Author: BEX Staff

The Paradise Valley Town Council has unanimously approved a plan by Walton Global Holdings to redevelop the SmokeTree Resort. Walton bought the site from previous owner Geneva Holdings in June 2022 after Geneva’s larger plans for the site failed to gain traction. Geneva Holdings purchased the property in 2018 and planned a redevelopment with 150 rooms. The hotel has been closed since 2020. Walton’s plan for the five-acre site at Scottsdale Road and Lincoln Drive features 82 guest rooms, with 77 rooms located in a main building and five offered as one-story casitas. Other components include a restaurant, a café…

The state’s Water Infrastructure Finance Authority has awarded more than $100M to 89 projects spread throughout all 15 Arizona counties under its $200M Water Conservation Grant Fund. The rest of the grant money has to be assigned by June. Any public entity and their partner nonprofits can apply for grants of up to $250K/project or $3M/program if they have a 25% match for the full costs. At least one-third of the funds have to go to conservation projects focused on the Colorado River shortage, and a third must deal with groundwater replenishment, but there are no set criteria for awarding…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX As Arizona gets ready for what is certain to be another protracted fight between the State Legislature and Gov. Katie Hobbs to set the next budget, Hobbs’ proposed Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2025 has some interesting information on the construction industry’s possible immediate outlook. The Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee expects a budget shortfall of $1.7B after reviewing projected deficits from fiscal years 2024 and 2025. Given the contentious relationship between Democrat Hobbs and the Legislature’s Republican majority, this year’s budget process may be even more acrimonious than last, which was one of the…

The Mesa Design Review Board discussed a proposal from Public Storage to build a three-story, 135KSF self-storage facility on a two-acre site near Southern Avenue and Country Club Drive as part of its Jan. 9 meeting. No action was taken. In its project narrative, Public Storage says the facility will replace a previous structure that was partially destroyed in a fire and subsequently demolished. The new development has the same use, and Public Storage claims the project will have little-to-no impact “on public services, facilities and infrastructure.” Unlike the previous building’s primary access point off Country Club Drive, the new…

By Associated Builders and Contractors Construction input prices decreased 0.6% in December compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data. Nonresidential construction input prices decreased 0.4% for the month. Overall construction input prices are 1.2% higher than a year ago, while nonresidential construction input prices are 1.6% higher. Prices decreased in 2 of the 3 energy subcategories last month. Crude petroleum input prices were down 13.2%, while unprocessed energy materials were down 9.1%. Natural gas prices rose 1.5% in December. “Construction input prices fell sharply…

Awards & Accolades 1. AZ Big Media announced its 50 commercial real estate leaders to watch in 2024. In the order originally presented, these consist of: Chris Anderson, Hines; Adam Baugh, Withey Morris Baugh; Devin Beasley, Cushman & Wakefield; Rachelle Strole, Capital Asset Management; Ed Beeh, SRS Real Estate Partners-West; Jenna Borcherding, VanTrust Real Estate; Katie Haydon, Haydon Companies; Tyson Breinholt, Commercial Properties, Inc.; Tim Brislin, Harvard Investments; Chris Burson, Flagstar Bank; Susan Byram, Plaza Companies; Michelle Walker, SSC Underground; Chris Burbach, Fundamental Income; Rory Carder, Gensler; Chuck Carefoot, Ryan Companies; Tammy Carr, Brinkmann Constructors; Robert Cortazzo, Adolfson & Peterson…

Sales Transactions 1. Institutional Property Advisors has announced the $33M sale of the 256-unit apartment community The Place at Spanish Trail in Tucson. IPA’s Clint Wadlund, Hamid Panahi, Steve Gebing and Cliff David represented the undisclosed seller and found the buyer. 2. Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. has paid $25M for the 112.5KSF Icagen Pharmaceutical R&D Facility at 2090 E. Innovation Park Dr. in Oro Valley. Ventana is owned by Roche Tissue Diagnostics. 3. Capstone Advisors has acquired 420 S. Mill Ave and 501 S. Mill Ave. in Tempe for $22.2M. Century Drive Investments LLC was the seller. 4. The Meritex…

The Valley Interfaith Project, a coalition of religious organizations and nonprofits, has stepped in to help fight opposition to Phoenix-area affordable housing developments. Neighborhood opposition, including in the form of highly organized groups, routinely emerges to oppose multifamily developments, particularly when those developments have any type of affordable designation attached to them. Opponents regularly cite worries about height, density and the potential draw of lower-income people to the neighborhoods around the planned locations. VIP is working to counter those claims in an attempt to increase affordable housing options and shelter space in the Phoenix area. Homelessness has increased by nearly…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX The weigh-in banter is over and the contenders are getting ready to square off in the fight over prevailing wage laws in Arizona. As expected, the Phoenix City Council voted earlier this week to enact an ordinance establishing so-called “prevailing wage” requirements for many municipal construction contracts. As we reported Tuesday, Council passed a prevailing wage ordinance last year but repealed it following outcry over procedural concerns and the possibility of conflict with Arizona state law. (AZBEX, Jan. 9) The new ordinance mandates businesses that contract with the City for construction projects valued at $4M…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Construction costs continue to rise across the country, but the latest Rider Levett Bucknall Quarterly Construction Cost Report shows Phoenix costs going up at consistently lessening rates than other major markets. October 2023 data for the Phoenix market shows a cost index increase of 1.04%. In October 2022 the rate was 2.1%, and the index has steadily decreased over the intervening quarters. Of the 12 major markets tracked, only Los Angeles has seen a similarly consistent gradual stepdown. All the others have, to varying degrees, shown a set of spikes and dips. Six of the…