Groundbreakings
1. The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation will break ground on a new 166KSF casino on June 29. The new casino will replace the existing Fort McDowell Casino once it opens in spring 2020. The current 150KSF casino space will remain in place but will be used for another purpose that is yet to be announced.
2. Abrazo Community Health Network is expanding into the East Valley with construction of a $15M, 32.5KSF “microhospital” on Baseline Road a mile west of Power Road in Mesa. When open in spring 2019, the hospital is expected to employ about 50 full-time equivalent clinical and support staff positions. The general contractor is Adolfson & Peterson Construction and the architect is E4H Architects.
3. Tolleson officials celebrated the groundbreaking of a 116-room Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Friday, June 8. The hotel will be built at the SEC of 91st Avenue and McDowell Road and is expected to open in summer 2019.
Progress Reports
4. The Hacienda at the Canyon, located on Sabino Canyon Road just north of River Road, is being built on 10 acres next to the site of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sanctuary. The sanctuary and the Stations of the Cross walking trail will stay open to the public and the St. Ann’s Convent will remain undisturbed. The development, currently under construction, received a $35M building permit and is pre-leasing. It is expected to open in spring 2019.
5. The Flowing Wells Library, located at 1730 W. Wetmore Road in Tucson, is nearing the end of its extensive remodel to expand the building from 5KSF to 13KSF. Once completed in October, there will be new study rooms, area for children and teens, and more computers.
6. The joint Casa Grande Middle and Saguaro Elementary School campus is nearing completion and is on track for an August opening. The new campus will combine both schools in separate learning spaces. Combined areas for administration, the cafeteria and library will exist. McCarthy Building Companies is the CM@R for the project and SPS + Architects is the architect.
7. Park Central Mall, currently being developed by Plaza Cos. And Holualoa Cos., is halfway through its major renovation. New grass has been planted on the western portion of the property, which will be a covered outdoor area for the community and tenants to use. The project is expected to be completed in late 2018 or early 2019.
8. The region between Seventh Avenue and Seventh Street in Downtown Phoenix is seeing real economic transformation as seven projects are in the middle of construction. The projects are: Block 23, slated for completion in 2019, AC hotel by Marriott at the Arizona Center, which began in April 2018, Palm Tower (Arizona Center residential tower), Circa Central Avenue, slated for completion in November, City Center on the Park, The Stewart, and The Link, slated for completion in August 2019.
9. A fire early Tuesday morning at the construction site of The Mark, a private student housing project under construction at the NEC of Park Avenue and Broadway Road in Tucson, is estimated to have caused more than $1M in damages. Though 30 people were evacuated from the surrounding area, no injuries were reported.
Awards & Accolades
10. Design and planning firm, Gould Evans announced that the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC) Justice Center and Missouri Innovation Campus (MIC) have both received 2018 American Architecture Awards from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre of Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
11. one-n-ten LGBTQ Youth Center by Holly Street Studio has been recognized in Contract Magazine’s 2018 Inspiration Awards. The downtown community center provides empowering social and service programs for LGBTQ youth in metro Phoenix. The project will be included in the July/August print issue of Contract Magazine.
Completions
12. The Curve at Melrose, developed, owned and managed by P.B. Bell, recently opened in the center of midtown Phoenix’s vibrant, eclectic and urban Melrose District. The Curve at Melrose, which offers 204 luxury apartment homes, is located at the NEC of Glenrosa Avenue and 6th Drive.
13. A grand opening ceremony was held for The Meadows Community Center, a 4.5KSF neighborhood amenity at The Meadows at Camino a Lago master-planned community in Peoria, May 31. The new open-air, flex space center features a 1.6KSF meeting room, a 2.9KSF heated pool and spa, a gas fire pit and fireplace, a barbecue, ramada, bocce ball courts, pickleball court, misters and heaters, and outdoor showers. The general contractor was SD Crane Builders.