Author: BEX Staff

Company News  1. Shephard-Wesnitzer, Inc. is a full-service civil engineering and surveying firm celebrating three decades of “engineering an environment of excellence” in northern Arizona. Founded in Sedona in 1990, SWI has since grown to 28 employees with additional offices in Flagstaff, Prescott and Cottonwood. SWI is grateful to have served public, private and tribal clients on thousands of projects over 30 years.  Promotions  2. Rebecca Fuentes, SPHR, a 17-year veteran of Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR, was named Director of Operations. Most recently serving as Director of Human Resources, Fuente’s growth, value, and contributions were recognized by the employee-owned Tucson company’s…

Sales Transactions  1. Cohen Asset Management purchased a 325.8KSF industrial building at 7400 W. Buckeye Road, for $30.7M, from Kansas City Life Insurance Co. Payson MacWilliam, Don MacWilliam and Chris Reese of Colliers International in Arizona handled the sale transaction.  2. Fairfield Residential purchased Jefferson Town Lake, a 244-home, 1.6-acre luxury apartment community at the intersection of North Scottsdale Road and East Playa Del Norte Drive, Tempe, for an undisclosed amount. The seller was JPI.  3. CBRE Capital Markets Debt & Structured Finance has arranged a $22M loan for the acquisition of a 285KSF cold storage facility at 7000 W. Buckeye Road, Phoenix. CBRE’s Bruce Francis, Robert Ybarra, Shaun Moothart, Dana…

By Rebekah Morris for AZBEX  On Wednesday, July 8th, nearly 80 people attended the BEX Virtual Leading Market Series discussion highlighting current and upcoming economic development happenings in the Central and West Valley of Phoenix. Panelists included Lori German, Communications Director for the City of Glendale, Sintra Hoffman, President and CEO of Westmarc, Christine Mackay, Community and Economic Development Director for the City of Phoenix and David Roderique, Economic Development Director for the Town of Buckeye.  Focus on Employment Growth and Services while Overcoming Misconceptions  For years, the West Valley has battled to overcome a perception that the workforce is not available for major employers. Hoffman detailed the efforts of Westmarc, working with the Maricopa Association of Governments and Arizona State University, to bring…

Budget, Policy & Stimulus News  Scottsdale Allocates Relief Funds  On July 1st, Scottsdale City Council accepted $29,628,014 from the AZCares Fund as part of the federal CARES Act. Uses range from utility assistance for residents to providing retrofitting to city businesses that house large quantities of people. (Source: Independent Newsmedia.)  Multifamily Advocates Lobby for Expanded Relief  Even though most renters have continued to pay on time — due, in part, to government relief programs — the largest of those programs, the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Solutions (HEROES) Act, is set to expire at the end of July. The Senate remains on its 4th of July recess, but apartment industry advocates continue to lobby for new and…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX  An undeveloped, forested 13.65-acre site at the NWC of Fourth Street and Butler Avenue in Flagstaff may become the site of a new horizontal multifamily mixed-use development.  The owner, Flagstaff at 4th, LLC, also shown as Caliber Companies on the documents submitted to the city, is requesting to rezone the site, which is bounded to the north and east by Sinagua Middle School, to the south by Butler Avenue and to the West by Pinehurst at Flagstaff Apartment Complex, from Medium Density Residential to Highway Commercial.  The project, called The Elkwood, will mostly be made up of four, 62.7KSF four-story apartment buildings consisting of a mix of…

Source: Rio Nuevo  Facing a substantial reduction in next year’s revenue due to COVID-19, the Rio Nuevo Board approved a break-even budget reflecting an estimated $6M reduction in annual state tax revenue. The District has been dramatically impacted by COVID-19 related business closures and the subsequent economic slowdown.   The District ended the year with a little over $6M cash on hand and has elected to hold those funds as a reserve while watching the current and future revenue trends.  A number of previously approved projects have been put on hold while revenue stabilizes.   Additionally, the Board allocated zero dollars for marketing and sponsorship support for downtown centric events. Historically, the District has spent on average approximately $1M a year supporting such events. Chairman Fletcher McCusker offered…

Groundbreakings  1. Builderz Warehouse has broken ground on a new $5M, 40KSF facility at 3156 E. Roeser Road, Phoenix, that will more than quadruple the size of the company’s current facility. Sun State Builders is both the architect and general contractor. The project broke ground on July 1st and is scheduled to be complete in February 2021.  2. CP Technologies broke ground on its new 50KSF headquarters and manufacturing facility near SR 89 and Deepwell Ranch/Crystal Lane in Prescott on June 24th. It is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021.  3. Greenlight Communities announced they, in partnership with Holualoa Companies, have broken ground on Cabana on Power, a 244-unit multifamily community at 6151 S. Power Road, Mesa, and construction of the rental community will begin soon. The…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX  Preliminary plans for a new multifamily, mixed-use development called The Alexander were recently recommended for approval with conditions at the Town of Marana’s June 24th Planning Commission meeting.  Developer, Sears Financial Corporation was requesting to rezone approximately 10.74 acres at the SWC of Aerie Drive and Thornydale Road from Neighborhood Commercial to Specific Plan. They were also requesting approval of a land use category change in the Marana General Plan from Commercial to Master Plan Area.  The Alexander, while entirely conceptual at this time according to the staff report, is expected to include a market rate, high-density multifamily development on the western part of the site, while…

Budget, Policy & Stimulus News  Virus Surge May Force More Business Relief  Because more than $130B remains in funding from the Paycheck Protection Program, Congress has approved a six-week extension for applications. There is speculation that, due to a nationwide surge in new COVID-19 cases, Congress will have to use the additional time to devise and implement a new or expanded relief/stimulus program before it recesses in August. (Source: Phoenix Business Journal)  Phoenix Backs Down on Hospitality Ordinance  A controversial ordinance that would have dramatically impacted how Phoenix hotels rehired workers after being furloughed because of the pandemic was removed from last week’s Phoenix City Council agenda. In what appears to be a win for hotel owners, there was no date set to reschedule the measure. City…

By Melissa Rosequist for Independent Newsmedia  Official marching orders have been set laying out perimeters for the Paradise Valley Planning Commission to scrutinize and evaluate revamped plans for SmokeTree Resort.  While the resort is in the early stages of going through the town’s official municipal approval process, the larger discussion of welcoming public input and comment while adhering to COVID-19 safety guidelines is on the minds’ of Paradise Valley officials, it appears.  The Paradise Valley Town Council discussed, and later unanimously approved, the statement of direction for the legacy resort.  The SOD is a municipal document that outlines the areas and aspects of a project the council would like Planning Commission to focus…