Author: BEX Staff

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX Developer, MILHAUS, is planning its second urban mixed-use community in Tempe, this one to be located on the south side of Apache Boulevard extending to Wildermuth and River Drive. The first one, called MILHAUS North Tempe, is a joint venture with Banyan Residential and phase one is currently under construction. The $177M project is anticipated to be completed in early 2023. This project, known as MILHAUS @ Apache & River, will sit on seven total parcels. According to the project documents the site is currently underutilized and contains a vacant industrial building and automotive business,…

A recent vote by Flagstaff City Council could scrap a planned 160-unit apartment development before it begins. At issue is a zoning request from developer Trinsic Residential Group to build Aura Flagstaff on an 11-acre parcel bisected by High Country Trail. The current owner wants Trinsic to restrict access to a two-acre portion north of High Country Trail to maintain the family’s use of the land and preserve a historic homestead it has owned since before Arizona statehood. Opponents and several Council members objected that portion of the request, claiming the restricted access makes the actual development site nine acres,…

Pecan growers Farmers Investment Co. and mining giant Freeport McMoRan are two of the Tucson area’s largest suburban water users and are actively engaged in long-term planning to mitigate the impacts of projected Central Arizona Project water shortages and cuts. FICO currently gets about 40 percent of the water for its pecan groves from Freeport and Tucson Water CAP supplies. The company is examining the possibility of returning to groundwater pumping, but leaders say the long-term solution may include a desalination plant to purify seawater or brackish groundwater. FICO and Freeport completed an 11-mile, $17.1M pipeline network project last year…

By Associated Builders and Contractors The construction industry lost 20,000 jobs on net in May, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Overall, the industry has recovered 888,000 (79.8 percent) of the jobs lost during earlier stages of the pandemic. Nonresidential construction employment declined by 21,800 positions on net, with the majority of losses sustained among nonresidential specialty trade contractors, a segment that lost 16,800 jobs. Heavy and civil engineering lost 5,500 jobs, while nonresidential building added 500 jobs on net. The construction unemployment rate fell to 6.7 percent…

Giving Back 1. More than 20 members of the Central Arizona chapter of CCIM gathered in May to volunteer at Feed My Starving Children in Mesa. During its two-hour shift, the chapter packed 60 boxes. That represented 12,960 meals that will feed 34 kids for one year. Feed My Starving Children is a nonprofit organization dedicated to seeing every child whole in body and spirit. It works with food distribution partners that stay with communities for the long term, empowering them to move from relief to development. 2. The University of Arizona Center for Innovation (UACI) announced the UACI Sponsored…

Sales Transactions 1. A private party purchased Copper Falls, a newly constructed, 240-unit multifamily asset in Glendale, for $72M. Steve Gebing and Cliff David, Executive Managing Directors with Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap, procured the buyer and represented the seller, P.B. Bell. 2. IHP Capital Partners and Värde Partners have formed a joint venture (JV) to acquire the remaining 3,721 acres of land for development within Vistancia, a 7,100-acre mature master-planned community in Peoria, for $68M. In April, IHP Capital Partners bought 429.75 acres at the SWC of Loop 303 and Lone Mountain Parkway in…

By Tasha Anderson and Rebekah Morris for AZBEX On Tuesday, June 1st, 2021, The Information reported that Menlo Park-based construction company, Katerra Inc. planned to cease operations. This has since been confirmed by BEX staff with numerous employees and people involved in their current projects. Surprisingly, work has not stopped any projects. All told, six major projects currently under construction are impacted, but the outcome may be much less severe than initially thought. New entities are expected to emerge from this dissolution, keeping some teams intact and enabling current projects to finish. According to the initial media report, the SoftBank-backed…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX Hospitality was one sector that was hit the hardest during last year’s shutdown; however, hotel occupancy rates and demand for more hospitality projects are headed back to normal as restrictions loosen and people become more comfortable travelling. That was the consensus given by the panelists at the BEX virtual Leading Market Series event held on Wednesday, June 2nd, 2021. Attendees logged into hear the current state and future of the Hospitality sector, as well as current projects. Panelists included Mike Krentz, President of DAVIS; Cari Meyer, Planning Manager for City of Sedona; Robert Schmidt, President…

A new clubhouse will be the first order of business for the planned $50.9M Tempe Diablo Stadium renovation program. Under an agreement between the City of Tempe and the Los Angeles Angels, who use the facility for Cactus League spring training, Tempe will contribute $40.9M to improving the 75-acre facility near 48th Street and Alameda Drive. As part of the agreement, the Angels will stay in Tempe through at least 2035. The team will start out paying annual rent of $500K, and rent will increase 1.8 percent a year starting in 2023. Proposed renovations include: A new home team clubhouse;…

An agreement between the City of Chandler and Intel will create a new reclaimed-water interconnect facility to help optimize city water use and the company’s massive water needs for its manufacturing processes. Chandler and Intel execute a reclaimed water agreement every year to ensure the company’s project needs are met. Under the new agreement, construction of a new Reclaimed Water Interconnect Facility will commence in the fall to ensure adequate volumes for the company and Chandler’s other obligations. The treatment plant will be on the site of the Chandler Airport Water Reclamation facility on Queen Creek Road and will have…