Author: BEX Staff

By Jim Walsh for East Valley Tribune  A developer already has “Surf Mesa’’ tee-shirts printed, hoping that his proposed two-acre “surf lagoon” turns into a regional attraction near Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport.  But while the lagoon is the centerpiece of Cannon Beach, it also includes 475KSF of commercial space, a gym, a climbing wall, a go-cart track, a 65-foot tall hotel and retail space.  All of this would be built only about a mile northwest of the airport, in an overflight area where housing could not be built without a permit because of aircraft noise.  The developer, Cole Cannon, said “there’s a huge, transplanted…

By John Gutekunst for Parker Pioneer  The three members of the U.S. Congress that represent La Paz County have introduced legislation that could add considerably to the land the county had conveyed to them by the Bureau of Land Management.  Sponsored by Arizona U.S. Senators Martha McSally and Kyrsten Sinema and U.S. District 4 Rep. Paul Gosar, the La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act will add 4,800 acres of BLM land to the 5,900 acres the county received from the La Paz County Land Conveyance Act.  The land will be used for renewable energy development. It will allow the county to build on its current solar energy project facilitated by the land conveyance bill that was passed in…

Giving Back  1. During its third-quarter disbursement, the Sundt Foundation awarded more than $75K in grants to 25 Phoenix-area nonprofits and more than $23K in grants to nine Southern Arizona nonprofits.  2. The ASU Foundation accepts gifts of real estate and provides the donor with a charitable contribution receipt that may qualify as a tax deduction. The proceeds from the sale of the real estate can help support Arizona State University student scholarships and experiences. The ASU Foundation also accepts philanthropic gifts of industrial, retail and multifamily buildings as well as vacant land.  Awards & Accolades  3. The City of Maricopa received two prestigious awards in the Outstanding Program category from the Arizona Parks…

Sales Transactions  1. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. purchased the newly constructed, 105-room Hyatt House and 154-room Hyatt Place at 601 E. 6th Street, Tempe, for a gross purchase price of approximately $64.6M. The hotels are part of the initial phase of the Novus Innovation Corridor.  2. Tides on 19th Partners, LLC purchased Nineteen Apartments, a 236-unit, garden-style apartment community at 4802 N. 19th Avenue, Phoenix, for $27M. Brian Smuckler, Jeff Seaman, Derek Smigiel and Bryson Fricke of CBRE in Phoenix represented the seller, Camelback at the Stop, LLC, and the buyer.  3. Taurus Investment Holdings, LLC purchased Avenel on 16th Apartments, a 200-unit apartment community near 16th Street and Indian School Road, Phoenix, for…

By Rebekah Morris for AZBEX  The diversity of East Valley cities was on full display at the August 12th, 2020 Leading Market Series discussion hosted by BEX. Economic development directors from the cities of Mesa and Scottsdale, along with the Town of Queen Creek, identified their unique challenges and goals in bringing in new employers to their municipality, especially during a time when typical face-to-face meetings and travel are not happening.    Panelists included: Doreen Cott, economic development director for the Town of Queen Creek; Lori Collins, deputy director of economic development for the City of Mesa, and Rob Millar, economic development director for the City of Scottsdale. The discussion was moderated by Rebekah Morris,…

Economic News  80 Percent of Retail Tenants Paid July Rent  Fewer than 60 percent of national brand retail tenants paid their rents in May, but 80 percent mailed the checks in July, according to the Datex Tenant Track of more than 1,000 shopping centers and tens of thousands of retail stores. (Source: Real Estate Daily News)  Alternate CRE Lending Dries Up  Lending for commercial real estate deals through commercial mortgage-backed securities and other nonbank, non-life company sources has nearly ground to a halt, according to a new lender survey by CBRE. (Source: Bisnow)  80 Percent of Apartment Renters Paid in August  A total of 79.3 percent of apartment households made full or partial payments by August 6th, according to the National…

By Corina Vanek for Phoenix Business Journal  A developer of high-end extended stay hotels bought 4.5 acres of land in north Phoenix to develop the company’s first Arizona hotel property.  WaterWalk purchased the site at 19th Avenue and Pinnacle Peak Road for $2.14M from the Alter Group. Trask Switzenberg and Chuck Wells of Kidder Mathews represented WaterWalk.  “The continued rapid expansion in the Deer Valley submarket, coupled with the site lying in an opportunity zone, led to our client’s confidence in moving forward with the transaction, even amidst the current economic climate,” said Switzenberg.  The site also includes a 0.75-acre retail pad that Switzenberg and Wells will also market.  Read more at Phoenix Business Journal. 

By Mark Cowling for Florence Reminder & Blade-Tribune  Florence Copper is a step closer to full-scale commercial production with state environmental regulators issuing a draft permit for public comment and scheduling a virtual public hearing for September 9th.  The company has been mining copper on a small scale for more than a year in a test phase. The company said in a statement that this testing period has confirmed “every production and environmental protection expectation” and the state’s draft permit “reflects that achievement.” The draft permit says the facility is in compliance with its existing permit.  The draft Aquifer Protection Permit will now undergo…

Source: Arizona Department of Transportation  The Arizona Department of Transportation has been granted environmental approval to continue moving forward with plans to improve two key corridors in the Tucson area.  ADOT issued a Finding of No Significant Impact after completing a Final Environmental Assessment for the Interstate 10/State Route 210 study in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The Final Environmental Assessment includes comments from the community received during and after public meetings in 2018 and a public hearing in 2019. The document is posted at azdot.gov/i10sr210study.  The study reviewed two highways within the Tucson metro area:  I-10 from the I-10/I-19 interchange to Kolb Road  SR 210 (Barraza-Aviation Parkway)…

By Angela Gonzales for Phoenix Business Journal  In an effort to bring more affordable housing units to Arizona, a group of health care CEOs have gotten together to create a $100M fund to help finance these construction projects.  So far, Aetna, Dignity Health and UnitedHealthcare have committed $35M in below-market debt that can be used by this fund to support projects to increase the number of affordable housing units, said Joe Gaudio, CEO of the west region for United Healthcare Community & State.  Another $2M in charitable grant funding has been earmarked by several other health care providers, including Arizona Complete Health, Banner-University Health Plan, Care1st Health Plan Arizona, Health Choice Arizona, Magellan Complete Care of Arizona, Mercy Care,…