Author: BEX Staff

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Even though economic development officials can (and should) continue to tout the fact that the cost of living in Arizona is significantly less expensive than it is in California as they try to recruit firms to relocate, it’s safe to say Arizona’s long-vaunted affordability is dead as a street-level issue. According to a January 12th article in GlobeSt.com citing data from Apartment List, four Valley cities ranked in the Top 10 for 2021 U.S. rent growth. 2021 ranks as the highest year for rent growth since Apartment List started keeping track in 2017. In a…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX The City of Glendale announced on January 10th it has chosen HOK to modernize the City-owned Gila River Arena. The announcement said, “The entertainment industry has changed dramatically since Gila River Arena opened its doors in 2003. The renovations will modernize the facility, ensuring that it’s a world-class venue of choice with cutting-edge technology and updated guest amenities.” Glendale City Manager Kevin Phelps said the modernization project will help Glendale attract prominent entertainment acts to the venue, which serves as an anchor for the Westgate Entertainment District. ASM Global serves as the management firm for…

By JLL and BEX Staff JLL Capital Markets announced it has closed the $9.3M sale of an 18-acre prime development site for a to-be-built, two-building, 197KSF speculative industrial property in a last mile-location on West Warner in Tempe. A vacant six-story office building on the site, which was owned by seller Honeywell International, according to media reports, will be demolished as part of the project. JLL arranged the sale on behalf of the buyer, Opus Development Company, L.L.C. Construction is set to begin in first quarter of 2022, and the buyer has engaged JLL’s leasing team. The site is at…

By Trammell Crow Company Trammell Crow Company has closed on a 68-acre development site in Goodyear for the development of Cotton Lane Commerce Park. Located at the SWC of Elwood Street and South Cotton Lane, the project will include 975KSF square feet of Class A logistics space. The project design will include both cross-dock and rear-load buildings with 36’ to 40’ clear height, ample trailer and auto parking, and frontage along Cotton Lane and Elwood Street. The site is also served by the Union Pacific Rail line. Brady Maus, a senior associate in Trammell Crow Company’s Phoenix office, said, “Cotton…

Longstanding plans for two malls in Goodyear will be scrapped and replaced with new ideas that better address the needs of the current market. Developer Westcor, now part of Macerich, had announced plans for a mall at Bullard Avenue and McDowell Road in 2006. Those plans, however, encountered multiple delays and never progressed. Globe Land Investors purchased the land from Westcor in June. Goodyear City Council updated a standing agreement at the end of 2021 to reflect the new ownership and allow time for a new plan, which will likely consist of housing, retail and restaurants, to be put together.…

New numbers from property data provider Attom Data Solutions LLC shows that while it is still generally more affordable to own a home versus renting, that gap may be narrowing. Relying on data from the U.S. Department of Housing, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and sales-deed data, Attom looked at the costs of owning a median-priced home or renting a three-bedroom apartment in 1,154 counties across the county. While home prices are rising in 90% of U.S. markets, it is still more affordable to own a home in 58% (666) of the counties examined. That gap may be narrowing, since…

Groundbreakings 1. Steelmaker CMC has broken ground in Mesa on its new facility, next to its existing micro mill on Germann Road. The new mill is being billed as the world’s first “combination merchant bar and rebar producing micro mill.” 2. Real Estate Equities will break ground later this month on Copa Flats, a 312-unit, three-story apartment community in Maricopa. Buildout on the $88M project is expected by the end of next year. 3. Adolfson & Peterson Construction has started construction on the three-story, 49KSF Reunion Rehabilitation Hospital on 3.7 acres in Peoria. 4. Construction is set to begin soon on…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Once known as a place where grandiose development visions went to fizzle out, where the cart routinely went before the horse and where developers’ and planners’ grasp often exceeded their reach, Casa Grande has grown up to become one of the state’s leaders in cross-sector development. Three recently submitted development requests offer clear insights into just how far Casa Grande has come. Walbridge Spec Industrial Last week, a Phoenix Business Journal article reported on a newly proposed by Walbridge to create a two-building 1.2MSF speculative industrial development to be known as the Desert 100 Pinal…

The Gilbert Planning Commission recently considered two proposed infill multifamily developments totaling 354 units. Fred’s Place would build 93 units on nearly 14.5 acres at the NEC of Williams Field and Recker roads in Cooley Station. In a study session, the Commission reviewed a request to rezone nearly five acres for a shopping center and 9.5 for the multifamily component under a minor general plan amendment. The Gieszl Family is partnering with Circle G Property Development. The multifamily component will include one- and two-story buildings with standalone and duplex units. The commercial portion would consist of three one-story buildings. Planning staff…

Ongoing disputes between the boards at Yuma Regional Medical Center and Hospital District No. 1 have left up to $95M in healthcare-related capital improvement projects in limbo, according to media reports. The Hospital District is a government body with elected members. It owns the main hospital property and facilities at Avenue A and 24th Street, which it leases to YRMC. Under lease agreement terms, YRMC must seek District approval for construction projects valued at more than $500K. The District board claims it has tabled the project requests while it awaits more detailed financial information. YRMC says the projects have been…