Author: BEX Staff

AZ Construction Career Days will run Nov. 1 and 2 at the Arizona National Guard Armory, Papago Site, at 5636 E. McDowell Road in Phoenix. Students should arrive at 8 a.m. on both days. Construction Career Days is presented by the Association for Construction Career Development. There are a total of 78 construction companies sponsoring the event, which works to show high school students potential career paths in construction. The event highlights new tools and technology and provides hands on experience. Registration information is available here. (Source)

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX More than 200 stakeholders in Arizona’s public works and infrastructure community packed the conference center at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Phoenix Tempe on Wednesday for the BEX Companies’ 2023 Public Works Conference. Attendees were treated to project and process details from a who’s who of agency leaders and public officials who shared their visions and challenges across the half-day event. Following brief introductory remarks by event emcee Amanda Elliot, redevelopment program manager for the Town of Gilbert, the presentations, panels and market news came at a steady clip for the rest of the day.…

Wetta Ventures LLC is planning a two-building 97.1KSF light industrial development at the SWC of Sossaman and Pecos roads in Mesa. The 7.5-acre Gateway Commerce Center III site is already zoned light industrial. The Mesa Design Review Board approved the site plan and design review in its Oct. 17 meeting. According to the project narrative, the developer plans to target prospective users needing 10KSF-20KSF each. The project design firm is Deutsch Architecture Group. The property owner is Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Authority, and Wetta Ventures is the developer and leaseholder. (Source)

By Associated Builders and Contractors According to an October 2023 survey of ABC contractor members, 98% of respondents stated that controversial prevailing wage and government-registered apprenticeship policies imposed by the Inflation Reduction Act will make them less likely to bid on clean energy projects. The survey gauged ABC members’ responses to a proposed rule issued by the Internal Revenue Service on Aug. 29 that would implement these requirements. “The concerns expressed by the overwhelming majority of respondents indicate that the proposed rule fails to provide much-needed regulatory certainty and will ultimately cause unnecessary cost increases and delays to America’s clean…

By City of Kingman In an announcement from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the City of Kingman has assumed a pivotal role as the driving force behind the formation of a groundbreaking private/public coalition to advance the development of the I-40 TradePort Corridor. This innovative integrated supply chain system encompasses clean energy, logistics, and industrial hubs and is a collaborative effort with the lead agency, Bernalillo County, NM at its helm. The City of Kingman, in collaboration with Winslow, and a partnership of regional stakeholders, including the Port of Los Angeles, CA, Bernalillo County, NM, Sandoval County, NM, and the…

Awards & Accolades 1. PK Associates received the 2023 Best Project Awards for three of their projects from ENR Southwest. The Beam on Farmer in Tempe received Best Project Office/Retail/Mixed-use. Mortenson Arizona Headquarters in Tempe received Best Project Interior/Tenant Improvement. Finally, Insight Headquarters in Chandler received Merit Award Interior/Tenant Improvement. Groundbreakings 2. American Battery Factory broke ground on its new headquarters in Tucson. The structure is expected to be 2MSF. 3. Wespac recently broke ground on 4 projects. Atlas Surprise Pointe, a 274KSF industrial shell in Surprise is developed by Panattoni Development and designed by Cawley Architects; Park 91 a…

Mountainside Fitness is planning two new Valley locations. One new facility will be in Peoria’s Vistancia community at the SEC of El Mirage Road and Lone Mountain Parkway. The second will be in the Morrison Ranch area of Gilbert at the NEC of Warner and Higley roads. The Gilbert gym will be jointly developed between the Morrison Family and Evergreen Development. Both locations will be 40KSF and one story. Development costs are projected at $10M each, according to Mountainside officials. Groundbreaking is targeted for Q4 2024 with openings taking place approximately one year later. (Source)

By Arizona State University Arizona State University announced the university’s headquarters for ASU Health, which includes a new medical school, will be built at a location to be determined in downtown Phoenix. ASU Health, which will address health-related outcomes for the citizens of Arizona, includes not only a School of Medicine built around engineering but also a School of Public Health Technology. “We are very excited that all three of these things, the headquarters for ASU Health and two new schools will be built in downtown Phoenix,” said ASU President Michael Crow. “The citizens of Phoenix have been an important…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 4.0% in September, up from 3.8% for the month of August, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. The national unemployment rate held steady at 3.8%. In September 2022, Arizona had a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.0%, while the national rate was 3.5%. The Construction sector reported job losses of 1,300 around the state. Arizona had a gain of 30,900 jobs in nonfarm employment for the month. “Prior to the pandemic (2010-2019), NSA nonfarm employment gained 28,800 jobs on average in September,”…

Owner Howard Hughes Corp. is continuing its fight with the Arizona Department of Water Resources over groundwater for the Teravalis (formerly Douglas Ranch) master- planned community in Buckeye. HHC broke ground on Floreo, the 3,000-acre first phase of Teravalis, last year. Water supplies for the remainder of the 37,000-acre site remain in limbo. Teravalis previously had conditional groundwater rights in place under a “conditional analysis.” Those rights expired in 2020 and ADWR did not extend them. Douglas Ranch was supposed to submit a hydrological study to reserve a portion of groundwater for 10 years. When the study was not submitted,…