Author: BEX Staff

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Urban Advisors is planning a new 400-unit luxury apartment development on 13.17 acres at the NEC of 17th Avenue and Happy Valley Road in north Phoenix. The Phoenix Planning Commission will consider a request to rezone the location to intermediate commercial with density and height waivers to accommodate the proposed development in its Jan. 2 meeting. The preliminary site plan for Cameron on Happy Valley calls for four buildings of up to 48 feet in height, as well as a 1.1KSF ramada/shade structure. The planned unit mix consists of 75 studios, 145 one-bedroom and 180…

AIA Phoenix Metro partnered with the City of Phoenix to create a competition focused on schematic designs for Accessory Dwelling Units. The open competition was supported by a national AIA College of Fellows Component Grant and drew entries from several states. Entries were required to focus on ADUs of no more than 1KSF. Minimum components included a kitchen, bathroom, sleeping area and separate access. Units could be attached to or detached from the primary residence. Winners were announced Dec. 3. Phoenix will consider additional development of some designs for an ADU Standard Plans Library to facilitate approvals and construction of…

A set of projects in south Phoenix that have been years in the making are expected to move forward with the approval of a new development agreement. The Phoenix City Council approved a development agreement with Krause Interior Architecture, Inc. for a new Resource Innovation Campus near Lower Buckeye Road and 27th Avenue. Undertaking the project as part of the C40 Cities Reinventing Cities Initiative, Krause will develop a 90KSF facility to convert waste into new resources. Krause officials said the goal is to enable companies to explore new technologies on the 20-acre campus. Work will be performed through public-private…

By GO Industrial GO Industrial has successfully acquired a 9.4-acre infill parcel in the airport market. The acquisition was made in partnership with Clarion Partners. Located at 3050 S. 35th St., along University Drive, the parcel sits on the southern border of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Ross Brown Partners facilitated the transaction, representing both the seller and the buyer. GO Industrial plans to begin demolition of the existing single-story office/light industrial building on the site by the end of Q1 2025. In its place, the company will develop Three Five Logistics, a state-of-the-art, 159,305 SF Class A industrial facility.…

Groundbreakings 1. Invenergy broke ground on its Hashknife Solar Energy Center in Joseph City. Developers stated the project is to provide up to 450 construction jobs. Construction is expected to last for 18-24 months. The target operational date is 2027, and the project will have a lifespan of 20 years. The project is composed of two phases capable of producing 475 megawatts in total. 2. Construction has started on Cross Winds @ Three Star Pointe, a low-income housing development near El Mirage and Bell roads in Surprise. The project contains 45 three-bedroom rental townhomes and is anticipated to be completed…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX The Arizona Construction sector dropped 1,100 jobs in November, the most of any sector for the month. Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 3.7%, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. The October rate was 3.6%. The national unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, up from 4.1%. Last November, Arizona had a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.2%. The national rate was 3.7%. Arizona had a not-seasonally adjusted gain of 31,600 in nonfarm employment jobs month-over-month. “Prior to the pandemic (2010-2019), NSA nonfarm employment gained 28,800 jobs on average in…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX After all of these years, solicitors should have learned not to impose their deadlines when the Holidays turn. BD teams need downtime with family and friends, yet ridiculous submission due dates loom again. Deadlines twixt the Holidays mean no Yuletide cheer, since missing a deadline leaves all staff in tears. But we have your back ‘bout demands untoward; now we’re calling them out with these Humbug! Awards. Dec. 26 Kingman needs help with E-Dev strategy, Due 12/26? What a sad tragedy! Mesa Schools wants a roof done at Smith Junior High. The day after Christmas?…

With the successful launch of the newly opened Desert Diamond Casino White Tanks at San Lucy near Northern Avenue and Loop 303, the Tohono O’odham Nation is now looking to expand amenities and services there and also at its Desert Diamond West Valley location. The tribe plans to add a 19-story hotel with 450 rooms and 30KSF of meeting space at Desert Diamond West Valley near Loop 101 in Glendale. The new hospitality space will also include pools, a spa and a rooftop restaurant. The White Tanks casino property will add a 16-story hotel with 350 rooms with similar amenities…

The Winslow City Council has approved preliminary planned area development rezoning and a development agreement with project owner Atlas Global Development for the 1,479-acre Winslow Commerce and Industrial Park. The PAD divides the property into a northern commerce park area with a light industrial focus and a heavy industrial area to the south. As part of Winslow’s sale of 1,200 acres to Atlas Global for the project, data centers were negotiated as a prohibited use because of their low employment value. Atlas Global will now work to develop and submit plans for utility connections, infrastructure improvements and detailed project phasing,…

Giving Back 1. The PICOR Charitable Foundation announced the beneficiaries of its 30th annual Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser. This year’s fundraiser, held on Oct. 27, raised a total of $188K. The Burton Family Foundation, part of PCF’s Pancake Breakfast Committee, has a dollar-for-dollar matching program. The committee released the 59 local nonprofits benefitting from the fundraiser. The grant recipients are: Amistades; Amphi Foundation; Angel Heart Pajama Project (AHPP); Arizona Center for Autism (Abbie School); Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation; Arizona Theater Company; Assistance League of Tucson, Inc.; Ballet Tucson; Beyond Foundation; BICAS; Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Tucson; Books for Classrooms;…