Author: BEX Staff

Sales Transactions 1. Transwestern Real Estate Services announced it brokered the $53M sale of a 747-acre property in Buckeye at 19300 West Yuma Road. Transwestern’s Paul Borgesen, Dylan Sproul and Royden Hudnall represented Rovey Family Farms in the sale of the farmland to the Vanderwey Family. Plans for the property have yet to be announced. 2. Cushman & Wakefield announced the firm advised the sale of Paradise Valley Plaza. The three-building, multi-tenant office and medical complex totals 100.2KSF. Located at 5010, 5020 and 5040 E. Shea Blvd. in Phoenix, the property is 95% leased. The complex was acquired by Woodside…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Oakdale Realty has submitted plans for a 260-unit apartment community near the NWC of Banner Gateway and Pierpont drives in Mesa. The site is near the Banner Gateway Medical Center off Higley Road between U.S. 60 and Baseline Road. The project narrative for the Banner Gateway Residences proposal refers to the vacant 10.4-gross-acre parcel as a “challenging infill site” where the developer plans to create a “well-located residential community with a wide variety of amenities,” adding, “A high-quality, urban scale multi-family community is an excellent use of this vacant, infill Site and will benefit the…

The Prescott City Council Water Issues Subcommittee has voted to recommend approval to the Council for a water request by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for a 300-unit dormitory. The University has requested 34 acre-feet of water for a two-building dormitory totaling 300 units. Prescott’s water budget currently has an availability of 38.5 acre-feet. An appeal was necessary for the request to move forward, according to officials. Two service agreements will be necessary to provide water for the two planned residence halls that will be located on the Embry-Riddle campus west of Willow Creek Road. The proposed allocation includes 28 acre-feet of…

Finding “no viable path forward” for highway construction projects, the Pinal Regional Transportation Authority Board of Directors has voted to suspend operations. The nine-year-old Board is comprised of 11 mayors and city council members from Pinal County who work toward improving regional transportation solutions. A particularly troublesome combination of issues has been improvements to State Route 347 and project funding after the Arizona Supreme Court struck down a voter-approved transportation tax. Maricopa County’s Proposition 479, a continuation of the County’s half-cent transportation sales tax, was approved in this month’s election and provides some funding for SR 347 improvements on the…

By Associated Builders and Contractors Associated Builders and Contractors reported its Construction Backlog Indicator fell to 8.4 months in October, according to a survey of its member contractors conducted Oct. 21 to Nov. 4. The reading is unchanged from October 2023. Backlog fell in every region except for the Northeast in October, reversing the previous month’s trend in which every region except for the Northeast saw an increase in backlog. Only the Middle States have a longer backlog than one year ago. ABC’s Construction Confidence Index readings for sales and staffing levels improved in October, while the reading for profit…

Awards & Accolades 1. Design-Build Institute of America recognized nearly 50 project and team awards at the 2024 Design-Build Conference & Expo. The University of Arizona Applied Research Building won both the 2024 Project of the Year and Best in Design – Architecture. The research building was also selected as a winner of the National Award of Excellence in the Educational Facilities category. The architect was SmithGroup and McCarthy Building Companies was the general contractor. Groundbreakings 2. Abernathy Holdings, in partnership with Gary Tharaldson, has broken ground on three self-storage projects. The projects represent an average of $17.5M in project…

By City of Apache Junction The City of Apache Junction is pleased to announce the release of a Request for Proposal for the transformative development of its 10-acre property located in the downtown district. The centrally located site, which is situated off Idaho Road and Apache Trail, was purchased by the city earlier this year as part of its ongoing efforts to revitalize the area through the attraction of new businesses and investment. The RFP, which is now available on the city website, is intended to solicit responses from developers requesting to either purchase or ground lease the property for…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Already a popular area for redevelopment, Rural Road between Apache Blvd. and University Drive in Tempe could soon see another 950-unit community dotting the landscape. This week, the Tempe Development Review Commission will consider a proposal from developer Up Campus Student Living for Nova Tempe, a pair of 20-story buildings totaling 950 units/2,391 bedrooms, more than 14KSF of restaurant space and a 10-story on-site parking structure. The 3.69 gross-acre site at the SEC of Rural and University is a popular location. According to the staff report, “The property to the east was approved in 2023…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX The Casa Grande Planning and Zoning Commission has approved a major site plan for a duplex community proposed by developer Dominium on a 5-2 vote. The hearing, however, included an extensive discussion of low occupancies and rental unit saturation in the city. The submittal prepared by iPlan Consulting details Dominium’s plan for 278 duplex units on a 25-acre property near the SWC of Peart and Earley roads. The location is within the 107-acre Peartly Point Planned Area Development approved earlier this year. Peartly Point includes areas for residential, commercial and industrial uses, according to the…

By National Association of Home Builders Wages for residential building workers grew at a fast pace of 9.9% in September, following a robust 10.8% gain in August. These year-over-year growth rates in the past four months were unprecedented in the history of the data series since 1990. After a 0.3% increase in June 2023, the YoY growth rate for residential building worker wages has been trending higher over the past year. The ongoing skilled labor shortage in the construction labor market and lingering inflation impacts account for the recent acceleration in wage growth. However, the demand for construction labor remained…