Author: BEX Staff

By Associated Builders and Contractors The construction industry added 2,000 jobs on net in November, 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 200,000 jobs, an increase of 2.6%. Nonresidential construction employment increased by 1,400 positions on net in November, with growth concentrated in one subcategory. Heavy and civil engineering added 3,300 positions, while nonresidential building and nonresidential specialty trade lost 1,100 and 800 jobs, respectively. The construction unemployment rate rose to 4.8% in November. Unemployment across all industries decreased from…

Giving Back 1. Sundt Construction donated $121,480 to St. Mary’s Food Bank through the company’s annual holiday campaign. These funds will help supply more than 600K meals. 2. The Arizona Builders Alliance is hosting the 14th Annual ABA Community Service Board’s 2023 Toy Drive to help bring joy and hope to more than 2,000 underprivileged children. Approximately 150 construction companies, including Rosendin, McCarthy Building Companies, Lloyd Construction, JE Dunn Construction and TDIndustries are participating in the event. Toys will be distributed Dec. 18. Boards & Commissions 3. The CCIM Institute Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, announced its 2024 board of directors.…

Sales Transactions 1. Pillar Communities has paid $86M for Cuvee, a 310-unit apartment complex at 7200 N. 91st Ave. in Glendale. The seller was Fore Property Company. 2. In a $14.5M transaction, ViaWest Group sold the 10-story office building in downtown Phoenix that houses The Arizona Republic, azcentral.com and 12 News to Pivot 200 EVB LLC, an entity of StenTam. 3. Berkadia announced the sale of Sedona Real Inn & Suites, an 89-room hotel, in Sedona. Scott Hall, Aaron Lapping and Scott Spencer of Berkadia led the transaction on behalf of the seller, MIG Real Estate. Crystal Creek Capital was…

By Arizona Department of Transportation The Federal Highway Administration has awarded Arizona a $24M grant for a wildlife overpass and other improvements designed to reduce crashes involving wildlife and better connect habitats along Interstate 17 south of Flagstaff in northern Arizona. The Arizona Department of Transportation, in partnership with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, sought the grant through FHWA’s Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program for improvements along 8.4 miles of I-17 between the Munds Park traffic interchange, about 25 miles south of Flagstaff, and the Kelly Canyon traffic interchange to the north. The I-17 wildlife project is one of 19…

By ASM International N.V. ASM International N.V. has announced plans for a new North American expansion to accommodate growing demand for research and development in the semiconductor industry. ASM is investing $323M (€300M) over a period of up to five years to design and construct the new state-of-the-art site on more than 20 acres in Scottsdale. This total investment is a combination of capital expenditures related to infrastructure and lab equipment and includes operational expenses such as the additional research and engineering jobs created with the expansion. “ASM’s facility in Arizona has always been a key center for development of…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX The BEX Leading Market Series Higher Education Capital Projects presentation is consistently one of the highest attended every year. The 2023 session held Dec. 5 at SkySong proved to be no exception. A near-capacity crowd came out to hear about the latest capital project plans and state of the market perceptions from representatives of Arizona’s three major universities. The panel consisted of: Moderator Cassie Saba (Robertson), DPR Construction SW regional prefab leader; Alexander Kohnen, Arizona State University VP of facilities development and management; Stephanie Bauer, Northern Arizona University assistant director of facility services for planning,…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX Flagstaff Junior Academy has closed on a six-acre property at 1800 N. Gemini Drive that will be the site of a new middle school campus. FJA’s current middle school location will be used for Flagstaff Unified School District’s new Marshall Elementary School Replacement project. The charter school and other organizations had previously rented space on the campus from FUSD. The new Marshall building is expected to open for FUSD students in time for the 2025-2026 school year. News reports say the FJA middle school relocation will cost $8.4M, including site acquisition and preparation, landscaping, construction…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX On Dec. 11, the Town of Fountain Hills will have an opportunity to either cement or soften its reputation in the Arizona development community as one of, if not the, most challenging jurisdictions in which to build new multifamily communities. A 316-unit apartment proposal from Sandor Development—Village at Four Peaks—will go before the Planning and Zoning Commission for a hearing on a requested rezone from commercial and industrial uses to a Planned Area Development with underlying Multi-Family Zoning. The 6.7-acre property at the SEC of Shea Blvd. and Technology Drive is bounded by Shea and…

Gilbert’s plan to significantly increase its development impact fees for residential, industrial and commercial projects have stunned and angered many in the building community. Brennan Ray, an attorney for the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona and other building concerns, questioned the accuracy of development impact numbers presented in the Town’s Land Use Assumptions and Infrastructure Improvements Plan. The report was developed by LRB Public Finance Advisors and recommends increasing impact fees by more than 200% for some project types. Single-family home development impact fees would go up by 129.5% to $20,220. Industrial developments would rise 210% to $7,704. Office…

Groundbreakings 1. Martens Development Company announced construction has started on Park 91, its 20-acre, 278KSF industrial development at the SWC of 91st Ave and Buckeye Road in Phoenix. The project is the second phase of Logic Park, a 739KSF industrial park on 44 acres. 2. Construction began at Arizona State University’s Polytechnic Campus expansion in Mesa that will add a more than 173KSF, three-story, $185M building. The new addition will include classrooms and research labs for robotics, cyber manufacturing, semiconductor manufacturing, and manufacturing systems for the energy sector. Expected completion is Nov. 2025. 3. Super Radiator Coils recently broke ground…