Author: BEX Staff

By Bendix Anderson for National Real Estate Investor  Heading into 2020, a robust development pipeline and rising costs of construction material and labor were major concerns for the multifamily sector. The economic devastation wrought by the COVID-19 shutdowns has put a halt to that, scrambling the projections of economists, developers and contractors.  Developers aren’t exactly finding bargains at the moment, since there’s now also downward pressure on rents and potential returns. The net result is that even as more companies re-open for business most multifamily developers are still hesitating to start big projects or sign big deals to purchase materials. Those big deals that could help establish a…

Awards & Accolades  1. The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com announced that Clear Title Agency of Arizona has been awarded another top ranking on the list of 2020 azcentral.com® Top Companies to Work for in Arizona, for the eighth consecutive year.  2. ABI Multifamily Senior Managing Partner, John Kobierowski, has been selected for the GlobeSt. Best Bosses 2020 award by the editors of GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, a leading national commercial real estate magazine. Honorees were selected for their influence and accomplishments within the commercial real estate industry.  3. Engineering News Record recently published their ENR 2020 Top 400 Contractors List. ENR subscribers can view the full list here. Sundt Construction, Inc. announced they climbed to No. 52 on…

Sales Transactions  1. Tides Equities teamed with FCP to buy the Tides at South Tempe, a 442-unit apartment complex at 4130 S. Mill Avenue, for $71.5M.  2. Knightvest Capital purchased the Capital Place Apartments, five-story, 292-unit complex at 11 S. 12th Street, Phoenix, for an undisclosed amount. The JLL Capital Markets Investment Advisory team representing the seller, Epoch Residential, includes Mike Higgins, Charlie Steele and John Cunningham.  3. Westcore acquired a 164.5KSF, Class A industrial warehouse on 16.5 acres of land at 2550 N. Nevada Street, Chandler for $38M. The warehouse is fully leased to a leading global e-commerce company. Jeff Chiate Will Strong and Mike Adey of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Greenlaw in the transaction, with…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX  A new package delivery service facility is being planned at the NEC of Litchfield and Sweetwater Roads in Surprise.  Applicant, Withey Morris, LLC, on behalf of real estate developer, BH DevCo, submitted a request for site plan approval to the city for the approximately 145.5KSF development, called Project Baxter. The Surprise Planning & Zoning Commission heard and recommended the project for approval at its June 18th meeting.  According to the submitted documents, “The package delivery facility will provide a physical location from which a third-party provider fulfills customer orders for ecommerce retailers.” Inventory arriving at this facility will be prepackaged and labeled and are anticipated to be shipped in a…

Budget, Policy & Stimulus News  Surprise Gets $16M in CARES Cash   The City of Surprise recently received more than $16M via the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to help offset tax losses and other budget impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds are intended to help with public safety personnel costs. Money freed up through the assistance payment will be used to shore up the General Fund in the face of sales tax losses. (Source: Independent Newsmedia)  IRS and Treasury Ease Opportunity Zone Incentive Requirements  Earlier this month, the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service issued revised guidelines and timeline extensions for investors in Opportunity Zone-related projects. (Source: Snell & Wilmer)  Economic…

Source: Arizona Corporation Commission  Arizona Corporation Commissioners voted for Johnson Utilities LLC to begin work on the Pecan Water Reclamation Facility Phase IV Expansion and Influent Pump Station & Headworks Replacement projects approved in Decision No. 77330.  The Pecan Water Reclamation Plant Phase IV Expansion totals approximately $18M and will expand the capacity at the plant from 3.0 million gallons per day to 4.0 million gallons per day.  Based on the Commissioners vote, the project will proceed without further delay and the company’s interim manager, EPCOR, has been directed to immediately commence construction. The project is expected to take approximately 12 months to complete.  The Commission directed Johnson ownership to…

Source: Maricopa County  Maricopa County is putting hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds to immediate use helping people impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic while also pulling back on discretionary spending unrelated to the crisis. The Board of Supervisors approved the final $3.071B budget for fiscal year 2021. The bulk of spending is focused on core responsibilities like public safety, with an increased amount dedicated to community health.   “These are difficult times. This budget focuses on what people need right now: investments in their safety, their health, and their economic wellbeing, all within our state mandates, all without raising the tax rate,” said Board of…

Groundbreakings  1. Pacific Hospitality Group and Mortenson recently broke ground on a 238-room, 8-story Hyatt Place hotel in downtown Phoenix. The project is expected to be completed in September 2021. Allen+Philp Partners is the architect.  2. FatCats Entertainment has started construction on their new ground up, 61KSF family entertainment center at 20660 E. Riggs Road, Queen Creek. The $11M project will have 8 theaters, 20 bowling lanes, arcade, nine-hole glow in the dark mini golf, party room, virtual reality area, bar and restaurant. TK Architects is the design firm and A.R. Mays Construction is the general contractor.  3. The partnership of Davcon Aviation and Mesa Hangar has started construction on nearly 400KSF of hangar and office space at Mesa Falcon Field Airport. The $60M project is being managed by GCON, Inc.  Progress Reports  4. Lincoln…

By Rebekah Morris for AZBEX  The top 10 Capital Improvement Programs (CIP) in Arizona total $22.5B, a 6.01 percent year-over-year increase over last year’s tally. BEX evaluates the internal planning documents produced within more than 30 municipalities each year, identifying funding levels and future trends in public spending for infrastructure and public spaces. This is the fifth consecutive year of increased budget levels for capital spending in Arizona municipalities.  Top Capital Programs  The preliminary top capital programs for the state are very similar in order from last year. This year the added instability due to COVID-19 introduced a new layer of risk. By and large, the preliminary CIP documents are not…

Budget, Policy & Stimulus News  Beyond PPP: Help for Contractors  A recent article in ConstructionDive takes a look at federal loans, tax credit and other assistance programs beyond the Paycheck Protection Program that can be of help to contractors trying to weather the COVID-19 downturn. (Source: ConstructionDive)  New SBA PPP Rule Allows for (Some) Higher Salaries  The Small Business Administration has officially expanded the amount business owners can pay themselves and their employees and still get full forgiveness for Paycheck Protection Program Loans. That new, higher cap only applies to employees. Owners — those who file a Schedule C or F form — are capped at a much lower $20,833…