Author: BEX Staff

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX The Goodyear Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed a request from developer Wealth Hospitality to rezone and amend the development guidelines for a 35-acre site near the NEC of McDowell Road and Bullard Avenue to allow the development of a four-story, 241-room dual-branded Hilton Garden Inn & Homewood Suites hotel project. The Commission recommended approval in its May 6 meeting. The 4.92-acre hotel site lies within the 16.57-acre West Parcel of the overall Palm Valley Promenade Planned Area Development. Current development guidelines have a three-story height maximum. The request would remove the three-story restriction to allow…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX The Phoenix office of JLL announced this week that it will market the 2,500-acre Grand View Arizona master plan in Buckeye. JLL’s announcement describes Grand View Arizona as “an infrastructure-rich, fully entitled, 2,500-acre mega site… With the scale to accommodate large-scale, sophisticated manufacturing uses, the project is projected to become a leading employment district, generating over $1B in economic impact as it transforms the landscape of industrial and economic growth in the region.” JLL’s Marc Hertzberg, Anthony Lydon, Greg Matter, John Lydon and Nicole Marshall are marketing the land for immediate development, according to the…

The Bullhead City Council was recently presented with an updated vision for future development at Laughlin Ranch. The existing Laughlin Ranch community is a residential development centered around a golf course. A planned future development south of Laughlin Ranch Blvd. is now being considered as a combination of residential and light industrial uses. Diversified Future Founder and Managing Partner Shelby Duplessis provided the overview in a recent workshop. She said the original plan for a second golf course and 1,500 acres of residential development is now being envisioned for more than 2,500 acres of light industrial use. The plan would…

Elevated borrowing costs, slowing construction starts and higher regulatory scrutiny of CRE concentration risks have U.S. banks maintaining a decrease in construction lending, a new report has found. CRED iQ’s data shows lending for construction and development continuing to shrink, even though broader market conditions are showing signs of stabilization. Construction and development loan balances fell to $456.3B, a 5.7% year-over year drop. The decrease marks the sixth quarter in a row in which banks construction lending has contracted. Lending’s most recent peak came in Q4 2023, reaching $505.5B. Banks have since reduced their exposure due to elevated interest rates,…

Awards & Accolades 1. AZ Big Media recently announced its top 10 master-planned communities as part of its 2026 edition of Ranking Arizona. Awardees include: Vistancia Development, Ironwood Crossing, Morrison Ranch, Las Sendas, Mountain Bridge, Estrella, Saguaro Bloom, Gladden Farms, Johnson Ranch and Power Ranch. Groundbreakings 2. Construction has begun on the $192M Loop 101-I-10 Interchange Improvement Project in Phoenix. The Arizona Department of Transportation project will add an elevated bridge providing new HOV lane connections between Loop 101 and Interstate 10, along with new ramps and traffic flow improvements. Additional work includes relocating the southbound Loop 101 exit at…

Sales Transactions 1. Fidelity Core Real Estate Operating Partnership’s FCREF Vineyard Towne I LLC and FCREF Vineyard Towne II LLC purchased Vineyard Towne Center at the NWC of Gantzel and Combs roads in Queen Creek for $69.6M. Vestar sold the Target-anchored shopping center and will continue to operate and manage the property. 2. Newmark announced it arranged the $37.5M sale of the former State Farm regional headquarters campus at the SWC of Priest and Alameda drives in Tempe. The 25-acre property comprises approximately 462KSF of office and includes two structured parking garages. Newmark’s Barry Gabel, Chris Marchildon, CJ Osbrink, Gary…

By Associated Builders and Contractors National nonresidential construction spending decreased 0.2% in March, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.244T. Spending was down on a monthly basis in nine of the 16 nonresidential subcategories. Both public and private nonresidential spending were down 0.2% in March. “Nonresidential construction spending contracted yet again in March,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “While a large portion of the ongoing decline is due to steadily falling manufacturing-related construction activity, weakness is becoming more widespread. Both…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX A five-story, 148-room hotel could be the next addition to the Cannon Beach master plan under a set of requests set to go before the Mesa Design Review Board this week. Cannon Beach is a 60-acre surf park with a lagoon and supporting commercial and retail at the SEC of Power and Warner roads. While a Tapestry Collection by Hilton and an Aloft Hotel by Marriott are already part of the planned campus, a grand hotel immediately next to the lagoon area has been part of the plan since it was first proposed in 2020.…

The AES Clean Energy division of AES Corporation is proposing a 5,011-acre solar power and battery energy storage system development in the Rainbow Valley area of southern Goodyear. If built as proposed, the Desert Rainbow Solar Project would produce up to 550 megawatts of energy and store the same amount in BESS units. Estrella South LLC is the property owner. Desert Rainbow would be one of the state’s largest solar developments, by area, if completely developed as planned. The property is situated approximately two miles from the master-planned community Estrella. Power from the facility would feed into Salt River Project’s…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX A 3.14-acre site on Scottsdale Road south of McKellips Road in Tempe that was originally developed as a multifamily/hotel site and then converted to hotel/small retail in the 1970s could be on its way to redevelopment as a new multifamily community under an adaptive reuse proposal before the Tempe Development Review Commission. In its May 12 meeting, DRC members will consider a request from owner HK 24th Street, LLC, which traces to the Pham Family Trust, to convert the site at Scottsdale Road and East Lilac Drive into a 142-unit multifamily community, retaining the footprints…