Awards & Accolades
1. Achen-Gardner Construction received two 2026 Build Arizona Awards from the Arizona Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America in the Municipal Reconstruction category. The honored projects were the City of Chandler’s Detroit Basin/Gazelle Meadows Park Storm System CMAR and the Town of Queen Creek’s Crismon Road Widening – Riggs Road to Cloud Road CMAR.
Groundbreakings
2. The McCain Institute recently broke ground on the McCain Library and Museum in Tempe. The facility will be on more than 22 acres, north of Tempe Town Lake. The more than 80KSF facility is being developed in partnership with Arizona State University and designed by SHoP Architects. The project is expected to open to the public in 2028.
3. The City of Tucson is beginning the rebuild of the 22nd Street bridge between Tucson Blvd. and Kino Pkwy. Construction is set to start by the end of February, with full closure beginning March 3. The three-year project will replace the existing bridge, which was originally built in the 1960s, to improve traffic capacity and freight access.
4. Mohave College is beginning construction on its new Cosmetology Building in Kingman. The project involves converting a former Immersion and VR Arcade adjacent to the college’s main campus on Beale Street into a facility supporting a new cosmetology certificate program, which is expected to launch in August.
Progress Reports
5. Richmond American Homes of Arizona, Inc. has launched three new communities: Estates, Portfolio and Retreat. The communities are all in the White Tank Foothills master-planned community in Waddell. The neighborhoods will offer single- and two-story homes ranging from roughly 1.7KSF to 3.1KSF. Retreat and Estates are located at 8383 N. 185th Lane, and Portfolio is located at 8380 N. 185th Lane.
6. The City of Mesa’s Gantzel Road High-Pressure Gas Line CMAR Project is currently in progress. Achen-Gardner Construction is leading the project, which will install 22,000LF of a new 12-inch high-pressure steel gas line along Pima and Gantzel roads. Construction began in October and is scheduled for completion in May.
7. Achen-Gardner Construction is advancing the City of Chandler’s Water Main Replacements CMAR Project in the Tyson and Sunset Manor neighborhoods. The project includes replacing aging water infrastructure, relocating residential water service meters from alleys to the fronts of homes and installing more than 12,600LF of new water mains ranging from six-inch to 16-inch diameters. Construction began in May and is scheduled for completion in December.
8. Toll Brothers, Inc. has announced the grand opening of its Toll Brothers at HighPoint luxury single-family community. The sales center is now open at 39977 N. 115th St. in Scottsdale. The new community features eight home designs, ranging from three- to seven-bedrooms. Home sites average 2.75 acres.
9. Construction is underway on a 26KSF Veterinary Medical Center and a 10KSF Animal Rescue and Care Center at the Phoenix Zoo in Phoenix. Sundt Construction is delivering the project at cost, with foundations and underground utilities in progress and slab-on-grade work scheduled for this month.
Completions
10. Hadrian has opened Factory 3, a 290KSF aerospace and defense manufacturing facility at 10101 E. Pecos Road in Mesa. The $200M project is in The Cubes at Mesa Gateway and is expected to create 350 jobs. Production is already underway at the facility.
11. LGE Design Build completed construction on Source Business Center, a 144.9KSF Class A industrial facility on a 15-acre site at the SEC of Warner Road and Hardy Drive in Tempe. Creation developed the project with investor CrossHarbor Capital Partners. LGE Design Build served as both architect and general contractor.
12. A $25M renovation project has concluded at the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa. The project included a total renovation of the 32KSF spa and features 20 treatment rooms, a 24-hour gym, a new restaurant, retail space and several outdoor pools.
13. The Arizona Department of Transportation has opened a new truck parking lot at the Sunset Point Rest Area along Interstate 17 between Black Canyon City and Cordes Junction. The $4.1M project added 19 commercial truck parking spaces as part of a statewide effort to expand truck parking capacity along Arizona interstates.