Author: BEX Staff

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX Ferguson Enterprises, a national plumbing, HVAC and building supplier, is planning a new warehouse and storage facility on 48.3 acres west of the SWC of Queen Creek and McQueen Roads in Chandler. The City of Chandler approved a request to rezone the undeveloped site from Agricultural (AG-1) District to Planned Area Development for Planned Industrial uses, as well as approved a Preliminary Development Plan for site layout and design at its October 16th Planning and Zoning meeting. The project is proposed as 544.3KSF warehouse and storage facility with wholesale/retail and office area and outdoor storage.…

Source: Lincoln Property Company A 196-acre land purchase made by a joint venture between Lincoln Property Company (LPC), Ken Roth/Roth Development Corporation and Scottsdale Investment Management LLC has expanded LPC’s just-announced Park303 industrial project into a major new master-planned, Loop 303-fronting industrial park in Glendale, Arizona. With the additional land, the joint venture industrial park will span approximately 265 acres along the Loop 303 between Bethany Home Road and Glendale Avenue, with the ability to support almost 4.5MSF of new industrial construction. “The Loop 303 has become one of the bright new opportunities for the Southwestern U.S. industrial market,” said…

Source: George Oliver Phoenix-based developer George Oliver has completed a $38.8M, two-building acquisition and will invest almost $14M in additional capital to bring a new creative office portfolio to the heart of downtown Chandler. Rebranded to The Alexander and The Johnathan, the buildings will be named after Chandler namesake Alexander Johnathan (A.J.) Chandler. “There is a tremendous energy in downtown Chandler right now – from new tech growth and new multifamily development to its collection of experiential, highly walkable amenities,” said Curt Kremer, George Oliver Founder and Managing Partner. “We are hopeful that our new concepts, The Alexander and The…

Source: Rio Nuevo Adam Weinstein, president and CEO of The Gadsden Company, asked the Rio Nuevo Board to help finance The Bautista, a $72M, mixed-use project on the West Side. When completed, the Bautista will sit along what will soon be a year-round flowing section of the Santa Cruz River. This mid-rise project, near West Cushing Street and South Linda Avenue, includes 16.5KSF of retail space, 253 residential units and a restaurant. The two main buildings are designed around a central linear plaza lined with shops and restaurants that connect the buildings and surrounding streets to the riverfront. Water features…

Source: Associated Builders and Contractors Associated Builders and Contractors reported that its Construction Backlog Indicator climbed to nine months in August 2019, up 0.5 months or 5.4 percent from July 2019, when CBI stood at 8.5 months. “Despite some other leading indicators suggesting weakening in nonresidential construction spending, our most recent backlog readings show that contractors are still experiencing significant demand for construction services” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “The primary issue for most contractors is not a lack of demand, but an ongoing and worsening shortage of skilled workers available to meet contractual requirements.” “Though this month’s report…

Groundbreakings 1. Lincoln Property Company (LPC), Harvard Investments, dignitaries from the City of Mesa and business and community leaders joined to celebrate the groundbreaking of the first office building at Union, a new project that – at build out – will total 1.35MSF in four Class A office buildings at Dobson Road and Rio Salado Parkway. Completion of Building 1 is scheduled for October 2020. DAVIS is the project architect and Wespac is the general contractor. 2. High Street Residential, the residential subsidiary of Trammell Crow Company, and its partner, Principal Real Estate Investors, announced that construction has begun on…

By Sammy Williams for AZBEX If your Starbucks run includes a PSL (that’s a Pumpkin Spice Latte), then it’s a sure bet the season of Capital Improvement Plans is upon us. To mark this occasion where municipalities debut their fiscal year plans for new construction, expansion and maintenance, BEX hosted more than 200 attendees at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Tempe on Thursday, October 17th at the fourth annual AZBEX Public Works Conference. Not only did attendees gain insight into the public sector and network with industry professionals, they also heard about current and future projects, followed by vendors’ raffle…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 4.9 percent in September, from 5 percent in August 2019, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. The national rate decreased to 3.5 percent from August. In September 2018, the state had a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.8 percent, and the national was at 3.7 percent. The state had a net gain of 21,900 non-farm jobs over the month, which is lower than the historical 10-year (2009-2018) average gain of 28,500 jobs. Government had the largest increase of jobs with 12,100, followed…

Source: AZ Big Media The rising cost of college is putting new emphasis on helping young people find alternative career paths that won’t leave them heavily in debt. The 18th annual Arizona Construction Career Days, held November 7th-8th, aims to expose young people to new career options they may not otherwise have considered that do not necessarily require a college degree. Rosendin, the nation’s largest employee-owned electrical contracting company, will offer participating students several hands-on demonstrations with technology that has changed the industry, such as computer modeling and augmented reality. Volunteers from the company’s Tempe office will also teach students…

By Rory Carder for Gensler On August 15th, 2019, Gensler Phoenix partnered with the local ULI chapter to bring the local community together to discuss new challenges in workplace design. Some of the Valley’s leaders attended the event, which included a lively panel discussion and follow-up Q&A about workplace issues such as the need for private spaces in the world of open offices, the rise of coworking, and managing a multi-generational talent pool. As the office prepares for our move out of downtown Phoenix, the conversation was particularly relevant. Key Takeaways Choice is an important factor. The work-anywhere, work-anytime culture…