Author: BEX Staff

By Gabriela Rico for Arizona Daily Star The Arizona Department of Transportation has agreed to match a $25M federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant to begin construction of a flyover ramp in Nogales to expedite the flow of trade from Mexico. The 3.7-mile Arizona 189 is one of the shortest state routes in Arizona yet supports the Mariposa Port of Entry, one of the nation’s busiest ports serving as the gateway for most of the winter produce entering the United States. It is also a major hub for trade between Arizona and Mexico, estimated at $30B annually. In…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange After five years of fits and starts, the death of a developer, the scrapping of one winning proposal and a sea change in the culture, demographics and economics of Downtown Phoenix, the city is aggressively moving forward once again in hopes of creating a redevelopment plan for one of the area’s most attractive and underused parcels. The Central Station Intermodal Transit Center is once again out for a development bid, and the city is serious about drawing creative ideas. Four years ago, Smithfield Properties won the opportunity to develop on the space at…

Sales Transactions 1. CBRE announced today that the National Retail Partners-West (NRP-West) completed the sale of the 533KSF Westgate Entertainment District in Phoenix for $133M. CBRE retail experts Jimmy Slusher, Kirk Brummer, Sean Heitzler and Philip Voorhees of NRP-West, along with Jesse Goldsmith, Steve Julius and Bryan Taute with CBRE’s Phoenix office, represented both the buyer and the seller. YAM Westgate, LLC, a venture formed by Scottsdale, Arizona-based YAM Properties, purchased the entertainment, retail and office destination from The New Westgate, LLC, formed by iStar Properties, Inc. 2. CBRE has arranged the $100M sale of 24th at Camelback, a 302KSF…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from 4.9 percent in April to 4.7 percent, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. The national rate declined from 3.9 percent to 3.7. Twelve months ago, the state had a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.9 percent, and the national was at 4.3. The state had a net loss of 7,200 non-farm jobs over the month. The private sector showed no gain or loss over the previous month. Five of the 11 sectors tracked showed gains, and five showed losses. Natural…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange While backlogs and revenue expectations for U.S. contractors remain strong, a recent report shows the ongoing labor shortage is now affecting 90 percent of contractors across the country. The Q2 2018 Commercial Construction Index, produced and released by USG Corporation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, reports more than half of contractors plan/hope to hire within the next six months but 90 percent are having difficulty locating and attracting skilled labor. Additionally, fully half report concerns about available workers’ skill levels. “Contractors will soon enter their busiest months of the year, and while…

Awards & Accolades 1. Rose Law Group has been honored as a top company to work for in Arizona. The firm was named one of AZCentral’s 2018 Best Companies to Work for in Arizona. 2. Clear Title Agency of Arizona celebrated its 10th year of operation in 2017 and has kicked off its next decade being named among the 2018 Top Companies to Work for in Arizona sponsored by AZCentral. 3. Leroy Breinholt of Commercial Properties Inc. has been honored by ASU in the Sun Devil 100 awards program as #53 of the 100 entrepreneurial & innovative alumni leaders of…

Groundbreakings 1. Work kicked off with a Wall Bashing Ceremony for the $90/230KSF ASU Hayden Library Reinvention Project. Architect is Ayers Saint Gross, and Holder Construction Company is the GC. 2. LGE Design Build has begun construction in Goodyear for a 44.7KSF Adelante Healthcare facility scheduled to open August 2018. The Goodyear site is the 10th location for Adelante Healthcare, a nonprofit provider of community-focused health services, and the first location in Arizona constructed from the ground up on an existing hospital campus to be. Progress Reports 3. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has $120M on its construction plate this summer, with additional building…

Banner Health will soon begin construction on a new, comprehensive medical center in the Southeast Valley. While Banner Health is a leading health care provider in the broader Southeast Valley, this will be the first Chandler hospital for the non-profit health care system. The four-story, 240KSF hospital will be located on the southeast corner of Alma School Road and Loop 202 Santan Freeway. It will be adjacent to the existing Banner Health Center in Chandler, and will help fulfill the healthcare needs of area residents, including those who reside in Ahwatukee, Chandler and Gilbert. The Southeast Valley is one of…

By Tasha Anderson for Arizona Builder’s Exchange Metro Phoenix is seeing an influx of office and industrial space, and tenant demand for ready and available space is allowing for more opportunity in the market. According to a recent study released by CBRE Group, Inc. and referenced by Phoenix Business Journal, Chandler and Tempe alone “compose 83 percent (2.5MSF) of the office space under construction throughout the Valley, with 3.1MSF being built in total throughout metro Phoenix.” This was the topic of discussion on Thursday as a sold-out crowd gathered at the DoubleTree by Hilton for the latest AZBEX Leading Market…

Sales Transactions 1. Sunbelt Land Holdings LP was the successful bidder on just over 93 acres of land located South and West of the SW corner of 19th Ave. & Bell. 2. HFF announced $17.3M in financing for Spring Meadow, a 271-unit apartment community in Glendale. The HFF team worked on behalf of Western Wealth Capital, which acquired the property on behalf of the borrower, an MDC Realty Advisors USA, Inc.-managed fund, to secure the five-year, floating-rate loan through a national bank. 3. Cushman & Wakefield completed the sale of Kinsey Ridge, located at 1718 N. Fort Valley Road in…