Author: BEX Staff

Awards & Accolades 1. The Phoenix Business Journal recently presented its Arizona Corporate Excellence – or ACE – Awards recognizing the Valley’s top private and fastest growing businesses. Chris Mihaletos of AIMS Companies was named CEO of the Year, and Sundt Construction, Inc. and Kitchell were recognized as the Valley’s fourth and fifth largest companies, respectively, in terms of 2020 revenues. 2. FSEC, a Gamewell-FCI Fire Alarm Systems distributor, has received the Honeywell Gold Award as a Fire Partner Award winner. Boards & Commissions 3. Christian Solorio was appointed by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to fill a seat representing Legislative District 30…

Sales Transactions 1. Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC has sold five apartment complexes in the Phoenix area to Ivanhoe Cambridge for $541.4M as part of Greystar’s recently announced $3.6B portfolio sale. The properties, cities, units, and sale values are: Green Leaf Promontory Pointe, Phoenix, 424, $146M; Vista Montana Apartments, Gilbert, 341, $115.2M; Chandler Court Apartments, Chandler, 316, $113.6M; Flagstone Apartments, Tempe, 376, 104.9M, and River Ranch Apartments, Chandler, 188, $61.7M. 2. Rise48 Equity recently announced to the sale of two properties and the acquisition of one. The company sold one 76-unit complex (name not disclosed) for $15.6M. The second complex,…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Single-family-style Built-to-Rent projects are the hot trend in multifamily residential developments these days, and Queen Creek is seeing a disproportionately high volume of interest in new unit creation. Of the 13 multifamily projects – including four master-planned developments – currently listed in DATABEX project database entries for the once sleepy bedroom town of nearly 51,000 residents, seven are BTR. Two more have recently been added to the town’s potential inventory, bringing that tally up to 9 of 15. If approved as submitted, Evergreen on Germann will add 65 BTR units and the Bungalows at Combs…

Body armor manufacturer Tyr Tactical is on an aggressive expansion path for its facility near Loop 101 and Olive Avenue in Peoria. Business is booming for the military and law enforcement protective equipment manufacturer, with new contracts coming in from both the U.S. government and allied nations. The company recently completed a $22M second building on its site and has plans to add two more. Building three has received a site plan approval from the City of Peoria and will feature warehouse space, a machine shop and vehicle armoring area. Company officials say no general contractor has been selected yet,…

By Arizona Department of Transportation The Record of Decision and Final Preliminary Section 4(f) Evaluation for the 280-mile Interstate 11 study corridor – stretching from Nogales to Wickenburg – has been completed and published. After more than five years of study, technical analysis and input from communities and stakeholders, the publication of this decision document marks a major milestone as the final step in the Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement process for this proposed highway corridor. The signed Record of Decision, approved by the Federal Highway Administration, is available at i11study.com/Arizona. The Record of Decision was prepared by the Arizona Department…

By City of Yuma The City of Yuma was notified on November 16th that it had been awarded the RAISE Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the only Arizona project selected. This $10.6M grant will be used to develop the Hotel del Sol into the Yuma Region’s first Multi-Modal Transportation Center. The City Council identified downtown revitalization and riverfront development as high priorities in their Strategic Plan this past year and the multi-modal transportation center was an essential element of the City’s legislative agenda. This project will support the City’s goals to make Yuma more safe and prosperous and…

A recent transaction in Casa Grande could eventually result in a master-planned community that will generate as many as 1,200 single-family units and 2,500 apartments. Arizona Land Consulting and Valley Land Group LLC, both female-owned companies, partnered in a $23M purchase of 321 vacant agricultural land at Selma Highway and Interstate 10. The area is roughly a mile from downtown and is expected to become a major growth area. An interchange with I-10 is planned. Seller Benross Corp. had held the property since buying it in 2013, leasing it to cotton farmers in the interim. The buyers were particularly drawn…

Stressing the need for quick and accurate evidence processing as part of the public safety process, Gilbert Police Chief Michael Soelberg recently presented his case for developing a crime lab to the Town Council during a retreat. Gilbert currently contracts with Mesa for processing evidence and has since 2012. The cost for the partnership will increase by 25% at the start of the next fiscal year, however, and the current contract expires June 30th. Mesa has also entered into processing agreements with Tempe and Queen Creek, making Soelberg concerned about potential processing delays. Gilbert entered into an agreement with consultants…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Revitalizing the Old Town area has been a persistent challenge for the City of Peoria for years, with plans advancing and retreating in an oddly haphazard fashion and defeat being snatched from the jaws of seemingly impending victory more than once. The City battled for years to demolish a vacant and blighted Smitty’s grocery store location at Grand Avenue near 85th Avenue. Once that was complete, developer SJ Acquisitions obtained the site and proposed a mixed-use development of commercial and multifamily that was hoped to serve as a gateway into Old Town. The company was…

Awards & Accolades 1. BOMA Greater Phoenix held its 2021 The Outstanding Building of the Year – also known as TOBY – Award presentation recently at the Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch, honoring five buildings. They were judged on community involvement and site management to environmental and “green” policies and procedures. This year’s winners (by category, building name, management company, property manager): 100,000 to 249,999 SF: Three Gateway, Bridge Commercial Real Estate, Janalee Jackson; Earth: GSA Professional Office Building, Ryan Companies US, Amanda Forsmo; Industrial: Lighting Unlimited, A Brighter Idea, Cory Schneider (building owner); Medical Office Building: St. Joseph’s Westgate…