring Training LLC is seeking proposals to develop “compatible and complementary” land uses on 53 acres adjacent to the Camelback Ranch-Glendale Spring Training Facility. The facility serves the Chicago White Sox and LA Dodgers. According to reports, CST is willing to sell all or part of the property and will consider proposals that include its participation in the development. Proposals are required to consider making 2,500 parking spaces available during Cactus League. Proposals are due by December 1st and should be emailed to CamelbackRanch@kaites.com. John Kaites is the contact for inquiries. (Source)