Author: BEX Staff

By BEX Staff for AZBEX The Campe Verde Town Council has approved a joint project agreement with the Arizona Department of Transportation for the Finnie Flat Road and Montezuma Castle Highway Corridor Improvement Planning and Designing Project. The vote was 7-0. The Town received a Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation grant totaling $896.5K from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the project. According to the meeting agenda, the covered work “consists of design services for the beautification, widening, and resurfacing of Finnie Flat Road from Highway 260 to Main Street, Main Street from Finnie Flat Road to Turner Street, and…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 4.3% in November, up from 4.2% for the month of October, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. The national unemployment rate decreased to 3.7%, down from 3.9% in October. Last November, Arizona had a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.0%, while the national rate was 3.6%. The Construction sector added 3,300 jobs around the state last month. Arizona had a gain of 35,900 jobs in nonfarm employment in November. “Prior to the pandemic (2010-2019), NSA nonfarm employment gained 28,800 jobs on average…

Glendale City Council recently viewed two presentations on design elements for the Sahuaro Ranch Park Master Plan. In addition to the $24.3M core plan, two additions were discussed that could implement new features and alter the streetscape. The City had put out a survey over three weeks this fall to solicit public input, placed QR codes in 11 spots throughout the park and held an open house. A total of 170 responses were collected. Core components include sports fields, walking trails, lighting and signage improvements and general facility upgrades. The two alternative designs discussed include the addition of a $1.3M…

By Associated Builders and Contractors Associated Builders and Contractors released the following statement in response to the announcement of a Biden administration final rule, Federal Acquisition Regulation: Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects, implementing President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14063, which requires federal construction contracts of $35M or more to be subjected to controversial project labor agreements. PLAs steer taxpayer-funded public works contracts to union-signatory contractors, granting union workers a monopoly to build these projects. “The Biden administration’s burdensome, inflationary and anti-competitive PLA mandate rule will needlessly raise costs on taxpayer-funded construction projects and steer contracts to…

Giving Back 1. The Rosendin Foundation celebrated its partnership with Valley nonprofits with a collection of $50K in grants. Some of the grants include: $15K to Save the Family Foundation, $15K to Future for KIDS, $10K to Chicanos Por La Causa, Inc. and $10K to Lifeology AZ, Inc. Since the start of The Rosendin Foundation, it has donated more than $1.87M to nonprofit organizations. 2. Canyon State Electric donated 317 Lego sets to Phoenix Children’s. This is the third year of the Lego Drive. 3. Brycon donated more than $13,700 to 15 families, including 39 children, to supply gifts and…

Sales Transactions 1. Marcus & Millichap announced the $80M sale of Alta Cooley Station, a 248-unit apartment complex in Gilbert. Steve Gebing and Cliff David of Marcus & Millichap represented seller Wood Partners and procured the undisclosed buyer. 2. Palm Valley Pavilions West, a nearly 233KSF shopping center in Goodyear, sold for $59M. The shopping center includes Best Buy, Total Wine, Ross, Barnes & Noble and Ulta. The seller was DRA Advisors and the buyer was McDowell Litchfield Plaza LLC. 3. Banner Health – UMC sold three medical offices in Tucson to The VanBarton Group for a total of $19.5M.…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Each year around now we red ink our pens, calling out Holiday Grinches for cruel deadline sins. Proposal staff yearn for some time round the fire with family and friends to become reinspired. This year more than some those wishes are dashed. Proposals are due! Crank them out, gentle staff! The Bah Humbug! Awards are our annual call-out To give these taskmasters some much-deserved fallout. Dec. 28 ADOT demands a third floor renovation. Their deadline is firm; They’ll hear no supplications. Chino Valley wants Re-charge permit renewals. More time can’t be bought not with cash,…

After extensive debate and contentious public input, the Arizona Corporation Commission has unanimously approved a plan by Union Pacific Railroad to build five rail crossings along six miles of planned rail line near the Mesa-Queen Creek border. The crossings are a key component in UPRR’s plan for the Pecos Industrial Rail Access and Train Extension, also known as Project PIRATE, that will allow industrial businesses in southeast Mesa’s Pecos Advanced Manufacturing Corridor to ship goods to a rail hub by train, potentially saving up to 29,000 truck trips per year. The Town of Queen Creek and several members of the…

The Glendale City Council has unanimously voted to adopt a new unified development code four years in the making. The new code completely replaces the current 1993-adopted Glendale zoning ordinance. While some portions of the new UDC remain contentious, including size and lot coverage requirements for accessory dwelling units in and near downtown, Council decided to adopt the code now and work to fine-tune specific aspects on an ongoing, as needed basis. After four years of development, discussion, revision and debate, Council decided to implement the new UDC to enable City staff to work with a modern and current set…

By Associated Builders and Contractors Associated Builders and Contractors issued the following statement in response to a proposed rule issued by the U.S. Department of Labor on Dec. 14 that would make significant and controversial revisions to the National Apprenticeship System. “ABC supports Government-Registered Apprenticeship Programs and offers more than 450 such education programs across the country as part of its all-of-the-above approach to meet the workforce needs of the construction industry,” said Ben Brubeck, ABC VP of regulatory, labor and state affairs. “ABC is thoroughly reviewing the Biden DOL’s overreaching, 779-page proposal and is concerned that aspects of the…