Author: BEX Staff

By Jen Crane for Adams & Associates Engineers Several Arizona A/E/C firms came together to sponsor this year’s KIDstruction event – a design/build competition for middle school students, using only business cards, toothpicks and glue on a 12”x12” base. This year’s event took place on September 29 and was judged by prominent members of the A/E/C community.  More than 160 structures from 21 southern Arizona middle schools were on display for an entire week at Park Place Mall in Tucson. In the 17 years that Kidstruction has been held, more than 2,200 teams and 5,800 middle school students have participated…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange Long an icon of stalled hopes for renovation and redevelopment in Central Phoenix, the area around Park Central Mall continues to blossom into one of the city’s most dynamic areas of urban rebirth. According to an announcement this week, the ownership group behind the mall property redevelopment “has purchased an additional 21 acres of property and an additional 193KSF building, consolidating ownership of Park Central for the first time in decades.” Holualoa Companies and Plaza Companies announced plans for a Phase II in the redevelopment process, including a new nine-story residential complex that will go along with the…

By AZBEX Staff for Arizona Builder’s Exchange September saw a slight dip in multifamily rents, but the grand picture is still rosy overall. According to the September 2018 Multifamily National Report from Yardi Matrix, “A $1 decline is insignificant, especially at the start of the fall, when rent growth traditionally begins to hibernate for winter. The 0.3 percent growth in the third quarter is slightly disappointing compared to same period results in recent years.” It notes, though, national rents have grown 3.1 percent over the first three quarters, which exceeded market expectations. Phoenix’s market strength is evidenced by its rent…

Giving Back 1. CBRE’s 8th annual PurSuit of Success citywide business clothing runs through Friday, Oct. 19 and benefits women and men in job training programs with much-needed access to professional clothing. New and gently used items can be donated Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at CBRE’s Phoenix office, 2575 E. Camelback Road, or at one of 38 office buildings throughout the Valley. This year’s charity partners include: Dress for Success, Fresh Start Women’s Foundation, Sojourner Center, and St. Joseph the Worker. Awards & Accolades 2. Queen Creek’s Economic Development Department recently became an Accredited Economic Development Organization. The International Economic Development Council accreditation…

Progress Reports 1. 212 concrete girders installed on two Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway bridges spanning the Salt River between Broadway Road and Southern Avenue in the southwest Valley. It’s nearly a third of the 1,000 girders to be installed on 40 bridges throughout the 22-mile corridor, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. Completions 2. With the YAM Circle build out nearly complete, YAM Properties has announced the 17.8KSF shopping and dining complex in North Scottsdale has reached 100 percent occupancy. YAM Circle will house six tenants, four of which are owner operated. 3. The Noria luxury multifamily housing…

By Tasha Anderson for Arizona Builder’s Exchange It’s October, which means football season is in full swing, hockey has just begun, and basketball is right around the corner, making Sports Facilities the perfect AZBEX Leading Market Series topic for the month. Attendees gathered at the DoubleTree by Hilton Tempe on Thursday, October 4th, to gain insight into the Sports Facilities market and what trends might be coming in the next five to ten years. AZBEX President, Rebekah Morris began the presentation by once again giving attendees a brief overview of the market with analytics taken from the AZBEX Database. “When…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange Berry Riddell, LLC has submitted a proposal to the City of Scottsdale on behalf of Trammell Crow Residential to develop a $60M, eight-building, 282-unit mixed-use residential community at 2001 N. Scottsdale Road, just north of East Palm Lane. The Trammell Crow Residential website lists 75 Alexan-branded developments and a mixture of multifamily properties in 13 states. While Trammell Crow Company has four Arizona projects in various stages of development, this appears to be Trammell Crow Residential initial foray into the state. The proposal requests “a rezoning from Commercial C-3 (2.1+/- net acres) and…

Sales Transactions 1. CBRE arranged the sale of a five-building portfolio in metro Phoenix totaling nearly 806KSF for $255M. Liberty Property Trust sold the four-building Liberty Center at Rio Salado in Tempe and a single-tenant office building located at 8501 East Raintree Drive in Scottsdale to an undisclosed buyer. Barry Gabel, Chris Marchildon, Will Mast with CBRE’s Phoenix office represented the seller in the transaction. 2. The Blackstone Group LP has paid $158.1M for The District on Apache, a 279-unit student housing complex near Arizona State University in Tempe. The transaction was part of a portfolio acquisition totaling $1.2B. 3. Cushman &…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange Autumn is rolling across North America, and capital is continuing to roll into commercial real estate locally, regionally and globally. However, investors are looking outside their traditional comfort and target zones due to limited supply in many areas and compressing cap rates. In its “Fall 2018 North America and Europe Commercial Real Estate Investment Review,” released this week, Avison Young covered CRE investment trends in 59 markets in the U.S., Canada and Western Europe. Capital continues to flow into global commercial real estate markets, inhibited only by the scarcity of available product for…

By Adrienne St. Clair for Arizona Builder’s Exchange Arizona Water Company has submitted a proposal to the City of Sedona to build a water storage tank and pumping facility at the intersection of West Mallard Drive and Highway 179. The project proposal comes “after years of careful consideration,” according to the company’s website, and is designed to fill an expected need. The website states the project will “help ensure the same level of fire protection and water service reliability that customers in the rest of our system enjoy.” A water storage tank, booster pump station and operational facilities will be…