Author: BEX Staff

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…

Groundbreakings 1. Developer the Pederson Group will start construction soon on The Trailhead, a 45-acre mixed-use project. The construction will include 336-unit apartments, a Safeway grocery store, restaurants, retail space and a 15KSF church. Components will deliver in phases, with the Safeway and most shops expected in late summer or early fall of next year. 2. On behalf of ViaWest Group, Stevens-Leinweber Construction has broken ground on the final phase of Goodyear Crossing Industrial Park. With the Phase II building comprising 86.9KSF, the 500KSF overall development is designed to fill the gap in metro Phoenix’s mid-size Class A industrial inventory. Stevens-Leinweber Construction serves as…

A plan from Left Lane Development could breathe new life into the iconic Punchcard Building site at Central Avenue and Osborn Road, as well as deliver a new structure to round out the project. Left Lane plans to buy the building – also known as the Phoenix Financial Center – and convert it into a boutique hotel with retail and apartments. The company will also construct a second building with a rooftop deck and spa. Developed as an 18-story office building with two 9KSF rotundas, the building is now mostly vacant. Office to residential conversions are often difficult, but Left…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX A pair of requests scheduled before the Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission could bring the Phoenix area’s first new large-scale movie production studio closer to reality. Desert Studios is proposing a multi-phase, $900M development on 320 acres north of Interstate 10 and 339th Avenue in the Tonopah area. According to the project narrative, “The Desert Studios Complex is envisioned as a production hub to include services for all aspects of movie and TV production. Although a site plan for the Property has yet to be fully developed, it is envisioned to contain numerous studios/sound…

Developer Venue Projects has submitted a request to rezone 2.57 acres at the SWC of Highland Avenue and 14th Place in Phoenix from single-family residential to Planned Unit Development. The company plans to create a mixed-use residential and commercial development on the site of a former mobile home park. Wonderview at Highland will have 42 residential units split across a combination of single-story duplexes and two-story buildings with eight units apiece. The northern portion of the property would have three office buildings, one of which would be occupied by the developer. A food and beverage space that could be used…

Arizona’s Water Infrastructure Finance Authority has dropped a plan to work with an Israeli firm on building a $5.5B desalination plant on Mexico’s Sea of Cortez. Under the plan, IDE Technologies would have built a desalination plant on the Puerto Peñasco coast and then delivered water via a 200-mile-long pipeline into the Central Arizona Project canal system. The WIFA board decided last December to start work on creating a formal agreement with IDE Technologies. That decision faced a wide array of criticism, as many felt the decision was rushed and not subject to sufficient public scrutiny. There was also significant…

Awards & Accolades 1. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Arizona Properties raised nearly $10K in partnership with The Sunshine Kids at its inaugural golf tournament in Scottsdale. The money raised is used to assist children in Arizona who are battling cancer through experiences including trips and group activities. Boards & Commissions 2. Paradise Valley Town Council appointed Bob Brown to the Planning Commission with a term ending March 2026. This new appointment will create a vacancy on the Board of Adjustment, where Brown served for two years. Company News 3. After several years of working in the Phoenix market, Clune Construction has…