Author: BEX Staff

Awards & Accolades 1. Four students from the East Valley Institute of Technology’s welding program participated in a “topping out” ceremony at SteelFab Inc. in Chandler. The “topping out” ceremony was for Arizona’s first American Institute of Steel Construction Tree teaching sculpture. The sculpture was constructed by EVIT students using steel provided by SteelFab. Following tradition, the beam was signed and raised with a Christmas tree and an American flag attached. The structure showcases every type of structural connection used in buildings and will be used as a long-term training tool. Groundbreakings 2. Renovations on the block the Pratt-Gilbert building…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX Editor’s Note: AZBEX has extensively covered Axon’s proposal for a corporate headquarters and campus master plan, as well as the efforts by opposition groups looking to stop the plan. While some of our reporting has only appeared in the AZBEX Digital Magazine, the majority is available on our website. Click here for the full background. In an April 10 vote, the Arizona House passed the latest version of legislation that will allow Axon to build a previously approved headquarters and corporate campus in north Scottsdale. The House approved its version of Senate Bill 1543 on…

Following The X Company’s failure to respond to a motion by general contractor Clayco in a case seeking payment for work performed on the failed second phase of the X Phoenix multifamily development at 2nd Avenue and Van Buren Street, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Jennifer Ryan-Touhill has issued a summary judgment in Clayco’s favor. Clayco claimed $31.6M was owed for work performed on the project before it was halted in September 2023. The general contractor also sought $8.3M in interest on the debt through Jan. 31. In its motion, Clayco requested a judgment against The X Company and subsidiary…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Old Town Scottsdale may soon see a stylish new mixed-use multifamily and office development. Staff has recommended approval of a plan for The Bishop—a 17-unit, 4.3KSF boutique office/commercial development on 1.13 acres on the SWC of Bishop Lane and 2nd Street. The Scottsdale Development Review Board is scheduled to review the site plan, landscape plan and building elevations in its April 17 meeting. According to the project narrative, originally submitted by Helix Properties in May 2024, “The architecture will be anchored on the north end, facing the heart of the arts district and Camelback Mountain,…

By National Association of Home Builders Reps. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.) and Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), along with 114 bipartisan cosponsors, have introduced National Association of Home Builders-supported legislation that will improve the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and allow builders to increase production of badly needed affordable rental housing. The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025 addresses the need to boost housing production to ease the nation’s housing affordability crisis. The bill would help finance more than two million additional multifamily units over the next decade. The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act would: Increase 9% LIHTC allocations, which are generally reserved…

By Associated Builders and Contractors Construction input prices increased 0.5% in March, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data. Nonresidential construction input prices increased 0.6% for the month. Both overall and nonresidential construction input prices are 0.8% higher than one year ago. While crude petroleum prices fell considerably in March, that decline was more than offset by rapidly rising natural gas, steel, copper and lumber prices. “Construction input prices increased at a rapid pace for the third consecutive month in March and have now risen at a 9.7% annualized…

Giving Back 1. Progressive Roofing, Duro-Last and Holcim partnered to provide a donated roof restoration valued at nearly $60K for Ability360’s location at 5031 E. Washington St. Progressive Roofing contributed the labor; Duro-Last provided a silicone coating, and Holcim supplied additional materials. 2. Airgas, an Air Liquide company,announced 72 schools were selected to take part in its High School Welding Education Initiative. Of the 72 schools, two are in Arizona: Page High School and Weld Like a Girl. Awards & Accolades 3. AZ Big Media has announced the 2025 edition of Ranking Arizona: Top 10 General Contractors. The results of…

Sales Transactions 1. Bela Flor Communities, represented by CBRE, has sold Bella Encanta to a global institutional investor for $95.8M. Bella Encanta is a 212-unit, Built-to-Rent community, located at 9745 E. Hampton Ave. in Mesa. Units are duplex style and start at 1.2KSF. 2. A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge has approved a $30M bid by Lucid Group Inc. to purchase Nikola Corporation’s manufacturing facility in Coolidge and assume Nikola’s Phoenix headquarters lease, along with other assets. Lucid operates a large electric vehicle manufacturing operation in Casa Grande, and the new acquisition will increase its property holdings by more than 884KSF.…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX An 86.8KSF delivery center is the first project planned on a nearly 1,280 area at State Route 89A and County Fair Trail annexed into Prescott Valley in 2001. Developer Van Trust Real Estate has requested a rezoning for 100 vacant, undeveloped acres from single-family rural to limited industrial to allow development of the delivery center on approximately 20 acres of the site. Surrounding land uses include similarly zoned undeveloped land, a Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office property with a training facility, and other uses that include a beverage bottling plant and an RV park. According to…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX A rezoning request and site plan review are scheduled for a hearing and vote this week before the Mesa Planning and Zoning Board. The request from Elliot Barkan Development would rezone 3.5 net acres at the SWC of Sossaman Road and Main Street from limited commercial to multiple residence with a planned area development overlay to allow for the construction of Main 45 Townhomes, a multifamily community with a density of 12.8 units/acre. Surrounding uses include office and commercial, retail, vacant land and an age-restricted “manufactured home” subdivision. According to the staff report, all 45…