Author: BEX Staff

The Tempe City Council has approved $23M in improvements for Tempe Diablo Stadium. The first phase of the overall renovation plan will feature a new Major/Minor League clubhouse, a player development area and a performance lab. There will also be an onsite kitchen, team dining area, weight and locker rooms, meeting space and an office area. Work is expected to begin in April and to be finished before next year’s Spring Training season. The Phase I project was initially estimated at $20.9M. Tempe will provide $10.9M. The Los Angeles Angels had initially pledged $10M but will also cover any overages…

Moving and storage firm Muscular Moving Men plans to build a new warehouse and office facility on 4.71 acres on East Rose Garden Lane near Cave Creek Road in north Phoenix. The 68.5KSF facility will have nearly 62.5KSF of warehouse space and 6KSF of office area serving as home base to more than 100 employees and 50 moving trucks. Muscular Moving Men and its corporate moving division M3 Commercial Moving & Logistics purchased the property jointly from Horse Help, a therapeutic horse riding nonprofit. Muscular Moving Men will provide services to Horse Help as the group relocates to its facility…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX – BEXCLUSIVE There was a bevy of housing and housing construction-related news in my inbox this week. There always is, of course, but lots of this week’s messages had actual data instead of just the usual handwringing. Since Housing makes up more than 27% of the Arizona construction market, we felt a recap and scanning of the lay of the land might be in order. Supply and Demand Balancing Let’s start by taking a look at multifamily rents at the end of February. According to the Yardi Matrix National Multifamily Report, rents increased by $1…

The Regional Center for Border Health plans to start construction on a new hospital in San Luis before the end of the year and bring it into service in spring 2026. RCBH officials said that while the schedule is aggressive, the nonprofit has been working toward the new facility for years. They are currently targeting breaking ground on 10 acres south of the existing Medical Mall in October. The Border Health Medical Campus is planned to start with an initial 20-bed capacity and then double that over phases. The initial size is planned for 48.7KSF and will feature operating rooms,…

By Associated Builders and Contractors Associated Builders and Contractors applauds the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas for vacating the National Labor Relations Board’s 2023 Joint Employer Final Rule and the Board’s rescission of the ABC-supported 2020 Joint Employer Final Rule. Under the court’s decision, the 2020 final rule, which provides clear criteria for companies to apply when determining their joint employer status, remains in effect today. ABC opposed the 2023 final rule, which was scheduled to go into effect March 11. “We are pleased the court has blocked the NLRB’s radical and overbroad joint employer standard,…

By Associated Builders and Contractors Associated Builders and Contractors reported its Construction Backlog Indicator declined to 8.1 months in February, according to an ABC member survey conducted Feb. 20 to March 5. The reading is down 1.1 months from February 2023. Backlog fell for every size of contractor except for those with less than $30M in annual revenues in February. Over the past year, however, the largest contractors—those with greater than $50M in revenues—have experienced the greatest decline in backlog. ABC’s Construction Confidence Index readings for sales, profit margins and staffing levels also decreased in February. However, all three readings…

Awards & Accolades 1. ENR Southwest ranked the largest projects to start construction during the last year across Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. The Arizona projects that made the list are: LG Energy Battery Plant – Cylindrical Batteries Building — $1.6B; SunZia Southwest Transmission — $1B; KOREPlex Lithium Battery Manufacturing Facility — $850M; Desert Diamond West Glendale Casino — $450M; South Pier (Lot 6) PH1 Residential Towers — $385M; Eleven Mile Solar Center — $338M; Google Data Center (Project Red Hawk) Phase 1 — $330M; Chang Chun Industrial Solvents Factory — $300M; Nestle Manufacturing Plant (Project Raven) — $294.1M; Aligned…

Maricopa County has approved a $16.7M agreement with NAC El Mirage Housing LLC to fund The Flats at El Mirage, a 45-unit affordable housing project planned on El Mirage Road in Surprise. The package consists of $10.6M in American Rescue Plan Act funds and more than $6M from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME Investment Partnership Program. Thirteen of the planned units will be non-congregate shelter spaces, providing short-term housing for residents waiting to transition into a permanent unit after completing a supportive service program. Resident families must earn 60% or less than the Area Median Income, which…

The Tempe Coalition for Affordable Housing has paid $2.77M for a vacant 1.27-acre parcel on East Apache Blvd. near McClintock Drive. The group plans to eventually develop a multi-story multifamily development on the site for low-to-moderate-income residents. While there are no drawings or specific plans for the eventual development, officials expect 40-50 units will ultimately be built. The Coalition currently has approximately 60 properties under management. The Apache location was its first vacant lot buy, since it typically purchases existing housing, improves it, and rents it out as a permanently affordable property. Funding for the purchase was provided through Tempe’s…

The Arizona Legislature has approved a measure that will curtail some municipal zoning regulations in an attempt to increase housing development and affordability. The bipartisan measure now awaits Gov. Katie Hobbs’ signature or veto. Hobbs has not taken a stance on previous legislative attempts to reform zoning and design requirements at the state level and has, instead, pressed legislators to support programs for down payment and mortgage rate assistance. Her office declined to comment on Hobbs’ intended action on the legislation currently before her. HB 2570, also known as the Arizona Starter Homes Act, would only apply to cities with…