Author: BEX Staff

By Tasha Anderson and Rebekah Morris for AZBEX Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 6.7 percent in April 2021, from March 2021, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. The national rate increased to 6.1 percent from March. In April 2020, the state had a seasonally adjusted rate of 14.2 percent, and the national was at 14.8 percent. The state had a net gain of 9,400 non-farm jobs over the month. “Historically (2011-2020), Nonfarm employment has recorded a loss of 22,300 jobs in April,” the report states. Leisure & Hospitality had the largest…

By SCHEELS SCHEELS, an employee-owned All Sports retailer, is excited to bring its first location to Arizona, opening Fall of 2023 in Chandler. The new shopping destination is planned for the Chandler Fashion Center after a full renovation and expansion of a vacant building, and will feature 220KSF of premium retail adventure for the entire family. The new Arizona SCHEELS will be home to entertainment attractions, specialty shops and boutiques. This includes 75 specialty shops staffed by trained experts who focus on helping customers achieve their goals. The one-of-a-kind retail experience will attract sports fans, outdoor enthusiasts and customers seeking…

A major family entertainment center and water park in Maricopa moved a step closer to reality last week. Maricopa City Council unanimously approved the sale of 59 acres and the lease of another 12 to developer PHX Surf LLC. The sale consisted of three parcels at the SWC of SR 238 and North Loma Road. Total price was $3.86M. Council also approved a development, operating and lease agreement. Preliminary plans for PHX Surf Park feature two wave/surf pools, water slides, a lazy river, sand volleyball courts, a hotel, restaurants, an RV park, a 22-unit tiny house area with a clubhouse…

By AZBEX Staff and RENTCafé As one of the nation’s fastest growing apartment markets, Phoenix has also experienced massive growth in self-storage development. RENTCafé’s most recent self-storage report shows the local market has expanded by 35 percent in the past 10 years. Among RENTCafé’s core findings: Metro Phoenix built 8.7MSF of self-storage over 108 facilities in the past decade, surpassing Atlanta, Miami and Denver. The area now offers 6.8SF per capita, slightly below the national average of 7SF per capita. Phoenix also added more than 58,000 multifamily units in the same period of time – surpassing Boston, Charlotte and San…

Groundbreakings 1. Mortenson, in partnership with PGIM Real Estate and Urban Development Partners, has broken ground on its anticipated The Beam on Farmer, a five-story, 184KSF Class A office building at 401 S. Farmer Ave, Tempe. Completion of the Beam is anticipated in May 2022. The project architect is RSP Architects. 2. Continental Properties announced the groundbreaking of Springs at Eastmark, a luxury, 276-apartment home community at the intersection of E Warner Rd. and S Ellsworth Rd, Mesa. Pre-leasing will begin in early 2022 with move-ins expected as early as March 2022. Huitt-Zollars is the architect and McShane Construction is…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX A new elementary school is being proposed on approximately 17 acres at the SWC of Avondale Boulevard and Broadway Road in Avondale, which will bring in students living within the 1.1KSF Alamar master-planned community. The Littleton Elementary School District #65 recently issued a Request for Qualifications for a qualified Construction Manager at Risk to provide preconstruction and construction services for the new school, currently called The Elementary School on Alamar. The new school will be constructed in two phases. The first phase will total approximately 63.6KSF and will consist of a 9.8KSF administration building, a…

The Coconino County Board of Supervisors cited fire safety and cultural resource concerns in their unanimous vote against approving a rezone for the proposed 247-acre Two Guns Resort near Winslow. Plans by Gunderman Designs & Concepts Inc. called for nearly 775 lodging units, including almost 400 RV spaces, 30 worker housing units, restaurants, two water parks, a mini-golf course, clubhouse, visitor center and public event space. Fire protection and emergency vehicle access were concerns for officials, who noted the development had only one access point. Winslow’s fire marshal said the department would not provide emergency services to the site. Opponents,…

By Associated Builders and Contractors Construction input prices increased 1.3 percent in April compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data. Nonresidential construction input prices increased 1.6 percent for the month. Construction input prices are 19.7 percent higher than a year ago, and nonresidential construction input prices expanded 19.2 percent over that span. All three energy subcategories have experienced significant year-over-year price increases. The price of crude petroleum rose 245.2 percent, while unprocessed energy materials and natural gas increased 117.7 percent and 114.6 percent, respectively. Softwood…

Awards & Accolades 1. Fulton Homes was recently announced as 2021 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year winner for Sustained Excellence, marking the seventh consecutive year the homebuilder received recognition from the Environmental Protection Agency’s program. 2. AZ Big Media issued the Top 10 Multifamily Brokerage Firms in Arizona based on public voting for the 2021 edition of Ranking Arizona. They are: ABI Multifamily Colliers International CBRE ORION Investment Real Estate SVN Desert Commercial Advisors Cushman & Wakefield NAI Horizon JLL Commercial Properties Inc. LevRose Commercial Real Estate/TCN Worldwide 3. AZ Big Media issued the Top 10 Office Brokerage Firms…

Sales Transactions 1. An entity tracing to Raymond Kao purchased Escape at Arrowhead, a 324-unit multifamily property at 7951 W. Beardsley Road, Peoria, for $103.75M, from an entity tracing to Embrey Development. 2. An entity tracing to Investcorp purchased Carleton Club Apartments, a 436-unit multifamily property at 17425 N. 19th Avenue, Phoenix, for $86.5M, from an entity tracing to Tides Equities. 3. An entity tracing to Investcorp purchased The Edge Apartments, a 380-unit multifamily property at 15202 N. 40th St.., Phoenix, for $83M, from an entity tracing to Tides Equities. 4. MG Properties Group purchased The Retreat Apartments, a 480-unit…