Author: BEX Staff

By Rebekah Morris for AZBEX A packed house was present on Wednesday, September 13, 2023, in Scottsdale to hear all about the Valley’s hot Retail & Restaurant development projects from some of the most active players in the space: Walt Brown Jr., Founder, Diversified Partners, LLC Angie Grendahl, Director of Development, Thompson Thrift Joshua Simon, Founder & CEO, SimonCRE Amy Malloy, Managing Partner, Evolve Ventures, LLC – Moderator The experts are in agreement the level of tenant activity in the space is ‘off the charts’. Simon stated that rental rates have increased 30% in the last 24 months. Grendahl stated…

At the Sept. 7 Regular Council Meeting, the Tempe City Council acknowledged its commitment to the project and its partners, Guina Affiliated Development and Desert Viking Development. Danelle Plaza first opened in 1963 at the southwest corner of Mill and Southern avenues. Over the last nearly 60 years, dozens of restaurants, bars and retail shops have been located in the mall, including music venues and a skateboard park. A temporary Tempe City Hall was once housed in the plaza while the current City Hall was under construction. Today, Danelle Plaza has several vacancies and is in need of rejuvenation. While…

By Associated Builders and Contractors The Construction Backlog Indicator, as reported by Associated Builders and Contractors, decreased to 9.2 months in August, a slight drop of 0.1 month compared to the previous month. This information was gathered from an ABC member survey conducted between August 21 and September 6, and it is 0.5 months higher than August 2022 levels. The backlog declined for most company sizes except those with annual revenues exceeding $100M, and only the smallest revenue categories showed higher backlog compared to August 2022. On a more positive note, ABC’s Construction Confidence Index for sales, profit margins, and…

Groundbreakings 1. The Phoenix Theatre Company will break ground on a renovation project expanding the black box-style theater space from 250 seats to 500 seats next week. The expected cost is $30M and is anticipated to be completed in 2025. New features include a full fly loft, below-stage traps and a larger stage. 2. Evergreen Devco, Inc. is expanding into the industrial sector with their first project breaking ground in Surprise: a midsize spec building northeast of Litchfield Road and Peoria Avenue. The $15.5M project is being designed by Cawley Architects and is being built by Willmeng Construction. It should…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX Phoenix City Council has unanimously approved more than 1,600 units of apartments in Midtown at its Sept. 6 meeting. Petree Development Proposes 1,500 Units at Central & Glenrosa City Council has voted unanimously to approve the rezoning case to enable development of Central & Glenrosa. Petree Development has plans to build a total of 1,500 units of apartments along with 25KSF of ground-level commercial space. The project will happen across four phases and is expected to take more than a decade to be fully complete. Petree Development has selected Carrier Johnson + Culture as the…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX Echo Real Estate Capital, Inc. has recently acquired an 11.6-acre land parcel situated at the northwest intersection of Peoria and 132nd avenues in Surprise. This site has received the necessary zoning approvals and is set to break ground on four small-bay industrial buildings, collectively spanning 182,610 square feet. The project, named Echo Park @ P132, is scheduled for completion by the fourth quarter of 2024. It will feature four state-of-the-art, fully air-conditioned buildings, each boasting 2,500 square feet of speculative office suites, along with secure concrete truck courts. The development team includes Premier Design +…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX After spending a couple of years at the top of the charts for rent growth and asset appreciation, the Phoenix multifamily market’s rapid ascent appears to have built in a degree of buffer versus other markets in the ongoing normalization impacting commercial real estate in general and apartments in particular. Data from Yardi Matrix shows rents across multifamily property classes went from $1,095 in Sept. 2018 to $1,667 at the beginning of Sept. 2023. A 52% increase in rents provides a great deal of inflationary cushion both to correct and to absorb corrections in the…

The Arizona Department of Transportation recently held an open house to gain public input about options to fix the closed stretch of State Route 88 (Apache Trail). Due to extensive roadway damage and rock debris following severe flooding in 2019, a 5-mile, unpaved section of State Route 88 (Apache Trail) from the Fish Creek Hill Overlook/Rest Area (milepost 222) to milepost 227 near Reavis Trailhead Road remains closed. The problem began with the Woodbury Fire in June 2019, followed by heavy monsoon rains. Advocates have been pushing for its reopening since the damaging storm but ADOT deemed quick fixes and…

Legacy Park in Mesa is on track to change ownership in the near future due to a pending bankruptcy case. There are various parties interested in the 320-acre sports facility including at least 18 construction firms with outstanding lien balances that total more than $30M. Sale procedures have gained the Judge’s approval. Interested buyers must submit their bids by September 28, 2023, to be reviewed by a legal team. If multiple qualified buyers emerge, an auction is scheduled for October 5, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. in a bankruptcy courtroom in Phoenix. Urgency stems from a lack of available funds, UMB…

Giving Back 1. IFMA will host their Annual Charity Golf Classic on Sept. 22, with a sold-out event. Designated beneficiaries this year are Girls Can Build, Lokahi Teams, the IFMA Foundation and IFMA Student Chapter of Phoenix. Awards & Accolades 2. IFMA Greater Phoenix Chapter’s past President Marshall MacFarlane has been distinguished as an IFMA Fellow. This is the highest honor the association recognizes and he is one of the three to receive it this Year. 3. Patricia Olds will receive the 2023 Positively Powerful Woman Entrepreneur Leadership Award at the Positively Powerful Education Summit and Woman Awards Conference in…