Author: BEX Staff

Source: GSD Group Atari® has announced a deal with GSD Group —led by founder Shelly Murphy and partner Napoleon Smith III — to acquire the rights to build video game-themed Atari Hotels in the United States, with the first location breaking ground in Phoenix later this year. Atari, a trailblazer in the gaming industry, is pioneering a new concept: a unique lodging experience combining the iconic brand with a video game-themed destination. True North Studio will develop the first Atari-branded hotel. One of the most distinctive trends in gaming is gamers gravitating toward recognizable intellectual property. Atari Hotels will offer…

By Ellen Knickmeyer for Associated Press The Trump Administration on Thursday ended federal protection for many of the nation’s millions of miles of streams, arroyos and wetlands, a sweeping environmental rollback that could leave the waterways more vulnerable to pollution from development, industry and farms. The change, signed by heads of the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, narrows the types of waterways that qualify for federal protection under the Clean Water Act. President Donald Trump has targeted environmental and public health regulations that he says imposed unnecessary burdens on business. Speaking to farmers in Texas on Sunday, Trump repeated…

By Catherine Reagor for The Arizona Republic Metro Phoenix is expected to grow by 1 million people during the next decade. That will be like adding a city the size of San Jose, CA or Austin, TX, to the Valley. The billion-dollar question is where all those new residents will live. Most of the available land is on the edge of the West Valley and deep into Pinal County. About 5 million people already call metro Phoenix home, and the region already faces infrastructure and housing affordability issues. Mark Stapp, director of the Master of Real Estate Development program at Arizona State University,…

Source: Associated Builders and Contractors Confidence among U.S. construction industry leaders increased in November 2019 with respect to sales, profit margins and staffing, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors Construction Confidence Index. Sales and profit margin expectations reached their highest levels since May 2019, while staffing expectations reached their highest level since April 2019. Three-quarters of contractors expect sales to rise over the next six months and, as a result, nearly 65 percent expect to increase their staffing levels, indicating that the average contractor will face even greater challenges recruiting and retaining talent through the first half of 2020. More than…

Giving Back 1. Redden Construction has begun collecting non-perishable foods to donate to the Community Presbyterian Food Bank in Payson. Collection bins have been placed at jobsites at Community Presbyterian in Payson and the Shirdi Saibaba jobsite at 17110 N. 17th Avenue, Phoenix. Food will be delivered to Community Presbyterian on Friday, February 14th. Boards & Commissions 2. Terry Martin-Denning, CEO & Designated Broker, NAI Horizon, was named Secretary of the NAI Global 2020 Leadership Board. Martin-Denning will also serve on the NAI Global Board’s Executive Leadership Committee, comprised of executive committee officers, past chairs, and NAI Global’s executive leaders.…

Sales Transactions 1. CWS Capital Partners LLC purchased Azure Creek, a 160-unit garden-style multifamily property at 29862 N. Tatum Boulevard, Maricopa, for $36.25M. Senior Managing Directors Mark Forrester and Ric Holway and Senior Director Dan Cheyne of Berkadia’s Phoenix office facilitated the sale on behalf of the seller, RK Properties. 2. OZ-UNION, LLC purchased Union @ Roosevelt, a recently developed mixed-use project featuring 80 luxury, mid-rise apartments with 9.1KSF of ground floor retail space and 28KSF of land at 888 N. 1st Avenue, Phoenix, for $27M. Cindy Cooke, Brad Cooke, Matt Roach and Chris Roach of Colliers International in Arizona…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX New York-based, GTIS Partners is requesting a site plan review with the City of Mesa for the development of a new single-story, for rent community within the Cadence at Gateway Planned Community District. The project, dubbed Cadence Multifamily, will be located on approximately 17 acres of undeveloped property east of Ellsworth Road and south of Ray Road, “along the eastern portion of Development Unit 1, Phase 1,” of the Cadence Community Plan in the southern portion of Mesa, according to the project’s narrative. Cadence Multifamily is proposed as 195 single-story, for rent apartment homes consisting…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 4.6 percent in December 2019, from 4.8 percent in November 2019, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. The national rate remained at 3.5 percent from November. In December 2018, the state had a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.9 percent, and the national was at 3.9 percent. The state had a net gain of 6,500 non-farm jobs over the month, which is higher than the historical 10-year (2009-2018) average gain of 4,500 jobs. Trade, Transportation & Utilities had the largest increase of…

By Peter Madrid for Institute of Real Estate Management Greater Phoenix Chapter The theme of the 13th Annual IREM-CCIM Economic Forecast was “The Real Scoop.” Judging by the comments of economists and industry panelists, the message that resonated was “Phoenix and Arizona are on fire.” “Last year we talked about being late in the game and would there be extra innings,” said keynote speaker Elliott D. Pollack. “Where do we stand in the cycle now? Well, Phoenix is the most affordable major market in the Western U.S. We’re growing at three times that of other U.S. cities and still need…

Source: Associated Builders and Contractors Associated Builders and Contractors reported its Construction Backlog Indicator fell slightly to 8.8 months in November, a 1.5 percent decline from October’s reading. “Nonresidential construction backlog has generally been trending lower since the spring of 2019, but as a practical matter, this represents little cause for concern,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “There are at least two reasons for this. First, backlog reached a record high of 9.5 months in March 2019, buoyed by seasonal factors and an economy that had yet to feel the full effects of ongoing trade disputes. Second, for much…