Author: BEX Staff

Amazon.com Services has bought 51 acres across from Amazon’s existing 1.2MSF Fulfillment Center on South Kolb Road in Tucson where it plans to build a Delivery Station. Steve Cohen with Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR negotiated the transaction on behalf of both the buyer and seller. Delivery stations average slightly more than 123KSF at full build-out and are used to prepare orders for “last-mile delivery” to customers. Amazon dramatically increased its number of delivery centers recently, adding 178 facilities between the ends of 2019 and 2020. The new location will be Amazon’s third station in the Tucson area. (Source)

Flagstaff Unified School District has voted to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Flagstaff to build water retention basis at Killip Elementary School, which is currently undergoing a rebuild. Flagstaff City Council approved the IGA earlier this month. Undertaking the retention basin project while the rebuild is under construction should make it easier to complete. The finished project will help protect the building and surrounding neighborhood. The field will hold approximately 11-acre feet of water. When not flooded, the basins will serve as sports fields. The FUSD Board approved two maximum price proposals from CORE Construction for…

Funding for the 20-year, $13.1B transportation master plan Move Tucson will rely heaving on voter approvals and federal grants. The plan was created to demonstrate Tucson’s needs, not as an actual project improvement plan. City leaders set the more realistic goal of increasing transportation funds by $128M/year, a 50% increase beyond the current funding level and a number that would allow for many of the highest priority projects. In a recent Tucson City Council meeting, officials made clear voter approvals will determine the plan’s ultimate viability. Even if voters approve the plan, a minimum of $100M in grant money will…

Higley Unified School District in Gilbert is once again considering putting a bond request before voters to shore up its funding. A $95M request failed last November. The District receives $6M annually from the state for capital projects, but $4.4M of that goes to pay for two leases from 2012 for buildings at Cooley and Sossaman middle schools. Roughly $44M has been paid on the leases to date, according to officials. There are 31 years left on the leases, which would total $168M over the full term. Because of the lease obligations, HUSD has had to use monies from its…

Panelists at the recent NMHC 2022 Apartment Strategies Conference noted the surge of Build-to-Rent development nationwide and discussed the state of other building types as well, but labor, or the lack of it, was a leading topic of discussion. Build-to-Rent has emerged from the Sunbelt and become a desirable housing type in many markets, and work from home has created new growth across the board in market-rate apartments. Mike Clow, Executive Managing Director, Global Property Management, Greystar, commented on the growth but tempered it by saying everywhere the company wants to develop, the question becomes, “Do we have enough labor…

Groundbreakings 1. Construction has begun at the 28-story, 352-unit PALMtower (Palm Court Tower) near the Arizona Center in Phoenix. 2. Peoria will start work on an expansion to its Reclaimed Water Pipeline project to place a 7.6-mile pipeline running from the water reclamation facility on Beardsley Road to Paloma Community Park. 3. Groundbreaking is scheduled this month at the 26.6KSF Rancho Solano Preparatory School Lower Campus on Pima Road in Scottsdale. 4. A planned 460KSF expansion of the Red Bull, Rauch Fruit Juice & Ball Corp. Filling and Distribution Facilities in Glendale is expected to get underway before the end…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Approximately 250 construction industry professionals, including 150 in-person attendees, made their way to the BEX Companies 2022 Forecast Event last Friday. In the only event of its kind to compile market data from a proprietary statewide project database and check it against Arizona state sales tax numbers, attendees got a wide-ranging view of every major development sector beyond the single-family, owner-occupied space. BEX Companies Founder and President Rebekah Morris welcomed attendees and offered up a quick introduction, highlighting the fact that Arizona’s economy, as measured by taxable sales, grew 19.79% Year-over-Year as of December 2020,…

Now that Glendale and the Arizona Coyotes have parted ways as far as the team’s ongoing tenancy at Gila River Arena is concerned, the City’s plan moving forward is to renovate the facility to make it more attractive for other events, such as concerts and other live performances. Glendale has hired HOK to create a preliminary design. City Manager Kevin Phelps told the Arizona Republic initial designs could go to City Council as early as next month. He estimates the renovation could cost in the $40M-$50M range. Glendale still owes $129M from the arena’s original development. A financial plan for…

The Mesa Design Review Board recently heard details on plans for Building C at The Cubes at Mesa Gateway. Building C will make up 1.2MSF on nearly 86 acres of the planned 4MSF total development on nearly 268 acres near Pecos Road and the Crismon Road alignment. According to the project narrative, the project includes a gateway, truck staging lanes, a refueling station and parking for more than 300 personal vehicles and 775 trailers. The planned building height is 47 feet. (Source)

On a 7-0 vote, Gilbert Town Council has approved a plan to take portions of 46 parcels on Ocotillo Road, Val Vista Drive, Pickett Court, Greenfield Road, 154th and 156th streets for a 1.5-mile road improvement project. Only nine of the properties are within Gilbert. The other 37 lie on Maricopa County islands. The Council approved an agreement with the County to condemn the property on Gilbert’s behalf if property owners refuse to sell. Gilbert will annex the County properties once the project is finished. Gilbert has budgeted $2.95M for land purchases under the plans. The project will upgrade 1.5…