Author: BEX Staff

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…

By American Institute of Architects/Deltek Architecture The AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index remained below 50 for the fourth consecutive month. The score of 43 increased by one point from October, indicating slightly fewer firms reporting a decline in billings. Any score below 50 indicates decreasing business conditions but there are encouraging signs of the pipeline. This marks the seventh month in 2023 with a decline in billings. Over the past three months the pace of this decline has accelerated, with firms in all specializations and in all regions of the country reporting weakening business conditions,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker.…

Groundbreakings 1. Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West broke ground on a nearly 12KSF expansion that is expected to complete within two years. Scottsdale City Council approved the expansion along with a donation of $12M from Louis “Buzz” Sands IV. Completions 2. The $42M, 429KSF Mill Avenue Parking Structure for Arizona State University completed in Tempe. The six-level parking garage offers 1,205 parking spaces. DFDG Architecture designed the structure and McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. was the general contractor. 3. TruVista Development began leasing at Village of Chandler, a 109-unit apartment complex in Chandler. Village of Chandler offers one-, two-…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX The complicated process surrounding S3 Biotech’s master-planned District at Copper Sky development may now be a little simpler following a trio of recent approvals from the Maricopa City Council. The City terminated development agreements with S3 Biotech and Copper Sky Hotel and Residential Group for a mixed-use medical campus in November because the companies were taking too long to build, according to City Manager Rick Horst. Maricopa issued three solicitations for the land associated with the medical campus, all of which were due Dec. 5. According to the DATABEX project database entries on the subject,…