Author: BEX Staff

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange Originally developed in 1981, the 22-parcel, 68-acre Foothills Mall in unincorporated Pima County will undergo a massive renovation and restoration as a multi-modal live/work/play destination under an ambitious master plan submitted to the county’s Development Services Department last month by owners FHM Partners, LLC. According to the proposal’s introduction, “Across the country, urban and suburban shopping malls are evolving to create new environments. Consumer interaction with bricks and mortar stores is changing with the increase in online sales activity over the last 5-10 years. This change in behavior and move away from outdated…

Awards & Accolades 1. The 2018 edition of Ranking Arizona released their Top 10 residential real estate and boutique commercial architectural firms in Arizona. They are: Candelaria Design Associates Drewett Works Architecture Studio KZ Architecture & Interior Design Tsontakis Architecture Urban Design Associates Douglas Fredrickson Architects Clint Miller Architect Poetzl architecture + design PHX Architecture Swaback Partners 2. Jokake Construction Services has been named ENR Southwest’s 2018 Contractor of the Year, with a 200 percent revenue increase from 2013 to 2017. 3. Jared Malone, a project architect with Associated Architects, recently earned his license as a Registered Architect. He has…

Groundbreakings 1. Grading has begun on the 467-unit Carefree Crossings self-storage facility at 7th Street and Carefree Highway. 2. Construction is underway on a new Abrazo Community Health Network microhospital in Mesa, extending the network’s footprint into the East Valley. The facility is expected to open in Spring 2019. General contractor for the hospital is Adolfson & Peterson Construction; the facility was designed by E4H Architects. 3. Arizona Department of Transportation crews have begun work on a construction project to enhance safety along US 70 in east-central Arizona. Construction started this week on a westbound passing lane near Peridot, a community…

By John S. Wolfe for SanTan Sun News The old dirt square across Arizona Avenue from Chandler City Hall will soon be New Square. Developer Spike Lawrence shared his company’s plans for the gravel parking lot behind Saba’s and Bourbon Jack’s at a recent community meeting. The project, named New Square, will comprise four different buildings, plus a small park and community stage. Phase One of the project, which will get under way in August, will be a 50KSF, three-story office building at the NWC of Arizona Avenue and Chicago Street and a one-story building along Arizona Avenue, across the…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange ARC Holdings is requesting a zoning change and plan approval from the City of Scottsdale to create Museum Square, a high-end mixed-use master plan development south of Main Street and between the Museum of the West, Stagebrush Theatre and Scottsdale Artist’s School. Anchoring the proposal will be a four-star Museum Square hotel, which will focus on the museum’s collections and “provide opportunities to reinforce special events, programs, exhibits and gallery tours.” Augmenting the hotel and museum will be a community-oriented cultural park for outdoor events and activities. According to the proposal filed with…

Sales Transactions 1. Phoenix-based Grand Canyon Education Inc. sold its Grand Canyon University for $853.1M. The sale of GCU was to a third company, the nonprofit Gazelle University, created specifically by Grand Canyon Education to spin off GCU. 2. As part of a three property arrangement, NexMetro recently sold Avilla Grace: 2121 N. Grace Blvd., Chandler, for $45M. The buyer was an entity of Illinois-based The Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, Inc. 3. Institutional Property Advisors sold the 224-unit Adobe Ridge multifamily property in Phoenix for $41M. Aukum Group bought the complex. 4. JLL’s Capital Markets experts announced the sale of the…

RFP is seeking to equip existing solar plants with batteries to bring cleaner energy to customers Source: Arizona Public Service Arizona Public Service (APS) issued an RFP on June 29, to equip existing APS solar plants with battery storage. This RFP is an important part of APS’s plan to add up to 500 megawatts (MW) of energy storage to its system over the next 15 years. These batteries will bring more clean energy to APS customers when they need it most, by storing an abundance of mid-day solar and re-distributing it at peak times of customer usage later in the day.…

By Leisah Woldoff for Jewish News Building a senior retirement facility on the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus in Scottsdale is currently being explored. A call for proposals for the undeveloped 3-acre site on the southeast corner of the campus was announced on June 19. A committee made up of real estate and business professionals evaluated different options for that parcel and determined that a senior residential facility would be the most beneficial, as it provides an opportunity for seniors to age in place, while adding a multigenerational component to the campus, according to the announcement. The Request for Proposals…

Sales Transactions 1. Marriott International, along with TLG Investment Partners and Concord Wilshire Capital are buying the 1,000-room Phoenix Sheraton Grand Hotel for $255M, with renovation plans already in place. The Phoenix-owned hotel has been on the block for several years. Marriott is the majority capital partner in the deal, though press releases from both groups did not say how much the global tourism company will own. 2. Phoenix-based NexMetro Communities LLC sold two of its Avilla Homes communities for $53M. The first was the 125-unit Avilla Palm Valley, 4200 N. Falcon Dr. in Goodyear, that sold for $25.1M to a…

Source: Colliers International A local partnership known as DBM Ventures has purchased 2.79 acres within Perimeter Center with plans to develop an $9M office building in the upcoming year. DBM Ventures, a partnership comprised of David E. Sellers and two other prominent commercial real estate development leaders, purchased the acreage at 8399 E. Hartford Dr. in Scottsdale in May. The partners plan to develop a two-story, 32,054-square-foot office building on the property that incorporates modern architectural design. Construction is slated to begin at the end of this year with occupancy scheduled for summer 2019. “The timing is perfect for this…