Author: BEX Staff

Awards & Accolades 1. The Avondale Parks, Recreation and Libraries Department won two awards at the Arizona Parks and Recreation Conference 2024. The awards were the Partnership Award, awarded for the collaboration on the Tres Rios Nature Festival, as well as the Outstanding Facility Award, issued for the Avondale Aquatic Center’s design and sustainability. 2. The City of Buckeye received the 2023 Facility of the Year Awardfrom the Arizona Parks and Recreation Association for the Phase II expansion of Sundance Park at 22865 W. Lower Buckeye. The expansion provided the 38-acre park with a splash pad and an urban fishing…

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By Roland Murphy for AZBEX The City of Mesa has set its strategic economic development focus on workforce development in manufacturing and technology in recent years, while allowing retail development to happen more organically. As a result, Mesa’s sales tax revenue is the third lowest among 11 Valley cities, according to a recent Arizona Republic article. The two further behind are Gilbert and Buckeye. Gilbert is catching up rapidly, and Buckeye, which has recently begun transitioning from a primarily bedroom community, is now one of the fastest developing cities in the U.S. Mesa officials, including some City Council members, are…

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By Roland Murphy for AZBEX A major master-planned community intended for nearly 65 acres at the SEC of Signal Butte Road and Southern Avenue in Mesa has undergone a major update. News broke last year concerning plans for Medina Station. The original plan was submitted by a group made up of Bela Flor Communities, VIVO Development Partners, Hawkins Companies and Greystar Worldwide. The plan at that time consisted of 851 multifamily units and 246.8KSF of retail and restaurant space, including an anchor tenant site of approximately 148KSF. (AZBEX; Aug. 25, 2023) Those plans show Bela Flor and VIVO developing the…

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The Mesa Design Review Board discussed a one-acre development called The Five Six, a multifamily community planned in Mesa. Located west of Recker Road and north of Main Street, The Five Six will feature 32 townhomes. The development will have a centralized amenity space toward the north portion. The townhomes are each three-stories and situated in four clusters of eight. There will be a total of 68 parking spaces, allowing each unit to have a two-car garage while also offering four centrally located visitor spaces. The development will open up to 56th and 57th streets. The project narrative includes references…

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The Arizona Department of Education awarded $7M to the Arizona Jewish Historical Society to aid the development of the Hilton Family Holocaust Education Center. The Phoenix-based site is near the Arizona Jewish Historical Society building and aims to educate 50,000 students a year. Phoenix is the largest city in the U.S. without a Holocaust museum/education center. Earlier this year, bipartisan legislation was passed in Arizona requiring educators to teach about the Holocaust and other genocides. According to Steve Hilton, a Holocaust education advocate, the museum is intended to guide patrons through a roughly two-hour technical journey through the Holocaust. Initial…

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While it waits for resolution of the litigation enveloping other cities’ decisions to enact similar measures, Tempe has decided to pause its plan to implement a prevailing wage policy for local construction contracts. Following prevailing wage ordinance approvals in Phoenix and Tucson, Tempe passed its own measure in May. Promoted as a way to ensure fair pay for construction workers and reduce the risks of projects employing illegal labor or undocumented workers, prevailing wage rules are set by federal labor officials as being the “typical” pay for specific worker types in specific geographic areas. Such rates are almost always greater…

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Giving Back 1. Employees from the Phoenix office of Lincoln Property Company participated in the Meal Pack for 9/11 Day. Thirty-two Lincoln employees joined volunteers from across the Valley to pack 400,000 meals that will be distributed to local individuals and families facing food insecurity. The cost of ingredients packed by Lincoln employees was covered by an $11K donation made by the company. 2. Big-D Companies has announced its partnership with the American Heart Association during its annual Week of Giving, Sept. 14-21. The goal is for employees to raise $20K, which Big-D will match, accumulating a total goal of…

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Sales Transactions 1. HonorHealth has agreed to a $250M deal with Steward Health Care System to assume operational control of several of Steward’s Arizona-based hospitals as Steward goes through bankruptcy. Medical Properties Trust Inc. owned multiple Steward hospitals and was an important part of the deal, having ensured that it remained in control of the real estate while severing its ties with Steward. Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP is representing the debtors in the bankruptcy proceedings. HonorHealth took interim control of operations as of Sept. 11 and could be in full control early October. 2. Clarion Partners sold the 497-unit…

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By BEX Staff for AZBEX Hyperion Technologies has plans to build a 600KSF semiconductor substrate manufacturing facility in the Vistancia area of Peoria. According to the company’s website, development on the 45-acre site will create a total economic impact of $6.6B with 1,500 direct jobs. Plant construction is expected to provide 4,500 construction jobs over the development cycle. Local news outlets cited a statement by the City of Peoria acknowledging there has not yet been a pre-application or site plan application for the project. The company website says the development will “build a cutting-edge manufacturing facility for high-density interconnect IC…

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By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Early and frequent interaction with municipal planning staff is the key to making sure plan reviews and project approvals happen as quickly and efficiently as possible. The theme of engagement and communication was the most frequently touched upon in this week’s BEX Leading Market Series presentation: Expediting Project Success: Mastering Municipal Approvals, held Wednesday at SkySong – The ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center. The event was a rare joint offering presented by BEX Companies and the Phoenix Metro Chapter of AIA. The panel consisted of: Moderator Shawn Swisher, Senior Associate, Jones Studio; Joshua Bednarek, Planning and…

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