Author: BEX Staff

Budget, Policy & Stimulus News  Yuma Extends Permits for Builders  Yuma is extending the expiration date of most permits to help developers and those in the construction and real estate industries as they struggle with difficulties related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Council adopted a resolution extending the time of some permits to 180 days for those taken out before June 1st. (Source: Yuma Sun)  Economic News  PPP Loan Forgiveness Could Take Until 2022  Small businesses seeking loan forgiveness through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program could be caught in a process dragging out to 2022 — or even later, according to experts. The multiple layers of review and an…

By Rachel Estes for Yuma Sun  Somerton High School is beginning to take shape, at least conceptually, as the Yuma Union High School District governing board voted to award a design contract to DLR Group in the amount of $223,573 to launch the first five percent of the design programming needed to procure building permits and phase into construction once state funding is obtained.  Over the next four months, according to DLR Group senior architect Carmen Wyckoff, the agency will “plan, listen, explore and conceptualize,” taking care to hear feedback from prospective students currently attending Kofa and San Luis High Schools and district teachers on “what they face and…

Source: Associated Builders and Contractors  Construction input prices rose 0.8 percent in May compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data released today. Nonresidential construction input prices rose by 0.8 percent for the month as well.  Of the 11 subcategories, only three experienced monthly decreases, with the largest decrease in steel mill products, which fell 3.1 percent in May. The rise in prices was driven primarily by the three energy subcategories, which experienced significant increases over the previous month. Crude petroleum was up 41.6 percent, while natural gas and unprocessed energy…

Giving Back  1. K2 Electric recently contributed to the West Valley Mavericks Foundation, distributing over $375K in grants to 82 non-profit organizations in the west valley.  2. As the Valley of the Sun’s premier advocacy group for responsible development, Valley Partnership has given back with their annual Community Project for more than 30 years. This year, the Valley Partnership 2020 Community Project will be a $25K challenge grant benefitting St. Vincent de Paul and its many programs helping our community. Contributions can be made here.  3. The sixth annual I BUILT THIS! video contest, presented by NCCER and Build Your Future (BYF), is returning this October. Designed to promote the value of craft skills and construction as an industry of choice, the contest encourages secondary…

Sales Transactions  1. MHP #1, LLC, an affiliate of the Vanderhoot Family Trust purchased Desert Pueblo Mobile Home Community, a 55+ community with 418 spaces with 30 park owned homes, and approximately 70 spaces being used for RV parking on 56.5 acres at 1302 W. Ajo Way, Tucson, for $30M. Derek Harris of HARRIS Manufactured Housing & Commercial Brokerage represented both the buyer and seller, a family trust from Redwood, California.  2. An undisclosed buyer purchased Desert Willow, a 280-unit multifamily property at 2025 W. Indian School Road, Phoenix, for $20.7M. Pete Te Kampe, first vice president investments in Marcus & Millichap’s Phoenix office, had the exclusive listing to…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX  Withey Morris, PLC, on behalf of owner, Howard A. Keyes with Keyes Automotive, recently submitted plans to the City of phoenix for the development of a new automotive dealership to be located just north of the NEC of 21st Avenue and Bell Road.  The 2.15-acre site is currently zoned R-5 for multifamily residential. The California-based auto dealer wishes to rezone the property to C-2 for intermediate commercial and is requesting a Special Use Permit to allow for automobile sales.  The 21st Avenue and Bell Road Automotive Dealership is proposed to be approximately 63.5KSF and will include a new showroom/sales building, parts storage area, service shop and…

Budget, Policy & Stimulus News  Peoria to receive $20M in CARES Act funds  The City of Peoria is about to see some financial relief come its way to address the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. The State of Arizona has received $441M in direct, flexible funding to be disbursed to cities, towns and counties that did not receive direct federal funding thanks to the Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act. Of that, Peoria is due $20.2M, which will be paid back to the city in reimbursements. (Source: Peoria Independent)  Board Allocates $399M for COVID-19 Response and Recovery  Maricopa County is injecting nearly $400M into the local economy to help combat COVID-19. The…

By Suzanne Adams-Ockrassa for Pinal Central  Another electric vehicle company was scouting for locations for a factory and technical center in Arizona last week and Casa Grande was on its list of spots to check out.  Electra Meccanica, a Vancouver, Canada-based electric vehicle company, is checking out possible factory locations in seven states: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, according to a press release from the company.  The company makes the electric Tofino sports car, an electric two-seater eRoadster and is working on a single-seat, three-wheeled electric commuter vehicle called the Solo.   The new factory would work with the company’s manufacturing partner, Zongshen Industrial Group in Chongqing, China. The U.S.…

Source: Marcum LLP  The Marcum Commercial Construction Index for the first quarter of 2020 reports an industry suffering the adverse effects of COVID-19.  Construction employment fell by nearly one million jobs from March to April 2020, a decrease of 12.8 percent. The industry’s unemployment rate increased from 6.9 percent in March to 16.6 percent in April, the highest level since early 2012.   The index is produced by Marcum’s National Construction group.   “Typically, construction is protected in the early months of a recession, as months of backlog acquired over prior periods allow contractors to continue working even as the broader economy slows down. That was not the case this time around,” wrote Anirban Basu, author…

Groundbreakings  1. Pinal County has broken ground on their new 52KSF, five-story Attorney’s Office Building. This new facility will consolidate all County Attorney’s and their staff under one roof that are currently located in multiple properties around the county. The project is expected to be complete around July 1st, 2021. DLR Group is the architect and FCI Constructors, Inc. is the general contractor.  2. JLL Capital Markets announced that it has arranged construction financing and joint venture equity for the development of Cabana on 99th, a 286-unit, garden-style multi-housing project at NWC of 99th and Missouri Avenues. The 172.5KSF is expected to be complete in 2021.  Progress Reports  3. Willmeng Construction, Inc. and developer Trammell Crow Company recently…