Author: BEX Staff

By LPC Desert West In a joint venture partnership, LPC Desert West, the Southwest regional office of Lincoln Property Company, and Harvard Investments have purchased 585 acres in metro Phoenix’s West Valley submarket for a major new, Class A industrial development called Goodyear AirPark. Situated next to the Phoenix-Goodyear Airport, it is one of the last large industrial-zoned land parcel remaining in the immensely popular Goodyear industrial market. It also sits immediately adjacent to a Dark Fiber line, making it highly attractive for data center development – a market sector in which Phoenix ranks as a U.S. leader. LPC and Harvard will…

By Arizona Department of Transportation Following a comprehensive procurement process, the Arizona Department of Transportation has entered into negotiations with the apparent preferred developer to design, construct, operate and maintain improvements to Interstate 17 between Anthem Way and Sunset Point, a major stretch of highway that sees more than one million travelers every year. After an extensive review process, Kiewit-Fann Joint Venture has been selected as the preferred developer. Key members of the development team include Kiewit Infrastructure West Co.; Fann Contracting Inc.; Kiewit Engineering Group Inc.; DBI Services LLC; CONSOR Engineers LLC dba Apex Design; T.Y. Lin International; Lee…

Alfonso Durazo, the recently elected governor of Sonora, Mexico, says $27.7M has been earmarked for the Mexican port of entry project at San Luis Rio Colorado and construction could begin early next year. The State of Sonora and area municipalities will contribute funds to this and other planned projects in the region. Durazo recently toured the area to see the facilities to be upgraded. Funds have also been earmarked by Congress to create additional lanes and other features on the U.S. side to manage traffic coming in from Mexico. The Mexican side of the project will see new car lanes…

Ocotillo Bridge – a planned connection between Higley and Greenfield roads over Gilbert Regional Park – will feature a desert oasis theme, as shown in a recent Gilbert Town Council study session. The bridge will enable improved response times for emergency vehicles and give users direct access to the popular park. A 30 percent design completion is targeted for April. The theme arose from multiple meetings between planners, focus groups and stakeholders, and Council members have been asked to identify their own views on what “desert oasis” means to them. As currently envisioned, the three-span, 545-foot bridge will feature four…

The Salt River Project Board of Directors recently voted 8-6 to proceed with a planned expansion to the Coolidge Generating Station. The move will add 16 quick-start generators to the gas-burning plant at estimated cost of up to $953M. Supporters say the Coolidge Expansion Project is needed to meet increasing energy demands. Opponents focused on carbon emissions and potential climate change and health impacts. Officials with the utility countered the expansion will reinforce its core background of energy-providing options and permit the integration of more alternative energy sources into its mix and ultimately help it meet its goals of lower…

By City of Phoenix The City of Phoenix Street Transportation Department and Office of Sustainability announced during a virtual presentation and panel discussion on September 14th the results of the first year of its Cool Pavement Pilot Program. The program and analysis of the cool pavement process is being conducted in partnership with Arizona State University. Year one of the study done by scientists at ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, Healthy Urban Environments, and the Urban Climate Research Center revealed that reflective pavement surface temperatures are considerably lower than traditional roadway pavement. Cool pavement coating reflects a higher portion of the sunlight that…

Despite a two-year planning and Request for Proposals process, the United States Forest Service has announced it will restart the Four Forest Restoration Project’s planned Phase 2 process. Stakeholders in the process expressed shock and anger at the announcement. At issue is a contract to thin hundreds of thousands of acres of northern Arizona forest land. The contract was originally planned to be awarded this summer. The overall project seeks to reduce the risk of wildfire on millions of acres in the Coconino, Kaibab, Apache-Sitgreaves and Tonto national forests. Some stakeholders are now concerned about the future of the entire…

By Associated Builders and Contractors Associated Builders and Contractors has reported its Construction Backlog Indicator fell sharply to 7.7 months in August, according to an ABC member survey conducted August 19th to September 1st. The reading is down 0.8 months from July 2021 and down 0.3 months from August 2020. ABC’s Construction Confidence Index readings for sales, profit margins and staffing levels all fell modestly in August but remain above the threshold of 50, indicating expectations of growth over the next six months. “Both contractor backlog and confidence have begun to fade,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Higher materials…

Awards & Accolades 1. Nonprofit group La Frontera Arizona’s development arm La Frontera Partners Inc. has earned The Brian Mickelsen Housing Hero Award from the Arizona Department of Housing for its $14.9M Storacle Point Apartments development in Tucson. La Frontera Arizona works to address issues in affordable housing, behavioral health, employment and crisis intervention. 2. A design/build collaboration between Haydon Building Corp and Richärd Kennedy Architects has earned the firms a prestigious 2021 International Architectural Award for their work on the Asante Library in Surprise. The International Architecture Awards are dedicated to the recognition of excellence in architecture and urbanism from a…

By Rebekah Morris for AZBEX Extension of current ½ cent sales tax may be presented to voters as early as November 2022. The Maricopa Association of Governments, the Regional Transportation Planning Authority, has released their draft Regional Transportation Plan and associated Transportation Improvement Program. Taken together, the documents provide both a long-term vision for transportation planning in the region, as well as a short-term discrete list of funded projects to be implemented in the next few years. Central to funding the long-range plan is a 25-year extension of the current half-cent sales tax levied in Maricopa County. That existing tax…