Author: BEX Staff

By Jessica Boehm for The Arizona Republic Phoenix is inching closer to a grand revamp of Margaret T. Hance Park, which sits atop Interstate 10’s Deck Park Tunnel in downtown Phoenix. Hance Park is home to Burton Barr Library, the Japanese Friendship Garden, the Irish Cultural Center and McClelland Irish Library, and the Phoenix Center for the Arts. It has played host to major events like the McDowell Mountain Music Festival and the March Madness Music Festival. But many believe the park has yet to reach its full potential. Outside of major events, the park is underutilized. For years, Phoenix and community organizations have tried…

By Gabriela Rico for Arizona Daily Star The developer of the Benedictine Monastery site has agreed to lower the height of the tallest proposed apartment buildings by 19 feet, protect the structure as a historic landmark and preserve a beloved avocado tree on the grounds. But the gesture may not be enough for some who want the entire site – orchards, walking paths and quiet spaces – spared from development after the Tucson City Council’s intervention last month to begin the process of historic designation for the monastery. The 6-acre site, at 800 N. Country Club Road, was bought by…

Sales Transactions 1. CBRE has brokered the $75.1M sale of Galleria Palms, a 424-unit, garden-style multifamily community in Tempe, Arizona. Tyler Anderson, Sean Cunningham, Asher Gunter and Matt Pesch with CBRE Multifamily Institutional Properties in Phoenix represented the seller, an institutional investor on behalf of a separate fund client. The buyer was a joint venture between TruAmerica Multifamily and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. 2. Maracay Homes is paying $44.1M for 160.39 acres of land at the NWC of Chandler Heights and Val Vista Roads in Gilbert, with plans to develop a master-planned community that will include 332…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange Even though construction is nearing completion on phase one of Pima Canyon Luxury Rentals – a 30 building, 232-unit multifamily development on Orange Grove in Pima County – plans for second phase have been scrapped. Pima County Development Services was scheduled to hear a rezoning application for the 5.7 acre second parcel on May 30. However, on May 22 The Planning Center submitted a notice on behalf of owner Alta Vista Communities Casas Adobes, LLC (Aerie Development) it was withdrawing the request “due to rising interest rates and materials costs that have rendered…

By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange From the time President Donald Trump first proposed his $1.5T infrastructure package before the 2016 election, it has been swarmed by more “ifs” than answers. The most recent “if” is also one of the biggest: If it’s ever enacted, it could create 2.6 million construction jobs. A May 24 announcement by Associated Builders and Contractors, citing data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and using a model developed by Markstein Advisors, estimates every $1B in additional construction spending will generate at least 6,300 new construction jobs. In announcing…

Awards & Accolades 1. Earlier this month the Arizona Multihousing Association held its annual gala and announced the winners of the 2018 Tribute Awards celebrating excellence in the industry. The full list is available here. 2. Joseph Cunningham, founder and director of operations for Tempe-headquartered Sunny Energy, has earned the solar industry’s leading recognition of installation expertise from the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP®), and is now a NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional. Boards & Commissions 3. Maia Crespin started work May 21 as the new Executive Director of Rim Country Regional Chamber of Commerce. She had previously…

Groundbreakings 1. Phase 1 of Gilbert’s still-unnamed 272-acre regional park has broken ground. The park runs along the west side of Higley Road and stretches southward from Queen Creek Road to the south of Ocotillo Road. Completions 2. PCS Development recently completed The Premiere at Dana Park, a 198-unit multifamily community in Mesa. The company has tapped P.B. Bell as management firm for the property. Tofel Dent Construction was the general contractor. 3. Westgate Village, 8847 W. Glendale Ave., was recently completed and has opened. The senior living facility has 129 units and could have up to 220 residents on…

By Jane Stewart for Arizona Builder’s Exchange Representatives from Piper Plastics, Inc. made a presentation to the City of Mesa’s Design Review Board at its May 8 meeting regarding a proposed headquarters for the plastics manufacturing company. The subject site is a vacant parcel of approximately five acres at 4818 East Indigo Street within the Mesa Commerce Center Business Park. The proposed development includes an industrial-use two story building with a total square footage of 86.5KSF broken down into 77KSF on the first floor with the second floor being 9.3KSF. The manufacturing space is 60.9KSF; the warehouse space is 14KSF.…

By AZBEX Staff for Arizona Builder’s Exchange Tech Parks Arizona, on behalf of the University of Arizona and Campus Research Corporation, has announced the development partners selected for new projects at the UA Tech Park at The Bridges and the UA Tech Park at Rita Road in Tucson. Technology Precinct in the UA Tech Park at The Bridges The Boyer Company has been selected as the development partner to design, develop and finance the Technology Precinct in the UA Tech Park at The Bridges. The Technology Precinct encompasses 20 acres of land in the larger 65-acre UA Tech Park at The…

Sales Transactions 1. Tides Equities LLC has paid $37.25M for the 376-unit Fairways at Cave Creek, with plans to invest about $7M to renovate the property. The company also closed on a 65-unit apartment complex in Tempe, paying $7.5M for Epic at University Pointe, with plans to invest $3M in renovations. 2. HFF announced $33.5M in financing for Autumn Creek Apartments, a 360-unit, multi-housing community in Chandler. HFF 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 an international…