Author: BEX Staff

Source: Associated Builders and Contractors National nonresidential spending increased 0.1 percent in October, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data released. Total nonresidential spending for the month stood at $763.8B on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, which represents a 7.3 percent increase over the same time last year. Thirteen out of 16 subsectors are associated with year-over-year increases, with the exceptions being religious (-9.1 percent), communication (-4.7 percent), and healthcare (-1.0 percent). Water supply (+23.0 percent), lodging (+18.9 percent) and amusement and recreation (+16.2 percent) have generated the largest increases among nonresidential construction segments…

Sales Transactions 1. A partnership between Continental Realty Advisors and MLG Capital has acquired Tempe Metro, a 408-unit community in Tempe. Crow Holdings sold the property for $53.5M. This acquisition marks the third partnership between Continental Realty Advisors and MLG Capital. 2. Argenta, a 396-unit apartment community at 4104 E. Broadway Rd. in Mesa, has been sold to a California investor for $50.3M. The development offered opportunity for future value appreciation with extensive renovation and modernization. Argenta was sold by Millburn Company. The buyer was 29th Street Management III. Cindy Cooke and Brad Cooke of Colliers International in Greater Phoenix handled…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange Arizona’s strength as a leading construction industry market got another boost this week, as it landed in third place among the 50 states and the District of Columbia on the 2018 Merit Shop Scorecard issued by Associated Builders and Contractors. The scorecard is, “an annual state ranking based on policies and programs that encourage open competition, education and job growth, and award construction contracts based solely on merit, regardless of labor affiliation,” according to the ABC announcement. Arizona received an “A” grade in six of the scorecard’s seven criteria: Project Labor Agreement Mandates Prevailing…

By Adrienne St. Clair for Arizona Builder’s Exchange The City of Tucson approved a development plan submitted earlier this year by SMDSK Encanto LLC for a mixed-use project that will be built at the SEC of Camino Miramonte and Speedway Boulevard. The Miramonte Mixed-Use project will end up being nearly 84KSF of residential, office, retail and restaurant space spread across five parcels of land that sit between the Rincon Mountains and the Tucson Mountains. While the project has been approved, it is still in the financing stage, according to an update provided by general contractor Lloyd Construction Company to AZBEX…

Source: NAIOP Arizona Chapter The Arizona Chapter of NAIOP elected officers and board members for 2019 at its November 6 board meeting. The 2019 Executive Committee is Molly Carson, Chairman, Ryan Companies US; Jim Wentworth Jr., Vice Chairman, Wentworth Property Company, LLC; Cathy Thuringer, Treasurer, The Trammell Crow Company; Rusty Kennedy, Programs Chair, CBRE; Danny Swancey, Secretary, ViaWest Group; Andrew Cheney, Immediate Past Chairman, Lee & Associates Arizona; and Larry Pobuda, Immediate Past Chairman once removed, The Opus Group. New 2019 Board Members are CJ Osbrink, Newmark Knight Frank; Danielle Feroleto, Small Giants; and Cooper Fratt, CBRE, representing the Developing…

Giving Back 1. For the fifth year in a row, Achen-Gardner sponsored and volunteered at the fall Sky Kids Fly Day Event for Special Kids held at Scottsdale Airport on November 3. This marks the twelfth local event for Sky Kids and for Achen-Gardner. 2. Achen-Gardner employees delivered turkeys to the United Food Bank and City of Mesa Great Turkey Tuesday event on November 20th. Boards & Commissions 3. During a special meeting on Nov. 9, Downtown Phoenix Inc. board of directors approved the appointment of Devney Preuss as new president and CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2019. Preuss succeeds retiring David…

Giving Back 1. For the fifth year in a row, Achen-Gardner sponsored and volunteered at the fall Sky Kids Fly Day Event for Special Kids held at Scottsdale Airport on November 3. This marks the twelfth local event for Sky Kids and for Achen-Gardner. 2. Achen-Gardner employees delivered turkeys to the United Food Bank and City of Mesa Great Turkey Tuesday event on November 20th. Boards & Commissions 3. During a special meeting on Nov. 9, Downtown Phoenix Inc. board of directors approved the appointment of Devney Preuss as new president and CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2019. Preuss succeeds retiring David…

Giving Back 1. The Dorrance Family Foundation of Scottsdale has issued a $300K matching funds grant to Rancho Feliz for the construction of its new “La Hacienda Feliz” volunteer dormitory in Agua Prieta, Sonora, on the U.S./Mexico border. Volunteers housed at the dorm will build homes, distribute food and care for children and seniors in the area’s slums, fostering cross-cultural service experiences. Groundbreakings 2. Spike Lawrence Ventures broke ground Oct. 31 on the $58M mixed-use development New Square Chandler at the corners of Arizona Avenue and Chicago Street. 3. The Wolff Company has broken ground on Revel Scottsdale, a new independent living apartment community at 8225 E. Indian Bend Road in…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange A proposed new senior living facility is one harbinger of many changes to come along Tatum Boulevard north of Bell and south of Loop 101. A mix of big-box anchors and smaller retail operations cover three of the four corners at Tatum and Bell. The NWC is home to a large multifamily development. Another multifamily complex sits immediately north of that one, and a third lies just east of the NEC. Stretching north to the 101 is an expansive collection of single-family homes, mostly built between 1990 and 2005, with few other development…

By Karisma Sandoval for Cronkite News The Arizona Department of Transportation is working with education and business leaders to change a dismal statistic — more than 90 percent of workers in the construction industry are men, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. ADOT is working with community college leaders and contractors to integrate more women and minorities into a wide range of construction jobs, including welding, trucking, electrical work and building houses and roads. Patricia McKinley used the skills she learned at the construction academy to launch KHAVL Transport in 2016 with just one truck. She now has four…