Author: BEX Staff

Giving Back  1. Resolution Copper is donating up to $780K this year to assist organizations throughout the broader community during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Groups that have received Resolution Copper’s COVID-19 relief funds include Local First Arizona, Cobre Valley Youth Club, Community Alliance Against Family Abuse, Gila Safe Haven Domestic Violence Safe Home, Hayden Senior Center and others.  Awards & Accolades  2. Phoenix Business Journal has released the honorees for Outstanding Women in Business. Some of the honorees include:  Patricia Lee Refo – Snell & Wilmer  Sarah Weiss – Elite Roofing Supply  Sandra Watson – Arizona Commerce Authority  Alaina Chabrier – SRP  Carrie Smith – Foundation for Senior Living  Company News  3. Mai Vu, Brittany Trotter and John Garigen, a trio of Valley commercial…

Sales Transactions  1. COMSovereign Holding Corp. a U.S.-based developer of 4G LTE and 5G connectivity and infrastructures, announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire a 140KSF building on 12.7 acres at 5120 S. Julian Drive, Tucson, for its U.S.-based manufacturing facility. An amount was not disclosed. Steve Cohen with Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR is handling the sale.  2. ACB Properties, LLC purchased a 141KSF industrial distribution and warehouse facility at 2130 S. Industrial Park Avenue, Tempe, for $7.75M. JLL Capital Markets also arranged $11.8M in financing for the buyer. The JLL Capital Markets Investment Advisory team led by Managing Director Brian Ackerman represented the buyer, while Director Carl Beardsley led…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX  Developer, The Terrance A Plas Company, recently submitted plans to the City of Phoenix to redevelop an existing medical plaza located at the NWC of McDowell Road and 12th Street, into a new 71.7KSF hotel.  The hotel, to be called The McDowell Hotel according to the project documents, will sit on approximately 1.58 acres adjacent to the Coronado Neighborhood.  “One of the major goals of The McDowell Hotel is to incorporate a comfortable overnight stay/experience within walking distance to Banner Hospital to reduce the need for vehicular trips within the Coronado Residential Neighborhood,” the documents state.  The project proposes an adaptive re-use of the existing vacated medical…

Budget, Policy & Stimulus News  Scottsdale Still Accepting Reimbursement Applications  Small businesses in Scottsdale can receive up to $5K in reimbursement grants for their costs related to COVID-19. The city is still accepting applications for the Small Business Reimbursement Program. (Source: Rose Law Group Reporter)  Phoenix Moves Faster Than State in Rent Relief  Phoenix has provided almost double the relief to renters impacted by COVID-19 in roughly a month than the Arizona Department of Housing has in nearly five months, government data shows. The city program is processing applications at least twice as fast as the state, in part because of easier application requirements, a wider pool of employees to review applications and lessons learned from hiccups in the…

Source: Arizona Department of Transportation  The Arizona Department of Transportation has been granted environmental approval to move forward with plans to improve the US 93/I-40 traffic interchange in west Kingman.  ADOT issued a Finding of No Significant Impact after completing a Final Environmental Assessment for the project, which was prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The Final Environmental Assessment includes comments from the community received through the public hearing. The document is posted at azdot.gov/WestKingmanTIP.  The improvements to the traffic interchange include a free-flowing direct connection between US 93 and I-40, designed to reduce congestion and improve traffic flow. Currently, traffic switching between…

By David A. Blake for GlobeSt.com  Those entering into new construction contracts should include custom language addressing the parties’ respective rights and responsibilities related to COVID-19. Many articles and webinars have focused on how traditional contract clauses in existing contracts may respond to COVID-19 issues. The fit is not always clear. Some guesswork is involved and creativity is called upon as square pegs are coaxed into round holes. While there is a need to perform that retrospective analysis to assess how COVID-19 issues will play out under existing contracts, there is no need to propagate uncertainty in new contracts. Uncertainty can cause parties to shy away from new…

Awards & Accolades  1. Three of the state’s major freeway and highway projects have earned regional awards from The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. These projects will now be considered for selection as one of the “Top 12” in the national competition sponsored by AASHTO, AAA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. They are:  Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, First Place in Best Use of Technology & Innovation, Large Project  Interstate 10/State Route 87 Improvement Project, including Dust Detection, First Place in Operations Excellence, Medium Project  State Route 347 Overpass at Union Pacific Railroad, First Place in Quality of Life/Community Development  Groundbreakings  2. Gila River…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX  The City of Flagstaff has issued a Request for Qualifications for a firm to provide Design-Build services for the design and construction of an overpass in central Flagstaff.  According to the issued RFQ, the city is looking for services including, project design, agency/public coordination, budget control/value engineering and construction services.  The project, called the Lone Tree Overpass Project, will be a bridge overpass that will be an extension of the existing Lone Tree Road, from Butler Avenue to Route 66.  According to the documents associated with the RFQ, an alternatives study was completed in 2010 the city had three…

Budget, Policy & Stimulus News  $730M Coming to 90K Displaced Ariz. Workers  Nearly 100,000 Arizonans who have lost jobs during the pandemic are about to finally receive thousands of dollars each in jobless benefits, according to the Department of Economic Security. DES Director Michael Wisehart said the department has verified 90,000 applications to the “pandemic unemployment assistance,” or PUA, program that provides jobless pay for contractors, self-employed and other people who don’t qualify for regular unemployment insurance. (Source: AZCentral)  Hotel Leaders Pleading for Relief  Hotel industry leaders are calling on Congress to pass bipartisan legislation to assist the industry, as a new report predicts a historic number of hotel foreclosures…

By Wayne Schutsky for Scottsdale Progress  Scottsdale has reached a preliminary agreement with Axon to reimburse the body camera manufacturer over $9M in infrastructure costs and other expenses connected to the planned expansion of its headquarters in Scottsdale.  The deal will go before City Council and is likely to face the same pushback from critics who opposed a similar deal with Nationwide in 2018.  Axon, formerly known as Taser International, was founded in Scottsdale in 1993 and has its eyes on a 74-acre parcel of Arizona state trust land near Loop 101 and Hayden Road to expand its nearby headquarters.  The land, which will go to auction…