Author: BEX Staff

Awards & Accolades 1. The Arizona Association for Economic Development (AAED) has presented seven Golden Prospector Awards recognizing excellence, innovation and creativity in economic development. The City of Goodyear won two of the awards, one for attracting Andersen Corporation to the city as the deal of the year and one for its website, “Goodyear Economic Development.” Other websites earning Golden Prospector Awards were the City of Mesa’s “SelectMesa.com,” the City of Prescott’s “PrescottBiz.com” and the City of Surprise’s “AZTechCelerator.com.” The City of Eloy was recognized for its marketing brochure, “Intersection of Value, Location and Opportunity,” and Pinal County’s multimedia promotion…

Sales Transactions 1. Vital Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Bang Energy drinks, bought a nearly 400KSF manufacturing plant in Phoenix near 43rd Avenue and Buckeye Road. The company bought the building for $53.32M and plans to invest more than $260M in Arizona operations. Sky Groden, Pat Harlan and Kyle Westfall with JLL represented Vital Pharmaceuticals in the deal, and Rob Martensen with Colliers International represented the seller, Cohen Asset Management. 2. S2 Capital purchased the 320-unit multifamily community FIVE46, located at 546 S. Country Club Road in the Mesa submarket of Phoenix, for $46M. CBRE’s Tyler Anderson, Sean Cunningham, Asher Gunter…

By Rebekah Morris for AZBEX Nearly $1.3B in school bonds were approved by Arizona voters across the state in 20 different school district bond elections. The vast majority were decided in Maricopa County with Pinal County coming in as a far distant second. Adequate education funding has become a trending topic through media coverage, increased attention brought by the Governor and legislature, and movements such as the Red for Ed protests by teachers in April of 2018. Funding for maintenance of existing and construction of new education facilities has been largely left up to the individual districts, who, in turn,…

By Cindy Barks for Daily Courier Yavapai County could be poised within the next four months or so to borrow upwards of $68M to pay for a new jail in Prescott. And if that occurs, initial site work could be underway at the chosen jail location along Prescott Lakes Parkway by about July 2020. During a study session in Prescott Wednesday, Nov. 6, the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors heard a report from Stifel Public Finance consultants about the process necessary for a bond issue to finance the estimated $68.5M cost of a new 144-bed jail. While the supervisors took…

Source: AZ Big Media Arizona senior Sen. Kyrsten Sinema helped secure $24M from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the City of Phoenix to advance the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport Northside Rail Expansion. “The trenching of the Union Pacific railroad track on the north side of the airport is essential to our Airport Development Plan and the expansion of the Air National Guard at Sky Harbor. We appreciate the support of our Congressional delegation and the US Department of Transportation on this project,” said Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. The Phoenix metro area is one of the fastest growing regions in…

Source: AZ Big Media An Arizona State University engineering professor is trying to promote a method of speeding up the Valley’s endless construction projects that can reduce years to months and months to weeks. Transportation experts say the economic, safety and transit benefits could be huge. Barzin Mobasher’s magic bullet is made of fiber-reinforced concrete. Mobasher and his team have come up with a certain set of calculations engineers can use to simplify working with the material. Annually, worldwide, 10 billion tons of concrete are used: more than one ton for every man, woman and child on the planet. It’s…

Source: Cushman & Wakefield Cushman & Wakefield, a leading real estate services firm, has released a report that reveals corporate perceptions of the value of flexible workspace and coworking strategies. Cushman & Wakefield partnered with CoreNet Global, a worldwide association of corporate real estate executives, to survey more than 550 key commercial real estate (CRE) executives at organizations around the world. Participants were asked about their general perceptions of the coworking sector, the pros and cons of using coworking, expected impacts on cost, and past and future employee utilization of flexible office spaces. Key findings of the report include: Nearly…

Awards & Accolades 1. Engineering New Record posted a list of the ENR Southwest’s 2019 Best Projects. You can find the full list of awards here. Some of Arizona’s best projects for 2019 include: Signal Butte Water Treatment Plant – City of Mesa – Best Water/Environment MIHS Maryvale Alternative Project – City of Phoenix – Best Healthcare Canyon View High School – City of Waddell – Best K-12 Education Little America Hotel Multi-phase Remodel – City of Flagstaff – Best Interior/Tenant Improvement The Union Tempe – City of Tempe – Best Office/Retail/Mixed-Use Phoenician Resort Renovation – City of Scottsdale -…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX Houston, Texas-based multifamily developer, Kaplan Management Company is proposing a new multifamily development within the McCormick Ranch Center in Scottsdale. The site, located at 9375 East Shea Boulevard, is currently zoned as Commercial Office Planned Community District and Highway Commercial Planned Community District. Kaplan has submitted a request to the City of Scottsdale to rezone the +/- 13-acre site to Planned Unit Development Planned Community District, in order to allow for a mixed-use development to include new residential combined with existing retail and office. Kaplan is also requesting a Non-Major General Plan Amendment from an…

By Angela Gonzales for Phoenix Business Journal Foundation for Senior Living is planning two more senior housing projects in Phoenix, but experts say it’s still not enough to keep up with the growing demand for affordable senior housing. Plans call for building two communities in Phoenix that will total $25.3M in development costs, said Tom Egan, president and CEO of FSL, a Catholic charity under the Diocese of Phoenix. A 78-unit community called Acacia will be built at 615 W. Pierson St., while a 113-unit community called Roeser will be built at 446/454 E. Roeser Road, he said. Each project…