Author: BEX Staff

Progress Reports 1. The rifle and pistol range at Pima County’s Tucson Mountain Park is set to re-open in mid-February, following demolition and reconstruction that was necessary due to storm damage. Demolition was completed in November. Reconstruction work includes preserving the structure’s historic stone columns and framing and installing a new roof. 2. The Coconino Medical Examiner’s Office is in the middle of a +/- $3.6M renovation. In May, the department will be moved to a newly renovated building that is 22 years younger and provides more than twice the amount of usable space, allowing ample room for work, storage and…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange Here at AZBEX, we pride ourselves on delivering our readers more detail and more accuracy than other outlets covering the Arizona A/E/C community. That might mean others get to a story first, but if we dedicate resources to an original, it’s pretty much guaranteed we’re going to tell you more about the project, trend or event than anyone else. Of course, once in a while, that dedication to originality and industry tracking means we get to tell you first. In the days of 24-hour news cycles and instant information, a “scoop” isn’t the…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange At the end of the year All across Arizona Moms and Dads planned excursions To L.A. and Pamona Each year we call out All the mean-hearted Grinches Whose year-end deadlines Throw the staffs in the trenches Submitters want to chill out Hug the kids, go see Mom But Humbug-y due dates Mean their plans all get bombed Yavapai needs Services For Green Watershed Planning Respondents are sinking It’s lifeboats they’re manning Historic Old Kingman Wants zoning advice Four days before New Year’s? That’s not very nice NAU’s…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange I was wrapping up my training as a reporter around the time the reporting trade was experiencing its second reported death in 30 years. Unbeknownst to any of us, a third, much more expansive extinction event was right around the corner. Despite the gloomy prognostications, neither technology nor fashion could quite kill off the fact there will always be a market for serious information and a place for serious people to deliver it. Back then, as the industry was transitioning from physical paste-up to electronic layout and other technological advances, we still used…

Sales Transactions 1. Transcanada Corp. has inked a deal to sell the 575-megawatt Coolidge Generating Station to subsidiary of Southwest Generation Operating Co. LLC for $465M. 2. Divco West paid $142M for a majority interest in the 1,222-unit Vaseo Apartment Homes complex, at the SWC of 7th Street and Greenway Parkway in Phoenix. Klein Financial Corp. was the property’s minority owner when the majority owner sold its interests to Divco. 3. TruAmerica Multifamily, in a joint venture with an institutional capital partner, has acquired a two-property, 472-unit apartment portfolio near I-10 and Baseline Rd in Tempe for $67.3M. The portfolio is comprised of…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange A long-running back-and-forth battle between the letter and intent of workplace safety regulations recently added another voice to the choir in a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. The court ruled the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has the power and authority to cite general contractors for hazardous workplace violations even if the conditions on a job site only affect subcontractor workers and not the GC’s own workforce. This is the latest of many rulings that undercut the circuit’s 1981 decision in Melerine v. Avondale Shipyards, Inc., which…

By Tasha Anderson for Arizona Builder’s Exchange Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 4.7 percent in November, up from the revised October rate of 4.6 percent, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. The national rate remained at 3.7 percent. In October 2017, the state also had a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.7 percent, and the national was at 4.1. The state had a net gain of 32,700 non-farm jobs over the month, which exceeds the post-Recession (2010-2017) average gain of 26,100 jobs. Trade, Transportation & Utilities had the largest increase with 17,700.…

Giving Back 1. The PICOR Charitable Foundation awarded a record $72,000 in grants this month. 100 percent of the funds raised were granted to youth-serving programs. 2. The Sundt Foundation has donated $69.5K in grant awards to 29 local charities during its fourth-quarter distribution. The foundation awards grants each quarter to area charities that support disadvantaged children and families. 3. Flagstaff-based Loven Contracting has established a $2,000 scholarship at Coconino Community College for students studying the construction trades. 4. To spread cheer this holiday season, Achen-Gardner Construction collected toys to donate to ICAN, an after-school program for at-risk youth located in Chandler. Awards & Accolades 5. Trammell Crow Company leads the nation’s CRE development activity with nearly 38MSF…

Progress Reports 1. U-Haul International Inc. is in the midst of turning a former Kmart store in south Phoenix into a self-storage facility. As construction is completed within the next year, the 8.74-acre lot will feature services including self-storage units; towing equipment and professional hitch installation; propane; and a U-Haul Re-Use center for used household furnishings, Completions 2. Sundt Construction, Inc. recently completed the APS Four Corners Selective Catalytic Reduction Retrofits. The design-build project added four selective catalytic reduction systems for nitrogen oxide emission control for Units 4 and 5 of the APS Power Plant. The selective catalytic reactors used are the tallest…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange The last vacant parcel in Tempe’s Liberty Center development area may soon be filled with a two-story, 72KSF specialty medical office and headquarters building for Donor Network of Arizona. The Tempe Development Review Commission late last month recommended approval for an Amended Planned Area Development Overlay to reduce required parking and a Development Plan Review for the proposal project at 2010 West Rio Salado Parkway. The proposal was submitted on Donor Network of Arizona’s behalf by Benjamin Ayers of Shepley Bulfinch. The proposal had undergone multiple preliminary reviews and recommendations prior to the…