Author: BEX Staff

By Rofida Khairalla for Coolidge Examiner Saint Holdings, a Pinal County land holding corporation, has big plans for Coolidge. At Wednesday’s Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Matthew McCormick, VP of acquisitions for Saint Holdings LLC, presented on what the company hopes to bring to the expanding city. One future development would be on approximately 11,000 acres along the southern end of Coolidge, purchased from the city of Mesa over the course of two years. Known as the “Heritage Project,” the hub is to feature master-planned communities, educational areas, health care centers and even an agricultural community similar to Gilbert’s Agritopia. The…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange When we broke the news last week that Project Wildcat, the hush-hush 2.3MSF project in initial planning for the Century Research Park/Port of Tucson was, in fact, for an Amazon fulfillment and distribution center, we knew a lot of other reporters were going to jump on the story and turn up new and interesting things beyond what we pulled out of the preliminary development documents. (AZBEX, March 20) We have already seen unusual things, and they promise to get stranger. First, another outlet picked up our story and did a rewrite, which we…

Awards & Accolades 1. Phoenix Business Journal has published its list of Top Valley Construction Projects Started in 2017. Taking the Number 1 spot is the Maricopa County Intake Transfer and Release Facility, with a total budget of $185M. Groundbreakings 2. The $10.5M, 122.5KSF Westech Business Center broke ground this week, marking the latest speculative industrial development to begin construction in the City of Chandler as it aims to attract more jobs and companies. Petsas Commercial, LLC is the owner/developer. 3. Arizona Department of Transportation is scheduled to begin a second Interstate 10 widening project in Pinal County in the…

By AZBEX Staff for Arizona Builder’s Exchange As part of its Capital Campaign to raise funds for facility upgrades and a new sports center, The University of Arizona this weekend released details and images for five planned projects: Arizona Stadium Renovations and Upgrades McKale Center Hillenbrand Aquatic Center Hillenbrand Stadium Indoor Sports Center The total $66M Capital Improvement Plan for sports facilities was approved by the Arizona Board of Regents in September of last year. Student fees, media rights revenue and donor contributions will help fund the projects. Work is already underway on the $25M Arizona Stadium renovation, which will…

By Orbital ATK and AZBEX Staff for Arizona Builder’s Exchange Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, Chandler Mayor Jay Tibshraeny and Orbital ATK announced the expansion of the company’s launch vehicles operations onto a new campus in Chandler. Chandler City Council approved a resolution and rezoning to support the development of the new Orbital ATK campus at Willis Road along Chandler’s Price Corridor, known for being home to companies focused on advanced business services, aerospace, life sciences, sustainable and high technology research and manufacturing. With the expansion, Orbital ATK will occupy 617KSF in two buildings on a 47-acre campus. Manufacturing space will…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange Kaplan Management Company earned approval last week from the Chandler Planning & Zoning Commission for its plan to build a 4-story, 320-unit multifamily project at the NWC of Frye Road and 95th Street, east of Dobson Road. The company was seeking rezoning from Single Family Residential to Planned Area Development for Multifamily Residential with a Mid-Rise Overlay for building heights up to 50 feet, as well approval for its Preliminary Development Plan. The neighborhood has been designated as a Growth Area, and Frye Road is considered a High Capacity Transit Corridor. “A variety…

Sales Transactions 1. CBRE negotiated the $54M sale of Tuscany Ridge, a 336-unit Class A multifamily community, in Peoria. Tyler Anderson, Sean Cunningham, Asher Gunter and Matt Pesch with CBRE Multifamily Institutional Properties in Phoenix represented the seller, a New York City-based pension fund advisor. The buyer is a JV partnership between Gerry Ranglas/RV Management, Wermers Properties and Loma Linda University Endowment. Mike Dow of Impact Multifamily Advisors negotiated the deal on behalf of the buyers. PCCP, LCC provided the financing. 2. Cushman & Wakefield represented Clear Sky Timberline LP, an entity formed by Clear Sky Capital in the bulk…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 4.9 percent in February, up from 4.8 percent in January, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. The national rate remained steady at 4.1 percent. Twelve months ago, the state had a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.1 percent, and the national was at 4. The state had a net gain of 31,100 non-farm jobs over the month, 16,600 of them in the private sector. Nine of the 11 sectors tracked showed gains, while Natural Resources and Mining was unchanged and…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange Lennar Multifamily Communities is advancing a Planned Unit Development proposal to redevelop two commercial buildings in north Phoenix into a 299-unit luxury multifamily project: LMC Kierland. According to materials submitted to the Phoenix Planning & Development Department, the plan will replace the two aging suburban-style office structures on 71st Street north of East Tierra Buena Lane with a “4-Over-2-Podium” design of four residential levels over two stories of podium-style parking. “The Project is targeted toward attracting new residents into the Kierland area who desire a resort-style living experience and a ‘lock and leave’…

Groundbreakings 1. The Milwaukee Brewers along with City of Phoenix and community partners broke ground on the renovation project for Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix. The Brewers will invest $56-$60M in the construction phase of the program. Phoenix will allocate $2M each year for the next five years for renovations, and the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority will contribute approximately $5.7M. 2. Construction started in mid-February on Gilbert’s new $14M, 600-space Heritage District Parking Garage. 3. Canyon Building & Design announced the groundbreaking of two new ground up hotels in Phoenix. It will construct the 4-story, 128-room Holiday Inn Express and the 4-story,…