Author: BEX Staff

Source: inMaricopa.com  Maricopa Unified School District wants to open its second high school in 2022.  The district is contemplating the size and curriculum of the school, how much of the cost will remain after the School Facilities Board grant and the possibility of seeking a bond. The district’s last attempt at bond failed with voters.  Meanwhile, the district is examining the status of the ongoing, seven-year budget override.   The estimate for FY20 is $4.3M. Class sizes dropped from an average elementary target of 33 students per class to an actual average of 25. enrollment has also increased, and class sizes are edging up again.  How all of…

Source: ABI Multifamily   ABI Multifamily has published its Q1 2020 Phoenix Multifamily Quarterly Report. And while the start of 2020 was strong, with rent growth, healthy occupancy rates, lower cost of living, and high renter demand all pointing to another extraordinary year, the future has yet to tell how the multifamily industry will be impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic. With a development pipeline full of planned and under-construction properties, the timeline for the completion of these projects is unclear.  The real effects will be highlighted in Q2 2020 data. However, it is expected the Coronavirus Recession will be shaped more like a “V” or a…

Awards & Accolades  1. Achen-Gardner Construction’s Salt River Siphon Repair Design-Build project for Central Arizona Project (CAP) and Beardsley WRF Solids Pipeline Rehabilitation project for the City of Peoria has been awarded the 2020 Public Works Project of the Year award in the category of Environment from APWA.  Groundbreakings  2. Mirabel Golf Club recently began construction on the $5M, 20.6KSF Mirabel Desert Lodge Clubhouse renovation and expansion project at 37100 N. Mirabel Drive, Scottsdale. PHX Architecture is the architect and A.R. Mays Construction is the general contractor. The project is expected to be complete in October 2020.  3. Greenlight Communities has broken ground on the $17M, 89-unit multifamily community, Cabana on Hayden, which will offer Scottsdale residents brand new, affordable and centrally located rental homes. Cabana on Hayden is…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX  The site of a former Sears Parts and Repair store just west of the SWC of 18th Street and McDowell Road in Phoenix is proposed to be redeveloped into a new multifamily mixed-use project called The Governor by Moderne.  Developer, Moderne Apartments, LLC submitted plans to the City of Phoenix and is requesting to rezone the approximately 2.88-acre site to a Planned Unit Development in order to allow the five-story development.  The name, The Governor is a tribute to Arizona’s first Governor, George W.P. Hunt, as his mansion was first developed on that site in the early 1900’s. It was demolished in 1951 and redeveloped into the commercial building…

Economic News  Crisis’ April Housing Market Impact  The coronavirus took its toll on metro Phoenix’s housing market in April, but the pandemic is keeping fewer home buyers on the sidelines in May. Home sales dropped and prices dipped last month after hitting a record high a few months ago, according to Arizona Regional Multiple Listing data. But the number of Valley homes for sale didn’t soar in April. (Source: AZCentral)  COVID Crisis ‘Ravages’ Scottsdale Coffers  Scottsdale gave unanimous approval to its fiscal year 2020-21 tentative budget after a call for contingency funds be added for community services ranging from rental assistance to adaptive service programing. The Council vote comes after city staff…

By Scott Buffon for Arizona Daily Sun  A federal agency has approved two permits for a hydroelectric dam developer to study the Little Colorado River located on Navajo Nation for their applications to build up to four dams.  However, in early March the same developer, Pumped Hydro Storage, submitted a third groundwater dam application in Big Canyon, which is a dry canyon attached to the Little Colorado River. The Federal Energy Regulation Commission has yet to accept the application for Big Canyon, according to Pumped Hydro.  The first two dam projects on the Little Colorado River caused significant backlash from Native American tribes and environmentalists in 2019. The preliminary…

By Farah Eltohamy for Cronkite News  Buckeye got bumped from the top spot for population growth rate in 2019, but its 56.6 percent population increase since 2010 was still enough to make it the second-fastest growing city in the nation for the decade.  New population estimates released by the Census Bureau show Buckeye’s population grew to 79,620 in 2019, a 7.1 percent increase in just one year and a sizable leap from the 50,851 people who lived in the city in 2010.  The numbers also showed Phoenix maintaining its perch as the city with the largest number of new residents in 2019, keeping it in fifth…

Company News  1. BEX is proud to announce that we have recently obtained the status of Certified DBE firm for the following NAICS codes:  511120 – Periodical Publishing  5418 – Advertising & Public Relations Consulting  51913 – Online Publishing & Web Search Portals  541613 – Marketing Consulting  561920 – Event & Meeting Planning  We look forward to expanding our scope of services in these areas of work, especially related to projects that have DBE goals.  2. CapRock Partners announced a first and subsequent second closing of CapRock Partners Industrial Value-Add Fund III, totaling more than $180M of committed capital in the fund and co-investment vehicles. CapRock Partners Industrial Value-Add Fund III…

Sales Transactions  1. Valwood Element, LLC purchased Element at Kierland, a 57.7KSF upscale multi-tenant office building at 14614 N. Kierland Boulevard, Scottsdale, for $17.3M. Eric Wichterman and Mike Coover of Cushman & Wakefield represented both the buyer and seller, MACP Kierland Fairways, LLC, a subsidiary of Montana Avenue Capital Partners.  2. Lilly Tucson Investments, LLC purchased Ridgewood Gardens, a 171-unit multifamily complex at 3302 S. Pantano Road, Tucson, for $11.3M. SVN Desert Commercial Advisor’s Danny Lee represented the buyer. The seller was Ridgewood USA, LLC.  3. Marcus & Millichap announced the $9.05M sale of Walgreens, a net-lease drugstore at 2000 S. Mill Avenue, Tempe. Mark Ruble, Chris Lind, and Jamie Medress, investment specialists in…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX  Plans for a new 203.4KSF residential mixed-use development to be located at the NEC of Smith Road and Apache Boulevard have been submitted to the City of Tempe.  The 4.09-acre property is within Tempe’s Eastline Village development site. Applicant, Gammage & Burnham P.L.C., on behalf of developer, Jones Multifamily, LLC, is requesting a General Plan Density Map Amendment from Medium to High Density, a Zoning Map Amendment to Mixed-use High Density, a PAD Overlay and approval of plans including site plan, elevations and landscape plan.  The project, called Blue at Eastline Village, is proposed as a four-story residential mixed-use development comprised of two buildings housing 187 dwelling units, and approximately 4KSF…