Author: BEX Staff

By National Association of Home Builders In a pre-emptive move, NAHB has joined a group of 11 other leading organizations in the construction industry to send a letter to Senate and House leaders that strongly opposes pending legislation by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) that would impose harmful and unjustified restrictions on access to the H-2B temporary seasonal visa program by employers in the construction industry. Any day now, the two senators will introduce the Seasonal Employer Protection Act of 2023, legislation that targets the construction sector at a time when the industry is facing a severe…

By Associated Builders and Contractors and BEX Staff The not-seasonally adjusted national construction unemployment rate was 0.4% higher in September 2023 than the previous year, up from 3.4% to 3.8%. According to a state-by-state analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released by Associated Builders and Contractors, 16 states had lower unemployment rates over the same period, five were unchanged and 29 states were higher. All states posted an unemployment rate lower than 8.5%, marking the sixth consecutive month that all state rates were below 10%. Arizona’s not-seasonally adjusted September rate was 2.7%, compared to the August rate of…

Awards & Accolades 1. It was recently announced that Rose Law Group is “metro ranked” for both Construction Law and Commercial Litigationin Best Law Firms® Fourteenth Edition. 2. Southern Arizona CCIM Chapter announced the pinning of five new Certified Commercial Investment Members. Elaina Elliott of Larsen Baker, Jake Arnold of Arnold Real Estate Network, Robert Motz of Tucson Federal Credit Union, Omer Kreso of Realty Executive Arizona Territory and Ted Herman of Larsen Baker were the recipients. Boards & Commissions 3. Carol Stewart has been elected VP for the volunteer board of directors for the University Economic Development Association. With…

Sales Transactions 1. MAA Companies has purchased the 323-unit Haverly apartment community at Thomas Road and Central Avenue in Phoenix from Toll Brothers Apartment Living for $102.4M. Toll Brothers had recently completed construction on the complex, which will now be rebranded MAA Central Ave. 2. Marcus & Millichap’s Hamid Panahi, Clint Wadlund and Art Wadlund represented the seller and procured the buyer in the recent $14.5M sale of Equinox on Pima, a 107-unit apartment community in Tucson. 3. Stos Partners has sold a 28.5KSF industrial building at 2725 E. Chambers St. in Phoenix for $7.2M. Buyer Sacket Family Trust was…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX Developer Mike Lafferty is planning an 82-unit apartment/townhome development called L’Reserve Residences on five acres along State Route 69, approximately five miles outside of Prescott. According to media reports, Lafferty Development is in the early stages of the zoning and permitting process for the new community, which will be developed under a separate LLC. An access road from Lafferty’s personal ranch development to the apartment development will be called L’Reserve Way and could begin construction in December. Plans are in place to build a 12-inch water line between the two water sources that will feed…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX After years of more stops than starts in its efforts to redevelop and invigorate its Old Town area, the City of Peoria is trying a different approach. Previous attempts have involved partnerships with various master developers, none of which have met with much success. The latest efforts involve doing what can be done when it can be done rather than waiting for every piece to be in line before moving forward. In May, the City Council voted not to extend an economic development agreement with ZonaPart LLC (Arizona Partners in Real Estate) to create a…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX (BEXCLUSIVE) ‘Tis the season for zombie projects to rise enthusiastically back to life. The Pinal County Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended approval for a master plan from owner Diversified Partners and residential developer Guefen Development Partners for a new project near San Tan Valley, replacing stalled plans that go back several years. The trio of requests before the Commission in its Oct. 19 meeting included a Non-Major Comprehensive Plan Amendment, a rezoning and a Planned Area Development to allow for development standards for a multiple dwelling residential development, according to the staff report. The…

A number of legal and logistical hurdles are complicating the completion and the sale of the One Camelback development at Central Avenue and Camelback Road in Phoenix. The project is one of the few large-scale office-to-apartment projects in Arizona, and construction has been a prominent fixture since it was announced in 2019. The project plans to convert the 215KSF BMO Harris office tower into 163 high-end apartments. In June, developer Camelback Owner LLC defaulted on its loan from lender Delphi Financial Group. Delphi is owed more than $68M. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott McCoy appointed Mike Wilson of Wilson…

Two property owners who partnered with the City of Kingman as part of the planned I-40: Rancho Santa Fe Traffic Interchange have come to legal blows over the land. William Lenhart and William Plise, both of Las Vegas, were equal partners in KDP Manager LLC when the company was formed in 2019 to purchase 1,300 acres in Kingman under a development agreement with the City. Parallel litigation has been filed in Mohave County Superior Court and Clark County (Nevada) Superior Court. Arbitration has taken place in Las Vegas. Both men were managers of KDP Manager. Lenhart is also manager of…

By Associated Builders and Contractors The construction industry had 431,000 job openings on the last day of September, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting. Industry job openings increased by 56,000 in September but are down by 35,000 from the same time last year. “The number of open, unfilled construction positions surged in September and currently stands at the highest level since December 2022,” said ABC Chief Economist…