Author: BEX Staff

Awards & Accolades 1. The Arizona Masonry Guild recently presented its Excellence in Masonry Architectural Award to Somerton for its new City Hall building, which opened in 2017. Groundbreakings 2. HonorHealth recently broke ground on its sixth hospital. The three-story, 210KSF HonorHealth Sonoran Medical Center will be built on the campus that currently houses the Sonoran Health and Emergency Center at Interstate 17 and Dove Valley Road in north Phoenix. Progress Reports 3. As the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway advances, bridge girders have recently been installed at two of the 14 planned traffic interchanges, marking the first time on this Arizona Department of…

By Tasha Anderson for Arizona Builder’s Exchange As the end of the year rolls around, it’s customary to reflect on the current state of things and look toward the future to see what possibilities lie ahead. This month’s AZBEX Leading Market Series did just that as attendees gathered at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Tempe on December 6th, to gain insight into the present and future state of the multifamily market. AZBEX President Rebekah Morris began the presentation by giving attendees an overview of just how large and diverse the multifamily market is, using analytics from the AZBEX Database. “Projects…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange Despite ongoing challenges and concerns in various parts of the Valley, the economic growth generated as a byproduct of the Light Rail’s introductions and various expansions have proven impossible to deny. Valley Metro last week released, “Building Communities and Enhancing Lives: A Quality of Life Report,” detailing the positive impacts the program has had over the course of its operations. According to the report and its accompanying announcement, to date there has been $11B of investment and 35,000 jobs created within one-half mile of the 26-mile corridor. Service started with the original 20 miles…

Sales Transactions 1. Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC, announced the acquisition of the three-property, 845-unit Acacia portfolio on behalf of its real estate funds. Acacia Capital hired CBRE’s team of Sean Cunningham and Tyler Anderson to sell two of the properties: the 316-unit Chandler Court at 3800 W. Chandler Blvd., in Chandler, and the 341-unit Vista Montana at 3225 E. Baseline Road, in Gilbert. Cushman & Wakefield’s team led by Jim Crews brokered the third deal, the 186-unit River Ranch property at 6152 W. Oakland St., also in Chandler. Total consideration was reported at $149M. 2. A $92.5M industrial complex purchase is the latest addition to Prologis…

By Rebekah Morris for Arizona Builder’s Exchange Inefficient contracts… Lack of oversight and documentation… Resistance to market trends… These are a few of the issues plaguing one of the poorest public school districts in a state that Governing.com has ranked 49th in per pupil funding as recently as June 2018. Forty-five million dollars in bond funds are just beginning to be expended in Alhambra Elementary School District. The $45M bond passed by voters in 2017 is dedicated to new gymnasium buildings, a new performing arts center, renovations to libraries, classroom spaces, and general building needs. Before 2017, the district had…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange A few months ago, AZBEX received an anonymous tip about the Alhambra Elementary School District undertaking a series of projects for new gymnasiums and other facilities projects. In a rare move, the district was looking at a mix of low bid and Alternative Project Delivery Methods. As many of our readers know, we stirred up a figurative hornet’s nest almost exactly a year ago when we published our K12 Market Study. Very long story short, we did the first and, to date, only in-depth study of the market sector in the state and…

By Adrienne St. Clair for Arizona Builder’s Exchange Transportation planners for Maricopa County are getting an early start on plans to extend Prop. 400 – a 0.5 percent sales tax increase approved back in 2005. Not only did they unveil their new “Imagine” proposition at the December APA/ASLA Networking Event Wednesday, Dec. 5, but they delivered the preliminary planning presentation nearly seven years before Prop. 400 will actually expire. Leading the presentation was Audra Koester Thomas from the Maricopa Association of Governments. She said the deadline for the new extension isn’t far away at all, but “really overnight for us.”…

Giving Back 1. George Randall and Payson Concrete & Materials made their annual contribution to St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank and wrote checks to the Humane Society of Central Arizona; Payson Senior Center; Time Out, Inc., and Special Olympics. 2. For half a century, Chicanos Por La Causa has been spreading holiday cheer and promoting an active & healthy lifestyle at their annual celebration as a way to give back to the local communities it serves and brings a smile to “Angeles del Barrio” – the neighborhood kids. This year, CPLC celebrated the 50th Annual Angeles del Barrio Children’s Holiday Celebration and…

Groundbreakings 1. Arrowhead Builders, a Native American-owned GC, recently broke ground in Scottsdale on the 43-acre Sierra Bloom Wellness Campus with plans next year to break ground on a 119-room Holiday Inn. Sierra Bloom Wellness Campus will be built on Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community land at the Loop 101 and 90th Street in North Scottsdale. The project comprises two phases of full site development. 2. Harsch Investment Properties broke ground last month on a 157.5KSF speculative building at the Tucson Airport Distribution Center Building B, 6860 S Brosius Ave, Tucson. Construction is expected to be completed by Nitti Builders by Q4…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange Despite ups and downs around the country due to a variety of economic and environmental factors, the hotel development sector in Arizona continues to remain comparatively strong, as evidenced by two new planned Holiday Inn-related developments around the state: A Holiday Inn Express in Phoenix and a traditional Holiday Inn in Page. The AZBEX Database currently lists more than 100 projects in various stages of planning and development around the state in the Hospitality – Hotels/Resorts/Casinos sector. According to a release from CBRE Hotels Americas Research distributed on Hotel News Now, the U.S.…