The city of Phoenix’s new community and economic director believes in the upward trajectory of this city. Ryan Touhill has spent his career in Virginia, but the possibility of the Valley of the Sun drew him to the desert this year after longtime Economic Director Christine Mackay left to take the helm at the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. Touhill joined The Show to talk about his new role, his views of the city and the challenges it faces
A new Trader Joe’s is coming to Tucson, right next to the University of Arizona. The new Trader Joe’s will take over a vacant building that formerly housed a Dollar Tree at the intersection of Broadway Boulevard and Campbell Avenue. It’s been in the works for several years, according to the Arizona Daily Star
Forbes Travel Guide has honored 23 Arizona hospitality favorites — hotels, resorts, spas and restaurants — with 2026 Star Awards. Forbes Travel Guide — the only independent, global rating system for luxury hotels, restaurants, spas and ocean cruises—today unveiled its 2026 Star Awards
The Greater Phoenix office market’s fourth quarter 2025 posted its strongest net absorption since fourth quarter 2019, totaling 531,893 square feet, according to an analysis from Colliers in Arizona. The uptick in net absorption and 10-year low construction activity led to a decline in direct vacancy to 15.1 percent, according to a report released by Colliers
A cooler-than-expected consumer price index (CPI) report offered markets a welcome surprise last week. Continued softening in housing costs, lower energy prices and a temporary drop in used-car prices led to a 0.2% monthly increase in January price levels, bringing the annual reading down to 2.4% from 2.7% in December
The U.S. retail property market entered 2026 on firmer footing, following a turbulent first half of 2025 marked by elevated store closings and more space vacated than newly occupied. The picture changed in the second half of the year, with demand for store space increasing sharply in the fourth quarter, the wave of store closings appearing to crest, and a dearth of new construction keeping a lid on new supply
For the fifth time, ASU ranked in the top 10 universities worldwide for United States utility patents on the National Academy of Inventors’ annual Top 100 Worldwide Universities list released today. ASU ranked No. 9 worldwide for the third consecutive year and rose one spot to No. 5 nationally among universities granted U.S. utility patents in calendar year 2025, ahead of Harvard, Johns Hopkins University and Caltech. This marks the eighth consecutive year ASU ranked in the top 10 nationally
Location: 4801 E. Thistle Landing Dr., along 48th Street, between Ray Road and Chandler Boulevard in the Ahwatukee part of Phoenix. Description: A large data center and technology park is getting ready for construction in the south Phoenix community of Ahwatukee
Cities in the West Valley are transforming from bedroom communities into massive residential areas with emerging employment and retail hubs. Those cities, which include Avondale, Goodyear, Buckeye, Glendale, Peoria and Surprise, have seen their populations grow between 4% and 22% in the past five years — and they have ample space to continue growing
Over the course of every 12 months, we put out a total of 100 issues. Today is Issue 100 and brings Volume Year 16 to a close. We’ve marked these year ends in various ways over the years. Sometimes we’ve done top project reviews; sometimes we’ve just let them slide by without note
Maricopa County continues to grow quickly in 2026, and renters across the Valley are feeling the impact. U.S. Census Bureau estimates compiled by Neilsberg, the county added nearly 620,000 residents between 2010 and 2020, growing at more than twice the national rate
A plan to build a hotel and housing for the Chicago Cubs near their spring training facility in Mesa is underway. An animal shelter once occupied the area now intended for potential development of the project. The site, spanning over 3 acres, would be built on vacant land and be next to Sloan Park, the largest MLB spring training stadium
Plans for a new 568-unit apartment complex at Cooley Station were presented this month to the Gilbert Planning Commission. The complex would be located on 20.24 acres on the southwest corner of Williams Field Road and Verde Drive, just west of the Cooley Station’s retail and commercial portion
Everywhere you look in the Valley, conversations about data centers abound. In the East Valley, the city of Chandler sent shock waves through the metro in December when its City Council voted unanimously to reject a $2.5 billion data center proposal. The vote occurred at the end of a contentious meeting where dozens of citizens expressed their opposition to the proposal – an example of the pushback that has occurred in recent years as the Valley has experienced a rush of data center development. And earlier this month, residents of the town of Marana – about 26 miles northwest of Tucson – submitted 2,800 signatures in an attempt to get a proposed data center project on a public ballot
VAI Resort near Loop 101 and Cardinals Way in Glendale has been under construction since 2021, and despite no target set for opening, the developer is increasing the project’s footprint. The 66-acre development is planned to include the state’s largest hotel development, totaling about 1,100 rooms across four hotel buildings, surrounding large pools with a performance venue
Activity slowed in the Phoenix single-family residential housing market in January. Closed sales were up slightly, increasing 0.6% from January 2025. Pending sales dropped 31.3% from last year, and new listings were down 6.1%. “When you look at the long-term trending numbers, January is always a slow month for residential real estate,” said Sammy Glassman, board president of Phoenix REALTORS®
An increase in lending in commercial real estate (CRE) at the end of last year is pointing to an even stronger 2026. Commercial and multifamily lending is expected to increase to $805.5 billion this year, a 27% bump from last year’s estimated total of $633.7 billion, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association at its recent Commercial/Multifamily Finance Convention and Expo
Location: East Rio Salado Parkway and Vista Del Lago Drive in north Tempe. Description: The first phase of a $1.8 billion mixed-use project and luxury apartment complex on Tempe Town Lake is nearing completion. Shorehaven, part of the South Pier at Tempe Town Lake project, sits on a 3.3-acre lot and will have 1.3 million square feet across three towers and includes residential, retail and recreational spaces
Identifying the Top 10 Arizona companies shaping the state’s economy in 2026 highlights the engines driving job creation, innovation and long-term growth. From high-tech manufacturing and advanced research to financial services and strategic investment, these companies illustrate how Arizona’s evolving economic landscape is being shaped by bold investment, workforce expansion and forward-looking
Now that the cooling market of 2025 is in homebuilders’ rearview mirror, 2026 kicked off with a flurry of lot and land sales. Builders bought 935 lots and 1,725 acres of vacant land totaling more than $200 million in January, according to RL Brown Housing Reports
Slower population growth is beginning to show up where it matters most to investors: in the demand for housing, healthcare and local services and in the number of workers available to fill those spaces. A sharp deceleration in U.S. population growth over the 12 months ending in June 2025 has created a measurable gap in consumer spending, output and jobs, with housing positioned at the center of the adjustment
Total commercial mortgage origination volume is forecasted to increase 27% to $805.5 billion in 2026 from the $633.7 billion expected in 2025, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced at its 2026 Commercial/Multifamily Finance Convention and Expo in San Diego. Multifamily origination volume alone is expected to increase to $399.2 billion in 2026 from the $330.6 billion expected in 2025
A challenging financing environment for developers has led to fewer hotel rooms being built, meaning future supply growth will remain muted in the U.S. The number of hotel rooms under construction in December 2025 dropped to 136,000, a 13% decline. Last year, the U.S. hotel room supply increased just 0.7%, well below the long-run average growth rate of 1.6%
A West Valley site where Nikola once planned to build a massive hydrogen hub is now poised to become a data center campus. A 158-acre site at 283rd Avenue and Patterson Road is moving through the city of Buckeye’s rezoning process to allow for more general industrial uses, rather than only hydrogen gas production. Buckeye’s Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of that request during a Feb.10 meeting