Author: BEX Staff

Groundbreakings 1. Avalon Ranch, an upcoming commercial center at Power and Elliot roads, is under construction. The Avalon Development project will cover 14 acres and hold seven retail tenants. The site previously contained undeveloped agricultural lands, but the City of Mesa rezoned the property to limited commercial in 2023. Each corner of the intersection is now seeing development. 2. A 95-unit, four-story hotel project is being constructed in Kingman. The property will be an Avid Hotel under the InterContinental Hotels Group. The hotel, located at Hotel Way and Airway Avenue, broke ground on Feb. 24. The project is expected to…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 on March 4 to approve a Development and Purchase Agreement with Spire Development that will allow development of an 80-unit low-income housing community. According to a County press release, “Spire previously was selected as the winning proposer for the development of an 80-unit project located at the SEC of East Drexel Road and Bonney Avenue. The new development, to be known as Drexel Commons, will remain an affordable housing project for 30 years.” The County sold 2.08 acres of vacant land to Spire for $200, as allowed…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX Developer FalconEye Ventures is planning a mixed-use resort development on 90 acres at Beachcomber and McCulloch blvds. south of the Nautical Inn Beachfront Resort on the Island in Lake Havasu. The company bought the land, currently zoned for a golf course and 78 acres of right-of-way, for $24M in 2023 in a state land auction. The current zoning is for parks/open space. The developer is seeking a major General Plan amendment to resort-related island, resort residential and commercial mixed-use, along with a rezoning to Island Body Beach planned development overlay. The preliminary development team is…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Regular readers of AZBEX who see the “Editorial Analysis” tag at the start of a column can usually expect to see some snark, some calling out of short-sighted councils and administrative bodies, and the excoriation of whatever NIMBY group is trying to derail a viable project at any given moment. We’re sorry (not sorry) to disappoint, but today’s column is actually centered around a recent report with mostly good news. Fair warning and a disclaimer: There will be some discussion of Trump administration programs and policies. We fully acknowledge President Trump is a lightning rod…

The Flagstaff City Council has approved a second development agreement amendment that may move the decade-plus planned Mill Town project at 1801 S. Milton Road toward construction. The updated agreement extends developer Vintage Partners’ entitlements on the parcel for two more years and will let the company submit a new mixed-use residential and commercial development site plan. The new plan will not have to comply with Flagstaff’s High-Occupancy Housing code. Mill Town was first planned in 2013 as part of a complex, multi-site/multi-project agreement between Vintage, the City of Flagstaff and the Arizona Department of Transportation. Vintage’s original Mill Town…

By Associated Builders and Contractors The construction industry added 19,000 jobs on net in February, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has increased by 174,000 jobs, an increase of 2.1%. Nonresidential construction employment increased by 6,200 positions on net, with growth in all three subcategories. Heavy and civil engineering added the most jobs, increasing by 2,500 positions, followed by nonresidential specialty trade, which added 2,000 jobs. Nonresidential building added 1,700 jobs last month. The construction unemployment rate rose to 7.2% in February.…

Company News 1. Northern Arizona University hosted a Construction Management Career Fair in Flagstaff on Feb. 28. B&F Contracting, Inc. Project Manager Marco Velarde and Assistant Project Manager Andrea Groak visited with students and discussed career opportunities in the underground utilities industry. 120 students met with general contractors and discussed potential internship opportunities in the construction field. 2. Mark-Taylor is celebrating 40 years in the multifamily industry. The company has formed a C-suite leadership team in response to its growth and innovation. All C-suite members have been previous leaders at Mark-Taylor. These inaugural members include: John Carlson, Chief Executive Officer;…

Sales Transactions 1. On Feb. 28, Verde Fiesta LLC acquired the former Fiesta Mall site between Southern Avenue and the U.S. 60 near Alma School Road. MMCP, LLC sold the space for $24M. Cashen Realty Advisors brokered the deal, and Ray Cashen represented the seller. The buyer intends to repurpose the area into a mixed-use development featuring multifamily housing, commercial and office spaces, and a central village green. 2. CBRE has negotiated the $23.48M sale of The Forum at Gilbert Ranch, a  97KSF, Class A office campus on 6.56 acres in Gilbert, to a private high-net-worth 1031 investor. CBRE’s Geoff…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX The Casa Grande Planning and Zoning Commission will meet this week to discuss a proposal and set of requests to build a 120KSF self-storage facility on 4.5 acres of General Business-zoned land near the SWC of Florence Blvd. and Arizona Road. Developer PSC Storage has requested a conditional use permit, major site plan and preliminary plat approvals. Self-storage is an allowed use under the current zoning with a CUP and major site plan, according to the staff report. The preliminary plat would combine the property lot into a single parcel. Surrounding uses at the undeveloped…

By Arizona Medicaid Health Plans and LISC Phoenix The Housing is Healthcare Fund by the Arizona Medicaid Health Plans, a model collaboration for affordable housing development, is announcing new grant awards to increase the availability of housing across Arizona. Five projects in Payson, Phoenix, Prescott, Show Low and Surprise will receive a total of $2.5M. Since 2020, the Medicaid Health Plans have provided $12.8M through 29 grants, including this announcement. The Housing is Healthcare Fund addresses Arizona’s rising affordability crisis while paying attention to the role of social determinants of health and housing as a quality-of-life issue. Housing built by…