Author: BEX Staff

By Roland Murphy The 2025 BEX Leading Market Series for March covered Housing Projects on the Horizon and was presented March 11 at SkySong in Scottsdale. Rather than simply rattling off lists of developments in various states of approval and construction, panelists took a deeper dive, addressing questions focused on the current state of the housing development market in Arizona. The panel was comprised of: Nathan Sonoskey, CEO, Fast Permits (Moderator); Benjamin L. Tate, Land Use Zoning Attorney, Withey, Morris, Baugh; Roger Theis, VP of Development, Harvard Investments, and Shelby Duplessis, Founder & Managing Partner at Diversified Futures. Sonoskey gave…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX Earlier this month, the Lake Havasu City Council approved multiple requests for a planned mixed-use development on Retail Center Blvd. that will feature a publicly accessible fitness facility with a pool, along with 97 housing units. The letter of intent and project narrative identify the 18-acre location as 40 Retail Centre Blvd., while Council documents say 60 Retail Centre Blvd. The developer requested rezoning from RMH Manufactured Home District to C2 General Commercial and a General Plan amendment for the subdivided parcel to CMU Commercial Mixed Use. According to the developer’s investment solicitation materials, “The…

Gov. Katie Hobbs is providing a new plan to override city regulations to increase production of starter homes. Cities have claimed her plan is more restrictive than what was recently approved by the Senate. Hobbs’ plan also contains a provision that reserves homes for Arizonans and limits ownership by outside real estate investors. Approximately a year ago, Hobbs vetoed a measure that was intended to make housing more affordable for Arizona residents. In her denial, she expressed the legislation was an experiment that did not have clear outcomes. Despite this, seven of the Senate’s 13 Democrats are pushing for changes,…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX The Mesa Design Review Board met this week to discuss Wetta Ventures’ plan to build a 98.3KSF shell industrial building on an undeveloped 6.9 gross acre site at 5818 E. McDowell Road in the Longbow Business Park. No actions were taken during the meeting. According to both Board documents and a local news outlet, no comments or concerns were submitted by nearby property owners. Mesa zoning regulations require a total of 212 parking spaces. The developer has proposed 143 and has requested a parking special use permit to accommodate the deviation. Project documents state the…

Groundbreakings 1. Avalon Ranch, an upcoming commercial center at Power and Elliot roads, is under construction. The Avalon Development project will cover 14 acres and hold seven retail tenants. The site previously contained undeveloped agricultural lands, but the City of Mesa rezoned the property to limited commercial in 2023. Each corner of the intersection is now seeing development. 2. A 95-unit, four-story hotel project is being constructed in Kingman. The property will be an Avid Hotel under the InterContinental Hotels Group. The hotel, located at Hotel Way and Airway Avenue, broke ground on Feb. 24. The project is expected to…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 on March 4 to approve a Development and Purchase Agreement with Spire Development that will allow development of an 80-unit low-income housing community. According to a County press release, “Spire previously was selected as the winning proposer for the development of an 80-unit project located at the SEC of East Drexel Road and Bonney Avenue. The new development, to be known as Drexel Commons, will remain an affordable housing project for 30 years.” The County sold 2.08 acres of vacant land to Spire for $200, as allowed…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX Developer FalconEye Ventures is planning a mixed-use resort development on 90 acres at Beachcomber and McCulloch blvds. south of the Nautical Inn Beachfront Resort on the Island in Lake Havasu. The company bought the land, currently zoned for a golf course and 78 acres of right-of-way, for $24M in 2023 in a state land auction. The current zoning is for parks/open space. The developer is seeking a major General Plan amendment to resort-related island, resort residential and commercial mixed-use, along with a rezoning to Island Body Beach planned development overlay. The preliminary development team is…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Regular readers of AZBEX who see the “Editorial Analysis” tag at the start of a column can usually expect to see some snark, some calling out of short-sighted councils and administrative bodies, and the excoriation of whatever NIMBY group is trying to derail a viable project at any given moment. We’re sorry (not sorry) to disappoint, but today’s column is actually centered around a recent report with mostly good news. Fair warning and a disclaimer: There will be some discussion of Trump administration programs and policies. We fully acknowledge President Trump is a lightning rod…

The Flagstaff City Council has approved a second development agreement amendment that may move the decade-plus planned Mill Town project at 1801 S. Milton Road toward construction. The updated agreement extends developer Vintage Partners’ entitlements on the parcel for two more years and will let the company submit a new mixed-use residential and commercial development site plan. The new plan will not have to comply with Flagstaff’s High-Occupancy Housing code. Mill Town was first planned in 2013 as part of a complex, multi-site/multi-project agreement between Vintage, the City of Flagstaff and the Arizona Department of Transportation. Vintage’s original Mill Town…

By Associated Builders and Contractors The construction industry added 19,000 jobs on net in February, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has increased by 174,000 jobs, an increase of 2.1%. Nonresidential construction employment increased by 6,200 positions on net, with growth in all three subcategories. Heavy and civil engineering added the most jobs, increasing by 2,500 positions, followed by nonresidential specialty trade, which added 2,000 jobs. Nonresidential building added 1,700 jobs last month. The construction unemployment rate rose to 7.2% in February.…