Author: BEX Staff

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 6.9 percent in February 2021, from January 2021, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. The national rate decreased to 6.2 percent from January. In February 2020, the state had a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.9 percent, and the national was at 3.5 percent. The state had a net gain of 17,100 non-farm jobs over the month. “Historically (2011-2020), Nonfarm employment has averaged a gain of 25,400 jobs in February,” the report states. Trade, Transportation & Utilities had the largest net gain…

By Arizona Commerce Authority Intel has announced a substantial expansion of its Arizona-based manufacturing capacity with a $20B investment – the largest private sector investment in state history. The expansion will see the construction of two new semiconductor fabrication facilities, or fabs, which will produce advanced semiconductor chips used in modern electronics. The investment will lead to the direct creation of 3,000 new high-tech, high-wage jobs and 3,000 construction jobs, while supporting an estimated 15,000 additional indirect jobs in our community. Intel’s operations in Arizona go back more than 40 years. With this new expansion, Intel will employ nearly 16,000…

By JLL Amid the pandemic, Phoenix maintained its position as a top US data center market, benefiting from increased cloud migration and technology adoption across major industries. These forces drove unprecedented activity in the data center industry to end 2020, and positioned Phoenix as #3 in the US for total data center space absorbed. According to JLL’s Data Center Year-end report, 2020 was a record year for the data center industry across the US with absorption tracking historic highs in numerous markets. Absorption reached 619.3MW across 15 US markets, driven in large part by increased emphasis on consumer convenience and improved…

Groundbreakings 1. VanTrust Real Estate announced the start of construction on two new Amazon Sortation Centers, one at Corona and Alvernon, Tucson, and another at North Sarival Road and Maryland Avenue, Glendale. Both buildings will span approximately 270KSF, were designed by HPA Architecture and are being constructed by Layton Construction. They are expected to open later this year. 2. Conor Commercial Real Estate and joint venture partner WHI Real Estate Partners recently started construction on phase two of Lotus Project, which will incorporate three additional industrial buildings totaling nearly 300KSF on a 21-acre site in Chandler. The new buildings will…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX The City of Casa Grande has recently issued a Request for Qualifications for the second phase of the Lucid Motors Electric Vehicle Facility – also known as Project Gravity. According to the RFQ, Casa Grande is looking for, “professional architectural, structural engineering and building code compliance services to support the Building Official in the review and processing of the various building plans associated with Phase two.” Phase one of the Lucid Motors Factory was completed in December 2020 and consisted of a 990KSF building that included manufacturing, assembly, storage, and central utility plant areas, as…

Budget, Policy & Stimulus News New PPP Extension Leads to Pushing for Bigger Loans The House last week passed the PPP Extension Act of 2021. If approved and signed into law, the measure will extend the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program to May 31st. Advocates are trying to use the additional time to give newly-added qualifying businesses the opportunity to receive a larger loan. They are seeking to make the new qualifications announced in February retroactive, which would let businesses that applied for smaller amounts under the old cap now receive the larger difference. (Source) Economic News Retail Rent…

A May 26th auction date has been set for 373 acres along Chandler Boulevard in Ahwatukee. Minimum bid for the land, located between 19th and 27th avenues, is set at $105M. Given the shortage of available land for new home development, and the area’s existing zoning for single-family, multifamily, and commercial, it is likely the bids will significantly exceed the starting price. As many as 1,050 new homes could eventually be built on the site. The State Land Department estimates infrastructure improvements to the land will cost an eventual developer at least $5.2M. If the estimated 1,050 new homes are…

Data from the first quarter U.S. Chamber of Commerce Commercial Construction Index reveals contractors are growing more optimistic, mostly driven by a rise in revenue expectations. They also have better outlooks on hiring and equipment spending plans as business concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic lessen. In the first quarter of this year, 36 percent of contractors expect their revenue to increase over the next year, a jump of 11 percentage points from 25 percent in Q4 2020. Eighty-seven percent expect their revenue to either stay the same or increase, up from 86 percent last quarter. Most (86 percent) contractors also report…

Awards & Accolades 1. R. Craig Coppola, the highest-producing broker in the 40+ year history of Lee & Associates and one of the Valley’s most visible and popular commercial real estate leaders, has been named NAIOP Arizona’s 2020 Award of Excellence recipient. He was honored at the Best of NAIOP awards ceremony on Wednesday, May 12th at WestWorld of Scottsdale. Coppola is one of eight Founding Principals of Lee & Associates Arizona. He holds the three most coveted designations in the industry: CCIM, CRE, and SIOR (one of 33 in the world to hold all three). 2. KTGY Architecture +…

Sales Transactions 1. TerraCap Management, LLC purchased Koll Cotton Center, a seven-building, 225.4KSF light industrial park at 4050 E. Cotton Center Boulevard, Phoenix, for $30.89M. JLL’s Senior Managing Director Mark Detmer and Senior Director Ryan Sitov, along with local market experts Executive Vice President Steve Sayre and Managing Directors Mark Gustin and Dave Seeger, represented the seller, BKM Capital Partners. The JLL Capital Markets Debt Placement team representing the buyer included Executive Managing Director Kevin MacKenzie and Director Jason Carlos. 2. An affiliate of Zeitlin Capital purchased The Crossing at Sahuarita, a 137.6KSF Sprouts-anchored neighborhood center at I-19 and Old…