Author: BEX Staff

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX  Plans for a new horizontal mixed-use commercial and residential center is set to be heard at the City of Mesa’s Planning and Zoning meeting on May 27th.  Developer and applicant, Overland Development Corp is requesting rezoning approval of a +/-11-acre site north of Baseline Road on the west side of Crismon Road, from Limited Commercial to LC Planned Area Development, as well as a Conditional Use Permit, Site Plan Review approval and Preliminary Plat request to replace the office condominium plat with, “a revised plat with three lots for each use: hotel, restaurant and multifamily residential,” according to the project documents submitted to the city. …

Policy & Stimulus News  Updated PPP, Grant Program Under Way  While the Small Business Administration is kicking off its second round of funding in the Paycheck Protection Program, small businesses also have another funding outlet that doesn’t need to be paid back. The Economic Injury Disaster Loans program, for small businesses with fewer than 500 employees, also received additional funding as part of the CARES Act. The additional EIDL funding is tucked inside an additional $60B approved in this new round of funding for SBA disaster loans. (Source: Phoenix Business Journal)  Economic News  Meritage Cutting Spending During Crisis  As COVID-19 has put a damper on what originally was going to be a hot spring selling season for homebuilders, Meritage Homes Corp. has reduced spending…

Source: Arizona Department of Transportation  The Arizona Department of Transportation has been granted environmental approval to continue moving forward with plans to improve an 11-mile section of Interstate 10 that includes the Broadway Curve.  ADOT issued a Finding of No Significant Impact after completing a Final Environmental Assessment for the I-10 Broadway Curve project in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The Final Environmental Assessment includes comments from the community received during and after public meetings in February and October of 2019. The document is posted at azdot.gov/I10BroadwayCurve.   The project includes adding lanes between the I-17 “Split” interchange and the Loop 202 Santan/South Mountain Freeway, improving the interchange at US 60, replacing…

Source: American Institute of Architects  Reflecting the deteriorating conditions in the overall economy, demand for design services from architecture firms recorded a record fall, according to a new report from The American Institute of Architects.  AIA’s Architecture Billings Index score of 33.3 for March reflects a decrease in design services provided by U.S. architecture firms (any score below 50 indicates a decrease in billings). During March, both the new project inquiries and design contracts scores dropped dramatically, posting scores of 23.8 and 27.1 respectively.    “Though most architecture firms have made quick transitions to remote operations, the complete shutdown of business activity is severely…

Source: Associated Builders and Contractors  National nonresidential construction spending fell 0.1 percent in March and is up 2.0 percent compared to the same time last year, 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 $802.6B for the month.  Among 16 nonresidential subcategories, 12 experienced a decline in spending on a monthly basis. Private nonresidential spending fell 1.3 percent from February, while public nonresidential construction spending increased 1.6 percent.  “Today’s data release answers precious few questions,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “The great debate has been whether the combination of pre-existing…

Giving Back  1. With food banks nationwide facing a sharp drop in donations amidst the COVID-19 crisis, Parallel Capital Partners, Inc. has announced it will donate a total of $30K to regional charitable food distributors in its six primary markets: San Diego, Honolulu, Dallas, Long Beach, Orange County and Phoenix.  Awards & Accolades  2. Olsson Inc., a nationally recognized engineering and design firm, ranks among the top 100 design firms in the United States for the third consecutive year. Olsson is now ranked 94th on the 2020 annual ranking by Engineering News-Record. Olsson moved up two spots on ENR’s Top 500 Design Firms list after growing…

Sales Transactions  1. Sunroad Enterprises purchased Metro at Zanjero, a 253-unit multifamily community at 9450 W. Cabela Drive, Glendale, for $55.4M. CBRE’s Tyler Anderson, Sean Cunningham, Asher Gunter and Matt Pesch of Phoenix Multifamily Institutional Properties represented the seller, Private Portfolio Group.  2. KB Investment Development has purchased Superstition Canyon, a 200-unit, garden-style Class A multifamily community at 1247 S. 96th Street, Mesa, for an undisclosed amount. Tyler Anderson, Sean Cunningham, Asher Gunter and Matt Pesch of CBRE’s Phoenix office brokered the sale. The name of the seller and acquisition price were not released.  3. A California-based private investor purchased Fernwood Court, a 32-unit gated community at 15430 N. 25th…

By Rebekah Morris for AZBEX  Business as usual will not last long. As Arizona construction projects continue for the most part, a near total economic shutdown is happening all around us. The abrupt economic shock is resulting in dramatic increases in unemployment and simultaneous record-setting federal government stimulus spending. At some point, economic contraction translates into less demand for construction.   The BEX Leading Market Series discussion on Wednesday, April 29th, attempted to unpack some of the issues in tracking the real impacts of COVID-19 on the Arizona economy and how those translate into local real estate development and construction.   Director and Professor of Research at the University of Arizona, Dr. George Hammond described the impacts to the Arizona economy…

Policy & Stimulus News  Ducey Extends Stay at Home Order  On April 29th, Governor Doug Ducey extended Arizona’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy, Stay Connected” order through May 15th, with a number of modifications. (Source: Valley Partnership)  Governor’s Office Issues Extension Guidance  Governor Doug Ducey’s office has issued guidelines and explanations to help residents and businesses better understand changes to the extended stay at home order. (Source: Office of the Governor)   Economic News  Q1 U.S. Economy Dropped 4.8 Percent  The U.S. economy contracted at an annualized 4.8 percent rate during the first quarter of 2020 as a result of the ongoing global pandemic, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX  Plans for a new residential mixed-use development to be located at 7000 E. McDowell Road have recently been submitted to the City of Scottsdale.  National real estate development firm, Hawkins Companies is requesting a zoning district map amendment from Highway Commercial to Planned Unit Development zoning, in order to develop the four-story project called Southdale, which, according to the project documents, gets its name from renowned architect Ralph Haver’s first residential subdivision.  The approximately 4.7-acre site currently houses Scottsdale Christian Church and landscaping company, Berghoff Design Group and includes truck/trailer storage and offices. The property is proposed to be redeveloped into 267 multifamily…