Author: BEX Staff

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,…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX Arizona’s housing inventory and historically low production volume has put the state ninth in the U.S. for housing underproduction. While production has increased since 2021, a report by housing research group Up for Growth found Arizona had a shortage of 120,306 units that year, the most recent for which full data are available. While shortages are most extreme in the country’s coastal areas and large cities, the 2023 Housing Underproduction™ in the U.S. report found underproduction becoming more common in suburbs, towns and rural areas as well. Up for Growth CEO Mike Kingsella said in…

Giving Back 1. SDB Contracting Services recently hosted a charity golf tournament to benefit the Disable American Veterans Department of Arizona, raising $110K and bringing the total contribution over the past 15 years to $650K. Awards & Accolades 2. The Arizona Manufacturers Council awarded Queen Creek’s Mayor Julie Wheatley the 2023 Manufacturing Champion of the Year award for her work in bringing LG Energy Solution to the town. 3. Anita Verma-Lallian, CEO and founder of Arizona Land Consulting, has been accepted into the Forbes Business Council. 4. PK Associates announced Technical Designer Celine White has passed her Arizona State Fundamentals…

Sales Transactions 1. Microsoft Corp. has purchased approximately 40 acres near the SWC of Cotton Lane and Indian School Road in the PV303 area in Goodyear for $41M. The seller was First Industrial Realty Trust. Included in the sale is a 100-acre ground lease for land south of the purchased lot. The ground lease runs through September 2028. 2. Pima Transitional Living Facility, a 14.5KSF rehabilitation center, sold for $8.4M in Tucson. Sanders Capital Partners was the buyer. Other details were not disclosed. 3. Lane Neville and Cole Neville of NAI Horizon represented the seller, Flying E Ranch Holding, LLC,…

By BEX Staff for AZBEX Fiesta Reimagined—the grand redevelopment of the long-vacant Fiesta Mall site at Southern Avenue and Alma School Road in Mesa—has taken the next step toward becoming reality, as developer Verde Investments, Inc. has filed its formal rezoning application with the City of Mesa. Demolition of the former mall is approximately two-thirds complete, according to an announcement from Verde. The announcement said, “Verde’s application seeks to shift the site’s zoning from its current Limited Commercial designation to Infill District-2. This new zoning would remain consistent with the Mesa 2040 General Plan while offering Verde and the City…

The war of words between supporters and opponents of the Proposition 480 referendum on rezoning for Phase I of Flagstaff Medical Center’s planned new campus continues to heat up as the election draws closer. Last week, Northern Arizona Healthcare and the Yes on 480 campaign each issued press announcements claiming leaders of the No on 480 campaign were lying and spreading misinformation about the new hospital and related developments. No on 480 had previously run an ad alleging the master plan would increase healthcare costs by 30% or more. That ad prompted Yes on 480’s announcement, which called the statement…

By Roland Murphy for AZBEX – BEXCLUSIVE Anyone who has ever taken an intro to economics course while also trying to navigate the real world knows basic principles become guidelines, at best, when confronted with the subtle variables of daily life and macro markets. In terms of base operations, the relationship between supply and demand and the impact on a given item or commodity is easy to grasp and is a primary reason intro to econ is a common elective for many students. If supply exceeds demand, prices drop. If demand exceeds supply, prices rise. That’s certainly not a bad…

DSW Commercial Real Estate has acquired 6.1 acres at 4400 S. Mission Road in Tucson for a new workforce-affordable housing development under its La Vida brand. The firm paid $960K for the site. DSW is planning 68 units with six two-story and five one-story buildings. All units will have three bedrooms. The site will also include verandas and open space recreation areas. The acquisition was spearheaded by DSW’s Chris Itule. (Source)

Gov. Katie Hobbs has replaced four members of the Rio Nuevo board in Tucson, raising questions among some business leaders as to her motivation. Rio Nuevo is a municipal tax collection district and special taxing district dedicated to revitalization and development in the downtown area. Hobbs’ statement on the appointments did not address her rationale but expressed confidence the new appointees would bring in new ideas and create new opportunities. Hobbs retained Fletcher McCusker, who is an independent and current board chairman. She replaced Janie Cox, Jeffrey Hill, Edmund Marquez and Ross McAllister with Sharaya Jimenez, Richard Osern, Corky Poster…