Author: BEX Staff

By Gary Nelson for East Valley Tribune Back in the day when Mesa first appointed a citizens advisory panel to evaluate the appearance of new buildings in the city, they named it the Design Review Advisory Board. The acronym – DRAB – may have been unfortunate, but city officials admit it could describe a lot of the architecture passing muster at City Hall over the years. DRAB is now just the Design Review Board, but body and the city’s professional planning staff still don’t believe they have the tools they need to begin giving the city a facelift. But it’s…

Source: Marcum LLP The Marcum Commercial Construction Index for the third quarter of 2019 finds the industry in overall good health as 2020 approaches, despite some causes for concern. Entitled, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, the report is produced by Marcum LLP’s Construction Services Group. The Good On the positive side, Marcum’s third quarter index points to increased public construction spending, growing backlogs, falling input prices, the ongoing U.S. economic expansion, a strong construction labor market, and interest rate cuts as key factors sustaining the construction industry’s momentum. Highlights noted include: A 1.5 percent increase in public construction…

Giving Back 1. George Randall and Payson Concrete & Materials once again did their part to make it a good Thanksgiving for Rim Country residents in need by donating $4K to split evenly between four area nonprofits, and more than a ton of food to the food bank. Every October the local business owned by brothers George, Robert and Fred Randall, raises food to donate to the St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank and money for four Rim Country nonprofits through their Oktoberfest project. 2. The Sundt Foundation awarded over $95K in grants to 26 Phoenix-area nonprofits, including Maggie’s Place,…

Sales Transactions 1. Forum at Gilbert, LLC purchased The Forum at Gilbert Ranch, a 92K+SF Class A office and medical campus at 1472,1482,1528 and 1530 E. Williams Field Rd and 2314 S. Val Vista Dr., Gilbert, for $20.5M. Geoff Turbow, Matt Pourcho, Anthony DeLorenzo, Gary Stache, Bryan Johnson and Doug Mack of CBRE Investment Properties – SoCal/Phoenix represented the seller, EverWest Real Estate Investors. Jeff Stein and Jeff Harris of CBRE Debt & Structured Finance in Houston arranged the financing for the buyer. 2. BCH 3001LP purchased Bellum Manor, a 214-unit apartment located near the I-17 freeway and Thomas Ave…

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX The City of Surprise Planning and Zoning Commission recently reviewed a site plan for a new townhome development just north of the NWC of Cactus Road and Cotton Lane at its November 7th meeting. Applicant, Bowman Consulting, LTD, on behalf of owner, NWC Cotton Lane and Cactus, LLC, submitted for site plan approval for the development, known as Hayden Farms Townhomes. The project is proposed as 174 connected townhome units in two separate styles: the “Delinda” and the “Tucker”. All units will be housed on onsite private drives. The Delinda design is comprised of four-…

By Brandon Brown for Phoenix Business Journal The Phoenix Suns on Thursday revealed the first images of how Talking Stick Resort Arena will look like after it gets an extensive facelift, at the price of $230M, over the next two years. The renderings focus on the upgrades for the fans, but behind all the glitz and glam, extensive work will be done on the plumbing, roof and electric systems. Okland Construction is serving as the general contractor and the architecture firm is HOK. Fans will have a whole new experience when entering the arena. The Casino Arizona Pavilion will be…

Source: City of Tempe Tempe is seeking input on a draft Development Bonus Program as part of the city’s Urban Core Master Plan process. A development bonus would provide the opportunity to add housing units or commercial office space in exchange for providing community benefits, such as affordable/workforce housing, sustainability elements, public improvements or amenities, and/or preservation of historic resources. Beginning December 3rd, community members can attend a public meeting or read online materials and provide feedback – either in person or through an online survey. The bonus program would further incentivize developers to opt-in to the city’s proposed Urban…

Source: Associated Builders and Contractors Leaders of the U.S. construction industry remained confident through September 2019 regarding near-term prospects for sales, staffing levels and profit margins, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors’ Construction Confidence Index released. However, the level of optimism continues to dim. For the first time since January, fewer than 50 percent of contractors expect profit margins to increase over the next six months, even though approximately 58 percent of contractors anticipate sales rising over that span. A worsening skills shortage is the primary source of emerging angst, as an already stretched labor market is expected to…

Awards & Accolades 1. Donna Chiappini, Business Development for Speedie & Associates, was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement award at the Business Development Guild’s second annual Business Development Symposium on November 5, 2019. Prior to joining Speedie & Associates, Donna had a background in vertical construction. Switching to a consulting engineering firm required a new skill set which she enthusiastically embraced. Her character remained: one of a mentor and an outstanding reputation, sticking with the firm through thick and thin. At the end of 2019, Donna is ready to retire and quite literally sail away. 2. Larsen Baker announces that…

Sales Transactions 1. Wilshire Capital Partners purchased 3900 Camelback Center, a Class A, LEED Gold Certified office building located in the Camelback Corridor, for $54.5M. Newmark Knight Frank Co-Head, Kevin Shannon cooperated with Executive Managing Director CJ Osbrink to represent the developer, builder, owner and property manager, Ryan Companies, in the disposition of the 177.52KSF asset to the buyer. Along with Shannon, Executive Managing Directors Paul Jones, Ken White and Brunson Howard and Senior Managing Director Rick Stumm also cooperated with Osbrink to represent the seller. 2. 3434 E McDowell, LLC purchased La Casa at McDowell, a 128-unit apartment community…