Giving Back
1. The nonprofit Jacob’s Hope is to receive free construction and renovations from the Arizona Builders Alliance for its facility on Country Club Drive in Mesa. ABA is offering these services as a part of its annual Community Service Project. Renovations are expected to be completed by the end of June.
Awards & Accolades
2. NAIOP Arizona’s 2025 Award of Excellence will be awarded to Mike Haenel, Executive Vice Chair with Cushman & Wakefield, who has more than 40 years of experience in the industrial/back-office real estate sector. The award will be officially presented on May 1.
Company News
3. Phoenix Design One, a Phoenix-based interior architecture and design firm, will merge with RDC, a national architecture, interiors and planning firm. PDO’s daily operations will remain unchanged, with additional business opportunities now available. PDO Principal Kerri Swischuk said the alliance will let the firm provide planning and services that complement its established workplace practice.
4. The national multifamily and mixed-use developer The Garrett Companies is backing a new real estate development firm: Legacy Development Partners. Chris Hake, founder of Legacy Development Partners, secured the support due to his experience, which includes approximately $1.3B in ground-up projects in the Southwest, Southeast and Midwest regions. The new firm plans to focus primarily on the Phoenix metro area.
Promotions
5. Synergos Companies promoted Eric Peterson to CFO. Peterson has more than 20 years’ experience in homebuilding and sales leadership.
(PPL Fawn Staerkel; Christina Kliffney/Phoenix Business Journal) McKinstry promoted Fawn Staerkel to Regional Director – Energy Southwest. Staerkel will be involved in building customer connections and leading market strategies for the region.
6. Achen-Gardner Construction recently promoted Victoria Morin to Assistant Project Manager. Her previous position was Project Engineer.
7. Achen-Gardner Construction recently promoted Trey Pacheco to Assistant Project Manager.
8. Breana Quesada was promoted to Environmental Group Manager at Terracon’s Tucson office, where she will now manage environmental projects and a team of environmental staff. Quesada has been with Terracon for almost four years. Her previous position was Senior Staff Scientist.
9. Jared Cauffield has been promoted to Western Retail Advisors’ Associate VP. Cauffield was promoted from Senior Associate and has been with the company since 2019. In his new position, he will expand his role as a retail leasing specialist and seek out new opportunities, strategies and agreements for the company.
New Hires
10. Richard Antonio Jr. has been hired as KBE Building Corporation’s new Regional Director of Business Development for its Arizona office, KBE West. He has more than 20 years of leadership experience. His most recent positions were with Renaissance Construction as VP of Business Development and Pre-Construction and at ISEC as Southwest Region Business Director.
11. Achen-Gardner Construction recently hired Jessie Bustamante as an Assistant Project Manager.
12. Garrett Baumann was recently hired by Lloyd Sports + Engineering. Baumann has seven years of experience in construction management and land development civil engineering. He has worked on a variety of projects ranging from landfill sites to floodplains.
In Memoriam
13. W.E. O’Neil Construction has announced that William “Bill” O’Neil II has passed away at the age of 83. O’Neil, who was the grandson of founder William Edward, started with the company in 1967 and rose to become CEO and Chairman of the Board. In his memory, his family invites donations to St. Mary’s Food Bank.
14. Sacks Tierney announced Michael McLeran has passed away. McLeran served on the Fiesta Bowl Committee, and his family is encouraging donations to Fiesta Bowl Charities in his honor.