Author: BEX Staff

The Town of Gilbert is not getting all the revenues it should from the Heritage District redevelopment area, according to a planning and economic development analyst. Joe Minicozzi of Urban3D told the Town Council in a special meeting last month that the best way to add taxable revenue dollars is to increase building heights, particularly in sought-after areas like the Heritage District. Downtown Gilbert has a height limit of just 55 feet, and developers have faced significant hurdles getting projects approved, Minicozzi said, even though those projects generate the most value for the Town. He used a project he had…

By Colliers in Arizona The Greater Phoenix retail market vacancy level hit a historic low 4.8% at the end of June, reflecting strong tenant demand in one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities, according to a report released by Colliers in Arizona. Data from Affinity Solutions indicates Phoenix has experienced a 16.5% increase in all consumer spending since January 2020. During Q2, retail vacancy fell 40 basis points, which was a 130 basis point decrease year-over-year. This marked the 12th consecutive quarter that vacancy has decreased. Eight out of nine geographic submarkets in the city posted retail vacancy decreases year-over-year. Downtown…

Giving Back 1. NexMetro Communities and their Avilla Home neighborhoods, in partnership with St. Mary’s Food Bank, is winding down the “Fill an Avilla” Community Water Drive to help alleviate the dire need for water among Arizona’s most vulnerable residents. Through Sept. 7, volunteers will be collecting cases of water as they aim to fill a 635SF Avilla Home at the new Avilla Grand community in El Mirage. The collected water will be donated to St. Mary’s Food Bank for those in need at heat relief stations in Metro Phoenix on days with Excessive Heat Warnings. Those interested in donating…

Sales Transactions 1. Mark Forrester, Ric Holway, Dan Cheyne, Spencer Scott and Andrew Curtis of Berkadia Phoenix represented seller Harvard Investments in the $87.85M sale of FirstStreet at Happy Valley, a 212-unit Build-to-Rent community at 1717 W. Happy Valley Road in Phoenix. The buyer was unidentified. 2. Dan Cheyne, Mark Forrester, Ric Holway and Andrew Curtis of Berkadia Phoenix represented Continental Properties Company, Inc. in the $85.35M sale of Springs at Cooley Station, a 276-unit multifamily community in Gilbert. The buyer was Millburn and Company. 3. Kidder Mathews’ brokers Darren Tappen, Nathan Thinnes and Peter Beauchamp represented Jewell Capital in…

Banner Health is planning a multi-phase, multi-year, $19.5M expansion to its equipment and facilities at the Banner Casa Grande Medical Center. Work has already begun to install a new standalone MRI facility valued at $7M that is expected to start operations next August, according to hospital CEO John Scherpf. Infrastructure work is also underway to add a new nuclear camera to the hospital’s imaging department, which should be completed by year-end. The coffee shop will also be relocated in the building. The other major portion of the improvement project is a “master campus planning” effort that constitutes a three-phase enhancement…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX The Maricopa Planning and Zoning Commission discussed two proposed Build-to-Rent projects in the city as part of its Aug. 28 meeting. Taken together, the two projects would deliver slightly more than 450 new rental units to the local residential inventory if built as proposed. EVR @ San Travasa El Dorado Holdings, Inc. has proposed EVR @ San Travasa, a 186-unit Build-to-Rent cottage project on 20 acres at the SEC of Iron Point and White and Parker roads. The site is part of a 388-acre planned area development approved in 2014 that is part of an…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX “A good compromise is when both parties are dissatisfied” – Larry David. If David’s quote is true, the Biden administration’s recent revision to the Waters of the U.S. Rule (also known as the Clean Water Rule) as the follow-up to a May U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the extent of federal powers under the 1972 Clean Water Act may be considered nearly perfect. Environmentalists and their political supporters are decrying the update, saying it will irrevocably harm wetlands, watersheds and water supplies. Development industry groups say the revision fails to provide important definitions, enshrines uncertainty…

The Mesa City Council has approved an agreement with the Arizona Department of Transportation that lets ADOT remove two traffic lanes from a five-mile section of Main Street between Sossaman and Meridian roads to allow implementation of bicycle lanes and sidewalks. U.S. 60X, as the section is known, also features new lighting, gutters, curbs, pedestrian ramps and traffic signals. The agreement is a necessary step that allows ADOT to work around Mesa utilities and is a preliminary step before the project goes out to bid. Work is projected to start early next year. Some area residents expressed opposition to the…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX The Mesa City Council has approved a subdivision plat for The Brickyards on Ellsworth, an eight-building, 909.6KSF industrial proposal on 63.18 acres near Pecos and Ellsworth roads. As originally reported by AZBEX in April, Martens Development Company’s planned site includes buildings ranging from slightly less than 35.4KSF to slightly more than 306KSF. The specific footprints are planned as: 69.384SF, 95,160SF, 35,398SF, 35,398SF, 47,705SF, 59,780SF, 259,554SF, and 306,094SF. (AZBEX, April 4) Primary uses will be employment, manufacturing and technology, according to the project narrative, and each building is planned to be divided between 90% warehouse and…

Novva Data Centers was the only bidder in an Arizona State Land Department auction this week for a 165-acre site near Warner and Ellsworth roads in Mesa. The company met the minimum bid amount of $62.7M. Novva officials said the company has been looking for a suitable site for its first Arizona project for two years but did not confirm any actual plan. Novva said it might undertake a design-build data center project or it might pursue a different industrial project. The company is looking into the viability of its water-free air-cooling process for a data center at the Mesa…