Author: BEX Staff

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX  Owner, Advanced Acquisitions, LLC is looking to develop a new 293-unit bungalow-style rental community located north of Pat Tillman Boulevard and west of 163rd Avenue in Surprise.  A request for site plan approval was submitted to the City of Surprise by LVA, an RVi Company, on behalf of the owner. The request was heard and approved at the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission.  The project, called Asante Bungalows, plans to include 76 one-bedroom, 139 two-bedroom and 78 three-bedroom multifamily rental units that will sit on approximately 25.23 acres. According to the project documents submitted to the city, the one-bedroom units will be designed as duplexes while…

Budget, Policy & Stimulus News  Many Businesses Opting Out of Payroll Tax Deferral  The decision to let employers defer payroll taxes is part of the Trump administration’s effort to boost the economy absent any action from a stalemated Congress on a relief bill. Taxes can be deferred from September 1st through the end of 2020, but must be fully repaid in 2021. Small business owners, experts and advocates say the nature of the program leaves businesses on the hook at a time of desperate need as they attempt to recover from the economic fallout of COVID-19. A payroll tax deferral lay…

By Victoria Harker for Chamber Business News  Arizona is positioned for a faster economic recovery than the rest of the nation, and with some strategic moves on the part of state policymakers and citizens, it should jump back to a leading spot within next year or so, according to local economists.    “We have the chance for this to be one of the best decades ever, but it’s going to take more work to be in the top five again in terms of economic activity,” said Jim Rounds, president of Rounds Consulting Group, Inc.   “If we can avoid a significant surge in the outbreak as we…

Source: Associated Builders and Contractors  Construction industry employment expanded by 16,000 jobs on net in August, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the last four months, the industry added 658,000 jobs, recovering approximately 61 percent of the jobs lost during March and April.  The construction unemployment rate, which reached 16.6 percent in April, stood at 7.6 percent in August, up 4 percentage points from the same time last year and down 1.3 percentage points from July. Unemployment across all industries declined substantially from 10.2 percent in July to 8.4 percent in August. This occurred despite an increase in the nation’s labor force participation…

Awards & Accolades  1. Sundt Construction, Inc. ranks No. 67 on the National Center for Employee Ownership’s Top 100 largest majority-employee-owned companies list and No. 8 within the construction industry.  Boards & Commissions  2. The Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (FDCC) has named Sundt Construction’s assistant general counsel Matthew Meaker chair of their construction section. He had served as the vice-chair of the group for the past year.    3. Nicole Snyder, Healthcare Business Development & Marketing Leader at Orcutt | Winslow, has joined the PHX East Valley Partnership Board of Directors. Snyder served as past president of the Arizona Association for Economic Development.  4. John Hamby has recently joined Phoenix Community Alliance as…

Sales Transactions  1. RK Properties has sold Northern Greens Apartments, a 420-unit multifamily property located in Gilbert, for $55.5M on behalf of one of its tenant–in-common 1031 exchange investment programs and the RK Opportunity Fund III.  2. Mark IV Capital, Inc. purchased Perimeter Parkview Corporate Center, a 24.2KSF, Class A multi-tenant office building at 8355 E. Hartford Drive, Scottsdale, for an undisclosed amount. Barry Gabel, Chris Marchildon and Will Mast of CBRE in Phoenix represented the seller, Melcor Developments.  3. A California-based private investment firm purchased Moon Mountain Apartments, a 34-unit garden-style multifamily community at 1500 W. Thunderbird Road, Phoenix, for $8.5M. ABI Multifamily Vice President Royce Munroe represented both the buyer and seller, and Arizona-based private investment firm.  4. Boavida…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX  The world’s leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners, defense, space and security system and largest aerospace company is planning to build a new fabrication center at the NEC of Greenfield and McDowell Roads in Mesa.  The Boeing Company submitted plans to the City of Mesa and is requesting site plan approval and a special use permit for the one-story building. The City of Mesa’s Planning and Zoning Board approved the request with conditions at its August 26th meeting.  The new fabrication center will be approximately 155KSF and will be located on +/- 21.5 acres of vacant land within the western part…

Economic News  Pandemic Exposes Stress in Commercial Property Financing  The severity of the COVID-19 crisis has revealed extreme stresses in one of its primary sources of commercial property financing; the $1.4T market for commercial mortgage-backed securities. “I don’t think anyone foresaw the devastation that COVID would wreak on commercial real estate and the CMBS market,” says Lea Overby, an analyst at Wells Fargo who has covered the sector for almost two decades. (Source: Financial Times)  A Suburban Shift in Homebuilding  Evidence of a suburban shift for consumer home buying preferences as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic can be found in the second quarter NAHB Home Building Geography Index. The HBGI is a quarterly measurement of building conditions across the country and…

Source: NCCER and Build Your Future  Spearheaded by NCCER and Build Your Future, the eighth annual Careers in Construction Month, will return this October. The campaign was launched to increase public awareness, inspire the next generation of craft professionals and make an impact on the perceptions of a career in construction. To date, 39 states have filed proclamation requests and are ready to begin celebrating rewarding careers and recognizing the men and women who build America.  Although construction offers job satisfaction, lucrative salaries and high skills, it is facing a critical shortage of workers. To help build a pipeline of talent, BYF is encouraging partnerships between industry and education this CICM. …

Source: Associated Builders and Contractors  National nonresidential construction spending fell 1.2 percent in July, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, spending totaled $809.1B for the month.  Of the 16 nonresidential subcategories, 10 were down on a monthly basis. Private nonresidential spending declined 1.0 percent while public nonresidential construction spending was down 1.3 percent in July.   “There are two primary countervailing forces influencing the trajectory of nonresidential construction spending,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “The first is a force for good and involves the reopening of the economy and associated rebound in overall economic activity. Despite the lingering pandemic,…