Author: BEX Staff

By Design-Build Institute of America The Design-Build Institute of America has announced the release of its updated Transportation and Aviation Design-Build Best Practices Primer, which follows last year’s refresh of the Universal Best Practices and the updated Federal Sector Best Practices introduced earlier this year. Recognizing the need for sector-specific guidelines, the new primer is designed to offer actionable insights for design-build teams tackling the distinct challenges in transportation and aviation projects. DBIA’s commitment to maintaining industry-standard design-build resources, education and certification programs drove the evolution of these best practices. The primer was updated from its 2016 release by seasoned…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Fain Signature Group is looking to add to its Prescott Valley-area developments with a proposal for Lakeshore 650, a 652-acre planned area development west of Lakeshore Drive and Fain Road. Working as the master developer in partnership with Brown Homes, FSG is proposing a development plan that will build out over a roughly 20-year cycle and ultimately deliver a community with up to 3,500 residential units and a 100-acre core with 348.1KSF of commercial uses. They are requesting a rezoning from large lot residential to planned area development to create a master-planned community. According to…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX City to City Commercial Real Estate is serving as the developer representing a collection of landowners who want to convert 104 acres at 19th Avenue and Baseline Road in Phoenix from a mix of ranch and residential zoning to a mixed-use master-planned area with commercial, office, single-family and multifamily residences. The largely vacant property has primarily been used as a wholesale tree nursery for several years, according to local news reports. The landowners are incorporated as River View Growers LLC, according to the Phoenix staff report. According to the article, Baseline Trees is the majority…

Mack Real Estate Group has won its bid to purchase more than 2,300 acres in the master development area around the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company plant in north Phoenix. MREG provided the only bid in the May 29 Arizona State Land Department auction and claimed the land for the minimum bid price of $56.28M. ViaWest Group and an entity of the Wolfswinkel Family had previously registered to bid on the site. Representatives of both groups attended the auction, but neither entered a bid. MREG had gotten the auction process started in January when it submitted an application to develop the…

By Charlie Popeck/Green Ideas Building Science Consultants At the U.S. Green Building Council’s Greenbuild Conference in late 2023, the new LEED Version 5 was the main topic of interest. At this annual conference, the USGBC soft-launched a radical structural overhaul to all the LEED rating systems and also released a full draft of LEED v5 for Operations and Maintenance: Existing Buildings. The USGBC is planning to release LEED v5 in late 2024 and will be available for projects to register in early 2025. The three overarching goals of the new LEED v5 system are Climate Action, Quality of Life and…

Groundbreakings 1. The Hualapai Tribe celebrated the groundbreaking ceremony of Hualapai Recreational Park, a $500M development project to be constructed over the next decade in Peach Springs. The master-planned project will include 34 projects designed to bolster community facilities and services. 2. VanTrust Real Estate held a groundbreaking this week for Phase I of VT 101, a three-building, 750KSF industrial park in Glendale. JLL is the brokerage firm. Layton Construction is the general contractor. Butler Design Group is the architect. 3. Vero A2R—the office investment platform of Vero Capital—in association with Stream Realty Partners, have announced the start of a…

Scottsdale is continuing to work toward a master plan for improvements to the Indian School Park and Tennis Center. Along with a playground, a small lake and recreational activity areas, the 50-acre park northeast of Indian School and Hayden roads currently offers several sports-centric features, including: Two professional level baseball fields, Two basketball courts, Four racquetball and four sand volleyball courts, and 13 tennis courts. The City is working with Kimley-Horn & Associates to solicit public input and develop plans for updating the park. An in-person workshop and a virtual meeting were held last year, and another virtual public workshop…

A controversial bill currently making its way through the Arizona Legislature would make it easier to transfer water rights from agricultural properties to housing subdivisions and would overturn the 2023 ban on using groundwater for new home developments in Pinal County and parts of metro Phoenix if those homes are built on farmland. The Senate passed a far-ranging set of water legislation measures last week that will be taken up by the House in June. A key consideration is the fact that residential developments use significantly less water than farming. Supporters say the legislation would enhance water conservation around the…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX While, for a variety of reasons, the more recently completed sections of light rail around the Valley have not seen neighborhood redevelopment at the same pace as the original segments, a new proposal could add some momentum to the northwest light rail area near Metrocenter. Sason Organization is planning a 345-unit, four-building multifamily development on 7.2 acres near the NWC of 23rd and Townley avenues, just south of Dunlap Avenue. The company has requested a rezoning from Commercial Office to Walkable Urban Code, Transect 5:5 District to allow the development to proceed. Building heights are…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX Developer Genterra Enterprises has announced plans for the Northern Arizona Technology Park, a multi-phase development near Flagstaff Pulliam Airport, which it says is, “Aimed at enhancing Flagstaff and the greater northern Arizona region.” The project covers approximately 31.45 acres and, “Seeks to support the growing needs of the local economy by providing high-quality jobs and bolstering airport support services for Flagstaff Pulliam Airport, while respecting and preserving the region’s values and natural beauty.” Being located at Flagstaff Pulliam Airport, Northern Arizona Technology Park will offer direct access to I-17, I-40 and 89A. The development’s goal…