Author: BEX Staff

By Suzanne Adams-Ockrassa for Casa Grande Dispatch  The Francisco Grande resort has big plans to expand in the next few years.  The Casa Grande Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of a plan by Francisco Grande to develop a mix of residential, commercial, hospitality, open space, office space and recreational campus space on its 663-acre property near Montgomery Road and Gila Bend Highway.  The owners want to create a walkable, multi-use community that expands the property’s current uses as a hotel and golf resort and as the home of the Barca Soccer Academy and ASU Preparatory Academy, according to a report given to the commission.  The 144-acre high-density residential…

Source: Associated Builders and Contractors  The construction industry lost 975,000 jobs on net in April, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This was the largest recorded decrease in construction jobs since the government began tracking employment in 1939, despite construction remaining an essential industry in much of the nation through April.  Nonresidential construction employment lost 560,500 jobs on net in April. There were job losses in all three nonresidential segments, with the largest decline registered among nonresidential specialty trade contractors, which lost 393,100 jobs. Nonresidential building lost 88,500 jobs, while heavy and civil engineering…

Giving Back  1. Habitat for Humanity has a program designed to produce the next generation of skilled craft construction workers to address workforce demands. The CIT pre-apprenticeship program is a 16-week, fast track, on the job training program. The program is uniquely designed as an immersive and intensive curriculum that specializes on basic core construction fundamentals, leadership and soft skills development for participants ages 18 and over.  2. Over the last several weeks, Resolution Copper has been actively working with communities to address the COVID-19 crisis and its impacts. They recently partnered with United Food Bank and White Mountain Apache Tribe to deliver 75K meals to tribal members, and now they are partnering with…

Sales Transactions  1. NetStreit recently bought the former Toys R Us store at 4519 N. Oracle, Tucson, for $5.91M. The 44.3KSF building is being converted into a Big Lots “Store of the Future.”  2. Champion 34 Arcadia, LLC purchased 34 Arcadia, a newly renovated 45-unit contemporary boutique apartment community at 2936 N. 34th Place, Phoenix, for $5.86M. Brian Smuckler, Jeff Seaman, Derek Smigiel and Bryson Fricke of CBRE in Phoenix represented the buyer and the seller, NDX Investments II, LLC.  3. Goldstein Investment Co. acquired Idle Hours, a 28-unit apartment community at 1501 E. Rovey Avenue, Phoenix, for $5.8M. Brian Smuckler, Jeff Seaman, Derek Smigiel and Bryson Fricke of CBRE in Phoenix represented the buyer and the seller, Torino Holdings, LLC. The buyer…

By Rebekah Morris for AZBEX  After more than a year in development, BEX is excited to launch DATABEX: the newly redesigned version of the online searchable database application. What started in August of 2016 with only 200 active projects has now grown to nearly 1,750 active projects.   Our mission is to put all the active projects in one spot, add dozens of data points, and update them as they move forward through planning and design, all the way to project completion. Sounds simple, right? That has been our concept behind the database the whole time. With DATABEX, subscribers are able to gain access to the most recent, up-to-date information on any given project along with the exact right…

Policy & Stimulus News  Arizonans Still Seeking Input on Reopening Economy  Arizona officials have received more than 250 comments from business leaders and others on how best and when to reopen the state’s economy, even as some restrictions have started to ease. Sandra Watson, president and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority, said state officials will continue to seek input as the longer-term outlook for reopening remains murky beyond the next two weeks or so. (Source: AZCentral)  Economic News  Property Managers Urged to Speak Up to Minimize Crisis Impacts  In an opinion piece published by National Real Estate Investor, Cheryl Gray, CPM, 2020 president of…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX  The Town of Gilbert recently issued three Requests for Qualifications, one for architectural/engineering services, one for technical advisory services and the third for Construction Manager at Risk services for an alternative’s evaluation and construction of the North Water Treatment Plant.  According to the RFQs, the town is planning to build the 45-mgd drinking water plant around the SWC of Higley and Guadalupe Roads. The project is expected to replace the capacity of the existing North Water Treatment Plant and, “re-use or repurpose those facilities which are part of the North Water Treatment Plant to the extent practicable.” …

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX  The estimated financial impacts of COVID-19 on the State Transportation Improvement Program over the next five years may be as much as $540.4M, according to Kristine Ward, Chief Financial Officer for the Arizona Department of Transportation.  Ward presented the current revenue reports for the Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF) and Regional Area Road Fund (RARF), as well as the estimated impact to the Arizona State Transportation Board at its April 17th meeting.  So far, approximately $1.2B in revenue has been received for HURF, which was about 0.9 percent below forecast, and approximately $333M has been received for RARF, which was about 2.2 percent above forecast. “Gas tax is about 3.6…

By Thomas Brophy for Colliers International   While nearly every aspect of life has changed since March 1st of this year, it is necessary to take stock of where the market was prior to the COVID-19 shock knowing that all previous data sets relied upon have changed. As Elliott Pollack so eloquently stated in his ‘The Monday Morning Quarterback,’ 4/6/2020 post:  “You shouldn’t be concerned with how bad things look right now. Current events are like nothing in modern history. The unprecedented slide in the economy has nothing to do with normal economic cycles. It is due to a reaction to COVID-19 that will be transitory. In addition, the CARES Act just passed by Congress is not…

Awards & Accolades  1. The Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) announced that Stage 2 of Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport Sky Train (PHX Sky Train®) is the recent recipient of an Envision Gold Award for sustainability. This is the airport’s first Envision award and the third Envision-awarded project in the State of Arizona. Stage 2 is expected to be complete and fully operational in 2022.  Groundbreakings  2. The Bureau of Land Management broke ground this week on construction of the Baldy Mountain shooting sports site in the Lake Pleasant area. Baldy Mountain is one of five sites currently planned within the boundaries of the BLM Phoenix District. Construction is expected to take around six…