Author: BEX Staff

Source: Rio Nuevo At an August 13th special meeting, the Rio Nuevo Board of Directors unanimously approved a $65M improvement plan for the Tucson Convention Center and surrounding campus, including the Tucson Music Hall, Leo Rich Theater and the Eckbo Plaza and Fountain. Rio Nuevo officials will now solicit bids and select a contractor for the project. The board also voted to proceed with a $126M financing plan that will earmark about $70M for the renovations and any contingency costs that could emerge, and refinance nearly $48M in debt for the Rio Nuevo district. The funds will also establish an…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained constant at 4.9 percent in July, from June 2019, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. The national rate remained at 3.7 percent from June. In July 2018, the state had a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.7 percent, and the national was at 3.9 percent. The state had a net loss of 11,400 non-farm jobs over the month, which is less than the historical 10-year (2009-2018) average loss of 21,000 jobs. Manufacturing had the largest increase of jobs with 1,700, followed by Trade,…

Awards & Accolades 1. The Kiwanis Park Splash Playground in Tempe was selected as one of the American Public Works Association’s Public Works Projects of the Year for 2019 in the category of Structures Less Than $5M. Dig Studio served as primary landscape architect on the project. Groundbreakings 2. Pan-American Charter Schools groundbreaking was last Friday, August 2nd at 8305 W. Thomas Road, Phoenix. Waltz Construction partnered with Highmark School Development, Orcutt I Winslow and Willis Property Company. This project will consist of two buildings, a K-8 two-story building and a one-story high school building. There will be associated site…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX More plans have been submitted to the City of Scottsdale for the development of Sereno Canyon Phase Four. Luxury homebuilder, Toll Brothers is requesting approval for final building elevations and a landscape plan for a resort lodge building, townhouse, and cottage resort development on a 129-acre site at the NWC of East Pinnacle Peak Road and North 128th Street. Phase four, also known as The Resort Club at Sereno Canyon, is proposed as a “vacation home series” consisting of 296 units. The units will be a mix of four estate vacation homes, 90 resort townhomes,…

By Tony Davis for Arizona Daily Star A local pro-mining group scheduled a mining appreciation event for October, expected to draw at least 450 people paying tribute to an industry employing roughly 7,500 people in Southern Arizona. The theme was going to be “Miracles from Mining,” highlighting what organizers say are its values to the economy and society as a whole. But after the July 31st federal court ruling halting work on the proposed Rosemont Mine, the Southern Arizona Business Coalition canceled the event. The coalition would have spent $35K, to be repaid through ticket sales, said Rick Grinnell, its…

Source: Associated Builders and Contractors Construction input prices expanded 0.8 percent in July but are down 0.6 percent year-over-year, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data released. Nonresidential construction input prices also increased 0.8 percent for the month but have declined 0.3 percent on a year-ago basis. Much of the year-over-year decline can be explained by plummeting energy prices, including crude petroleum (-20.3 percent), natural gas (-31 percent) and unprocessed energy materials (20.9 percent). The prices of softwood lumber (-19.5 percent) and iron and steel (-11.1 percent) are…

Giving Back 1. The Sundt Foundation awarded over $85K in grants to 30 Phoenix-area nonprofits during its third-quarter disbursements. The Sundt Foundation awards grants each quarter to area charities that support disadvantaged children and families. Nonprofits are selected through an application process and reviewed by a committee of Sundt employee-owners. 2. The Sundt Foundation awarded a total of $41.9K in grants to 20 Tucson-area nonprofits during its third-quarter disbursements, with Outdoor Adventures for Wounded Veterans, Inc. receiving the highest grant $3K. Awards & Accolades 3. Kimberley Shapiro Poole, A 27-year architecture, engineering and construction industry veteran and vice president of…

Sales Transactions 1. Blackstone Group LP has dropped $100M to buy San Valiente Luxury Homes, the 604-unit apartment community at 2220 W. Mission Lane, Phoenix, from Millburn and Co. 2. Thayer Manca Residential LLC purchased the 368-unit Palm Canyon Apartments, 2255 W. Orange Grove Road, Tucson, for $40.3M from Domain Communities. The seller was represented by Art Wadlund and Clint Wadlund of Berkadia. 3. Westcore Properties acquired a new, 379.8KSF Class A industrial building on 22 acres at 8001 W. Buckeye Road, Phoenix, from a joint venture between Phoenix-based Wentworth Property Company and a private real estate fund managed by…

By Sammy Williams for AZBEX Empire Residential Communities Fund IV, LLC (The Empire Group) of Scottsdale plans to develop 17.36 acres located south of the SEC of 53rd Avenue and Olive Avenue in Glendale. The gated residential community, named The Village at Olive Marketplace, features 208 casita-style, single-story homes. “The Village at Olive Marketplace combines the best elements of a traditional single-family community with multi-family-like lease terms and management. The combination of these elements creates a desirable residential option with indoor/outdoor living areas maintained by a professional management company, without the mortgage payment or HOA fees of a typical single-family development,” the developer said in a statement. The Village…

By Sue Tone for Daily Courier Yavapai County Board of Supervisors approved a new Criminal Justice Center for the Quad Cities – Option one of three – after hearing from Facilities and Parks Director Kenny Van Keuren at the Wednesday, August 7th, board meeting in Prescott. Van Keuren presented three proposals, recommending Option one to the board: a 93.9KSF facility with 144 beds and two courtrooms, plus medical, food service administration and laundry. A co-located non-custodial mental health facility will be part of the facility that will total about $68M to build. The mental health facility is part of all…