Author: BEX Staff

By BEX Staff for AZBEX The City of Phoenix has issued a Request for Qualifications for a Construction Manager a Risk for a $6.4M expansion and renovation project at the Children’s Museum of Phoenix. According to the project description, “On behalf of the Children’s Museum of Phoenix, the City of Phoenix seeks to renovate and upgrade unfinished spaces in the historic Monroe School building. This building was originally constructed in 1913 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Capital Improvement Project intends to develop and finish areas that comply with building codes to transition approximately 28KSF of…

As the next iteration of Mayo Clinic’s “Bold. Forward. Unbound.” campaign to bring about the next generation of healthcare, the hospital innovator is planning a $1.9B expansion of its north Phoenix campus that will add 1.2MSF of space and 3,500 more jobs. Mayo Clinic Arizona CEO Dr. Richard Gray said it will be the firm’s largest Arizona investment to date. The new expansion, which is separate from the Discovery Oasis master plan, will increase overall clinical space by 59%, increase the number of operating rooms by 31% and significantly add to the number of CT and MRI scanners, increasing the…

QTS Data Centers and other operators have partnered with Maricopa Community Colleges on a workforce development program geared toward training data center workers. Students enrolled at any of the 10 MCC schools in the Phoenix area can earn a Data Center Operations certificate via classes from the Mesa and Estrella campuses. The certificate is intended to qualify students for entry-level data center jobs and includes the base technicians’ program and data-center-specific coursework. There are also data center tours, speakers’ presentations and an internship program available. Approximately 200 students have begun taking applicable courses, and the first group of students should…

Giving Back 1. Achen-Gardner Construction participated in the Arizona State University Career Fair on Feb. 13. The employee-owners talked to students about the company’s expertise and discussed challenges in the industry, while providing details about career opportunities. Boards & Commissions 2. James Singleton and Alfonso Juarez were elected as the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Maricopa Planning & Zoning Commission at its meeting on Feb. 24. Company News 3. CBRE announced the opening of its new office at 2502 E. River Road in Tucson. The company recently moved into the new space from its long-time location off North Campbell…

Sales Transactions 1. Recreational Equipment Inc. sold its 410.4KSF Goodyear warehouse to Madison Capital for $46.4M in a cash sale-leaseback deal. REI’s lease is for 15 years, with two 10-year renewal options. The agreement also allows REI the first option to purchase the facility. The property, located at 4877 N. Cotton Lane, achieved LEED Platinum certification and Net Zero Energy, in part by utilizing its 6,700 solar panels. This deal is among four similar sales between Madison Capital and REI nationwide. 2. Echo Real Estate Capital and Grandview Partners, represented by Cushman & Wakefield, sold a Class-A industrial building leased…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX A five-acre outdoor storage and parking facility near the SWC of 27th and Glendale avenues in Phoenix could be redeveloped into a new 124-unit multifamily development under a rezoning request scheduled for March 6 before the Phoenix Planning Commission. The site is currently zoned as single-family residential district. Surrounding uses include single-family residences, a beauty school, office space, vacant land and a church. Staff determined the rezoning to R-4 multifamily zoning is not consistent with the current General Plan land use map designation, but a General Plan amendment will not be necessary since the site…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX A proposed 29-unit multifamily development planned on South Ellis Street south of Frye Road received a recommendation for approval from the Chandler Planning and Zoning Commission in the Feb. 19 meeting. The requests for Nirvana at Ellis will now proceed to City Council. The 1.94-acre site currently has an area plan in place for commercial, office and specialty retail uses. The proposed amendment would change the designation to multifamily residential. The property is surrounded by other multifamily on three sides, according to planning documents. All units would be two-bedroom, two-bath. Building configurations call for one…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX The Somerton City Council has approved a development agreement with Somerton Hospitality that could lead to the construction of the city’s first hotel. The proposed facility will be on Main Street in the Parkview Commerce Center. According to local news sources and the City Council documents, Somerton Hospitality will pay the City $600K for the property. The transaction must be finalized within a year, after which the developer will have up to two years to have the project’s construction in a “significantly advanced” state. Plans for the actual hotel are still fluid, with an expected…

By Salt River Project To meet the growing power demands of the Phoenix metropolitan area, SRP issued a 2025 All-Source Request for Proposals on Feb. 24. The RFP seeks competitive proposals for resources that can provide at least 600 megawatts of summer capacity by the summer of 2031 and an additional minimum of 500 MW of capacity by the summer of 2032. SRP is also seeking information on the earliest date that projects can be online, recognizing the interest and potential for large customer growth. SRP is also seeking proposals for resources that provide up to 2,700 MW of new…

Groundbreakings 1. Sundt Construction has broken ground on the Strategic Academic Flight Education Building and the T-3 Residence Halls at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The $80M T-3 Residence Halls will contain two student housing complexes, each 80KSF and four stories tall, housing 300 students in total. The $10M S.A.F.E. Building will be 20KSF and designated for flight training. 2. Work on a new West-MEC Southeast Campus began on Feb. 25. DLR Group is the design firm for the project, and CHASSE Building Team is the general contractor. The campus plot is 30 acres and located at W. 93rd Street and Osborn…