Author: BEX Staff

Awards & Accolades 1. The City of Phoenix Aviation Department announced that it has been recognized in the GBAC STAR™ Facility Accreditation Program. Phoenix Sky Harbor, Phoenix Deer Valley and Phoenix Goodyear airports have all received this accreditation. The Global Biorisk Advisory Council’s GBAC STAR™ facility accreditation program is an outbreak prevention, response, and recovery accreditation for facilities. It represents a high level of achievement within the cleaning industry, including 20 components that a facility must meet in order to achieve this accreditation. 2. NAI Global earned the No. 4 spot in the 2021 Lipsey Survey of Top 25 Commercial…

Sales Transactions 1. Pacific Development Partners purchased Montreux, a 335-unit luxury mid-rise apartment asset at Desert Ridge in Phoenix for $117M. Steve Gebing and Cliff David of Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap, represented the seller, The Statesman Group, and procured the buyer. 2. Praxis Capital purchased Tierra Vida Apartments, a 200-unit multifamily complex at 1970 W. Old Magee Trail, Tucson, for $35.75M. Art and Clint Wadlund with Berkadia Tucson represented the out-of-state seller. The buyer was self-represented. 3. Bridge Investment Group purchased Villa Bugambilias Apartments, a 360-unit apartment complex at 7400 E. Golf Links, Tucson,…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX Toll Brothers Apartment Living is proposing to replace a vacant drive-thru restaurant and parking lot at the NWC of 6th Avenue and Miller Road in Scottsdale, with a new boutique multifamily residential development inspired by Charles Miller and Frank Lloyd Wright. Zoning attorney and applicant, Berry Riddell, on behalf of the owner recently submitted plans to the City of Scottsdale and is requesting a zoning district map amendment from Highway Commercial to Downtown/Downtown Multiple Use, Type 2, Planned Block Development, Downtown Overlay for the +/- 1.7-acre site, as well as an increase in base building…

Budget, Policy & Stimulus News Lenders Push SBA About Loan Delays A coalition of lender groups has urged the Small Business Administration to act to clear thousands of Paycheck Protection Program loans currently being held up. The loans were flagged by the agency’s automated verification system and businesses could be shut out if the matter is not resolved by a March 31st deadline. (Source) Economic News BBB, Phoenix, GoDaddy Launch Microloan Partnership The Better Business Bureau, City of Phoenix and GoDaddy have joined forces to create Phoenix Kiva Hub, a crowdfunding resource that seeks to provide local business owners with…

By Associated Builders and Contractors Associated Builders and Contractors has reported its Construction Backlog Indicator rose to 8.2 months in February, according to an ABC member survey conducted from February 22nd to March 3rd. This is up 0.7 months from January’s reading, but is still 0.7 months lower than in February 2020. ABC’s Construction Confidence Index readings for sales, profit margins and staffing levels also increased in February. All three indices are now above the threshold of 50, indicating expectations of growth during the next six months, but below February 2020 levels. (Source)

By CBRE Driven by demand from cloud service providers and large tech companies, Phoenix saw the sixth-most data center leasing in North America in 2020, according to CBRE’s latest North American Data Center Trends Report. Year-over-year net absorption in Phoenix was 17.5MW megawatts in 2020, up 38 percent from 2019, despite 9MW of new supply coming online last year. The metro’s vacancy rate of 6.7 percent at the end of last year is the lowest since 2016, while average asking lease rates remained steady in 2020 at $115. Phoenix has seen increased demand for investment in and development of freestanding…

Groundbreakings 1. The Related Group announced the groundbreaking of Town Deer Valley, a 388-unit multi-family luxury residential apartment homes at 24032 N. 19th Avenue, Phoenix. The project’s design firm is Gary Todd Architects and the general contractor is GCON. The first residential units will be available in the second quarter of 2022 with the grand opening slated for fall of 2022. 2. The Arizona Department of Transportation is starting a project to replace the Interstate 40 bridges over Business 40, which connects the interstate to Historic Route 66 in west Flagstaff. The project, which is approximately three miles west of…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX The City of Phoenix owns a parcel at the SWC of 24th Street and Broadway Road, and is looking for some fresh ideas for future development. A Request for Information was recently issued on the city’s website, seeking help to determine, “how best to creatively approach a possible future solicitation for development of the Site so results are market viable and beneficial to the surrounding neighborhood, the City, and the developer.” The RFI goes on to state that, “responses to this RFI will be used to ascertain if market conditions support the issuance of a…

Budget, Policy & Stimulus News Senate Passes Relief Package The U.S. Senate this weekend passed the $1.9T COVID-19 stimulus and relief bill backed by the Biden Administration. The vote was 50-49 along party lines. The legislation extends emergency unemployment benefits and provides most Americans with direct payments of up to $1,400, along with funding for a range of other stimulus programs. Republicans in both the House and Senate decried to overall cost of the bill and the inclusion of significant non-COVID-related spending. Amendments submitted to address Republican opposition were largely rejected. The measure now returns to the House, which is…

ViaWest Group announced it has purchased 10 acres of land near Sky Harbor International Airport. The parcel is located at the NWC of S. 48th Street and the San Fran Canal and is in a Federal Qualified Opportunity Zone. This is ViaWest Group’s third OZ purchase in the last two years and the company continues to pursue additional industrial, office, multifamily, and land deals in the Southwest. ViaWest plans to build a class A industrial building on the land, Airport48 Industrial. Construction is set to begin Q3 of 2021 with a delivery of Q2 2022. There are currently two prominent,…