Author: BEX Staff

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX The raising of Bartlett Dam could be the next step of the Verde River Water Storage project, and upcoming public meetings will give residents the opportunity to offer input. The project is part of an effort by Salt River Project, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Reclamation, the cities of Avondale, Buckeye, Chandler, El Mirage, Glendale, Goodyear, Mesa, Peoria, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Surprise and Tempe, the towns of Cave Creek, Queen Creek and Gilbert, and other agencies and bodies to protect Arizona’s water supply, according to local news reports. The Verde River Reservoir…

Giving Back 1. Achen-Gardner recently donated more than 3,800 water bottles to the City of Tempe to support the HOPE homeless outreach team. On one of the hottest days of the year, the company’s employee-owners unloaded two pallets of water to the Escalante Community Center. Awards & Accolades 2. Micah Miranda, Economic Development Director for the City of Chandler, was named Policymaker of the Year by the Association for Career Technical Education of Arizona. He was honored during the ACTE’s annual conference in Tucson for advancing career and technical education partnerships across the state. Miranda has served in his current…

Sales Transactions 1. Fairfield Residential acquired a three-property multifamily portfolio totaling 907 units from Sunroad Enterprises for $244.8M. The portfolio includes Lazo Apartments in Chandler, a 346-unit complex that sold for $100M; Zone Apartments in Glendale, a 308-unit complex that sold for $81.75M; and Zone Lux, a 253-unit community in Glendale that sold for $62.5M. 2. Pillar Communities and Private Portfolio Group acquired Huxley Scottsdale, a 192-unit luxury multifamily community in north Scottsdale, from High Street Residential. CBRE represented the seller. Media outlets reported the sales price as $76M. 3. The Dinerstein Companies acquired University Valley, a four-story student housing…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Red Oak Development Group is planning to build an 83-unit condo project at 2951 S. Masonic Lane at the SWC of Zuni Drive and Lone Tree Road in Flagstaff. The Flagstaff Planning and Zoning Commission met July 23 to discuss the developer’s request to rezone the 13.44-acre property from Rural Residential within the Resource Protection Overlay Zone and Suburban Commercial zone within the RPO to Medium Density Residential zone within the RPO. The Commission voted to recommend approval. Staff had recommended the Commission approve the request to be forwarded to the City Council for a…

By BNSF Logistics Park Phoenix BNSF is working hard to make sure Logistics Park Phoenix meets Arizona’s needs. To that end, and in coordination with Supervisor Debbie Lesko and the District 4 office, we’ve asked the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to move the upcoming vote on the Major Comprehensive Plan Amendment for the project from Aug. 20 to Nov. 5. This continuance will allow the rezoning and Comprehensive Plan Amendment applications to be heard together. The Board of Supervisors will vote on this continuance request at the Aug. 20 meeting. In the meantime, BNSF will continue working closely with…

GO Industrial, the industrial division of George Oliver, is planning a 32.7KSF luxury car storage facility near 52nd Street and Thomas Road in Phoenix. While several similar facilities have been proposed and built in prosperous outlying areas of metro Phoenix, GO Industrial officials say they noticed the lack of such offerings in the city proper and perceived a market opportunity. Arcadia Motor Club is planned with 26 garages surrounding a single driveway. The vehicle condos are customizable and also will have templated layout options available. A two-story clubhouse will include a pool table, TVs and a second-floor conference room. The…

Groundbreakings 1. D.R. Horton has broken ground and begun presales at Elena Trails, a 456-home subdivision at the SEC of Murphy and Farrell Roads in Maricopa. The $300K-range community will include 14 floor plans, a pool and 28.4 acres of open space. The 111-acre site is part of a larger 325-acre master plan by HBE Farms LLC. The City issued initial permits in March. Progress Reports 2. Vineyard Towne Center, located at 37666 N. GantzelRoad in Queen Creek, is now fully leased. The 260KSF retail center, developed by Vestar, is anchored by a 145KSF Target set to open this October.…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX By the time you read this column, Mohave County may have joined the ranks of Arizona public bodies looking to restrict data center development in its jurisdiction. As we have previously reported, the cities of Chandler, Phoenix and Mesa have all restricted data center zoning options, and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego has called for the Arizona State Legislature to eliminate development incentives for the burgeoning Industrial subsector, calling them “antiquated.” (AZBEX: June 10, June 18) While Gallego and others have expressed concerns about a modest count of permanent jobs and impacts on “walkability” and neighborhood…

The Yuma Planning and Zoning Commission has voted unanimously to recommend approval of a minor General Plan amendment to change the land use for a 1.6-acre parcel near Colorado Street and 20th Avenue from low-density residential to high-density residential to allow a new multifamily development. The River Trail Apartments at 1350 W. Colorado will have 24 units. The newly updated zoning would allow for up to 49, but developer Loneram LLC’s owner, Ronald Martin, explained his plan is to keep the unit count lower to provide additional space for community play areas. The ground-level units will also feature fenced backyards,…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX The Arizona Construction sector gained 600 jobs in June, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%. The national unemployment rate dropped to 4.1%, down from 4.2% in May. In June 2024, Arizona had a seasonally adjusted rate of 3.5%. The national rate was 4.1%. Arizona had a not-seasonally adjusted loss of 59,100 nonfarm employment jobs month-over-month. “Prior to the pandemic (2010-2019), NSA nonfarm employment lost 51,600 jobs on average in June,” the report states. Year-over-year results showed a seasonally…