Author: BEX Staff

By Arizona Department of Transportation The Arizona Department of Transportation‘s study of passenger rail between the Phoenix and Tucson areas is ready to take an important step forward. The Federal Railroad Administration has approved ADOT’s submissions in the first step of the Corridor Identification and Development Program: a scope, schedule and budget for preparing a Service Development Plan that will outline key elements necessary for establishing passenger rail service. Work on the Service Development Plan can begin after approval of a federal grant, which is expected in the coming weeks. Completing the Service Development Plan is expected to take two…

Owner IHG Hotels & Resorts is undertaking a $5.5M upgrade of the luxury Kimpton Hotel Palomar Phoenix on East Jefferson Street downtown. All 242 rooms will be renovated, including the hotel’s 27 suites. The guest common areas are part of the renovation project, which is planned to improve the guest experience and expand the “urban retreat experience,” according to hotel representatives. Beleco Design was chosen to design the guest room improvements, which include updated furnishing, curated artwork, an enhanced minibar and upgraded bathrooms. Renovations will progress floor-by-floor to allow the hotel to remain in operation during construction and not disrupt…

Awards & Accolades 1. The Trailhead, a 40-acre mixed-use development at 83rd Avenue and Happy Valley Road in Peoria, was named Retail Project of the Year by the Arizona chapter of NAIOP. Developed by Pederson Group, with Butler Design Group as the designer and Campbell Development as the contractor, the $100M-plus project includes 140KSF of retail anchored by a 63KSF Safeway, a 350-unit multifamily complex and a church. The site also features bike paths, pedestrian links and gathering spaces designed to connect with nearby neighborhoods and Sunrise Mountain Preserve. Groundbreakings 2. Legacy Partners has broken ground on Olea Scottsdale, a…

A compromise between Republican legislators and Gov. Katie Hobbs could free up water rights to develop hundreds of thousands of new homes in Maricopa and Pinal counties, with the possibility of also including Pima County under additional measures. The so-called “ag to urban” agreement would let homebuilders purchase water rights to agricultural lands from farmers who retire the properties if the developers promise to use only a given percentage of the water previously used on the farms for supplying the new housing. Several housing development plans, particularly in Pinal County and suburbs west of Phoenix, have stalled due to water…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX As Maricopa County continues to adjust to the influx of new residents, employers and visitors that have come in the last several years, road capacity has struggled to keep up. This, along with a philosophical opposition to light rail/mass transit, was one of the planks in the Arizona Legislature’s protracted fight to scuttle, and ultimately significantly revise, the draft legislation that finally led to the ballot measure County voters were ultimately presented with to approve the renewal of the half-cent transportation tax for another 20 years last November. Our coverage of that issue is available…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX After owner Arcus Private Capital Solutions requested an indefinite continuance late last year to reevaluate water restrictions on its planned Rittenhouse Commons II 166-lot housing development, the issue was brought back to the Queen Creek Town Council for a vote June 18. The developer had requested and been granted a rezoning from commercial to medium-density residential for 16.5 acres at the NEC of Sossaman and Rittenhouse roads in June 2023 for a for-sale townhome development. An amendment to a planned area development overlay was submitted and recommended by the Planning Commission last October and will…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX The Arizona Construction sector lost 1,700 jobs in May, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%. The national unemployment rate was also unchanged from April, holding at 4.2%. In May 2024, Arizona had a seasonally adjusted rate of 3.4%. The national rate was 4.0%. Arizona had a not-seasonally adjusted loss of 19,300 nonfarm employment jobs month-over-month. “Prior to the pandemic (2010-2019), NSA nonfarm employment lost 6,700 jobs on average in May,” the report states. Year-over-year results showed a seasonally adjusted…

Awards & Accolades 1. AZ Big Media has released the 2025 Ranking Arizona list of Top 10 Landscape Architects. The top firms are as follows: ABLA, TRUEFORM landscape architecture studio, EPS Group, T.J. McQueen and Associates, Logan Simpson Design, Coe & Van Loo Consultants, Studio DPA, G.K. Flanagan Associates, CollectiV Landscape Architects and SmithGroup. 2. AZ Big Media released the 2025 Ranking Arizona list of Top 10 Landscape Contractors. The top firms are as follows: Earthscapes, Caretaker Landscape and Tree Management, Ventana Outdoor Living, AAA Landscape, Grounds Control, AME Landscape Companies, Berghoff Design Group/BDG Maintenance, Creative Environments Design, Pool Spa…

Sales Transactions 1. AEW Capital Management purchased the 159-unit Build-to-Rent community The Bungalows at San Tan Village in Gilbert for $66.1M. The community was sold by Cavan Companies. 2. Continental Realty Corporation purchased Sundance Towne Center, a roughly 200KSF shopping center in Buckeye, for $54.3M. The property is located on approximately 32 acres at 466 S. Watson Road and is anchored by a Walmart Supercenter and Lowe’s. The center is more than 94% leased. CBRE represented the seller, Shin Yen Management. 3. Phoenix Enterprises LLC purchased two fully occupied office buildings in the Paradise Village Office Park for $6.2M. The…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX In our June 17 issue, we examined the Maricopa Association of Governments’ freeway project plans for the next 20 years under the Proposition 479 half-cent transportation tax approved by voters last year. While freeway projects get the lion’s share of attention from the general public, arterial streets have an arguably even greater impact on residents’ daily lives. Today’s issue will look at the planned rehabilitation and reconstruction program for MAG’s arterial street projects. Upcoming issues will examine widening and the Arterial Life Cycle Program. Freeways and arterials both took on a greater focus than originally…