Author: BEX Staff

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,…

Awards & Accolades  1. Avondale’s Festival Fields Park, which recently underwent a $19M expansion and renovation, was named Outstanding Facility of the Year by the Arizona Parks and Recreation Association.  2. The AZ Water Association has recognized EPCOR USA with its 2020 Water Project of the Year Award for EPCOR’s $29M expansion of the White Tanks Regional Water Treatment Plant in Surprise.  Groundbreakings  3. Wood Partners has begun construction on the 385KSF, 330-unit Alta Raintree multifamily development located at 688 E. Raintree Drive, Scottsdale. The project is scheduled to be completed in fall 2021.  4. The construction of the Downtown Links project in Tucson started last Monday to one day connect motorists from Barraza-Aviation Parkway to Interstate 10 and relieve downtown…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX  A new hotel is being proposed within the Cortaro Ranch Phase II development and will be located just north of Cortaro Farms Road and west of Cerius Stravenue.  Engineer and project applicant, EPS Group, Inc., on behalf of developer, Investment Resources Corp., is requesting approval of a development plan for the hotel, to be branded as a Home2 Suites by Hilton.  The Marana Town Council had approved a development plan for Lots 1-6 of the Cortaro Ranch Phase II project back in April 2019. At the time, a hotel was not discussed as one of the land uses; however, according to the August 26th, 2020 Marana Planning Commission agenda, “The property owner, Cortaro Commercial JV, LLC,…

Budget, Policy & Stimulus News  New PPP Rules Could Change Forgiveness Calculations  New rules issued by the Small Business Administration could make some Paycheck Protection Program borrowers’ rent or mortgage interest payments ineligible for forgiveness. Generally, the rules of the COVID-19 stimulus program deem rent and mortgage interest as expenses that count toward loan forgiveness, so long as 60 percent of the proceeds are spent on payroll. But the federal agency overseeing the program announced a new position on those outlays for businesses that have a landlord-tenant agreement between related parties. (Source: Phoenix Business Journal)  Fed Rate Policy Shift Allows Inflation to Rise  The Federal Reserve on Thursday adopted a…