• Casino ground breaking
• Soon to be the largest industrial park in the state
• Cooper's Hawk is opening
• New 415,000-square-foot distribution center
• Goodyear's new urban downtown called GSQ.
• Private equity firm set to develop 1,000 rental units
• TSMC is seeking tax credits amid concerns about subsidy criteria
• Largest hotel resort in the West Valley to get $20 million makeover

• Desert Diamond Casinos, the gaming enterprise arm for Tohono O'Odham Nation, kicked off construction Wednesday with a ceremony for its new $450 million casino complex in the West Valley.

• The first phase of the casino will be the Desert Diamond Casinos' fifth in Arizona and include 900 slot machines, more than 30 table games, a poker room with 12 tables, a sportsbook and bar.

• The more than 200,000-square-foot facility will also feature a central bar that can be accessed through a valet entrance, a food hall with four restaurants as well as an additional fine-dining restaurant, a casual restaurant and a retail store.It will be situated across 110 acres in the Glendale area, just north of the Wildlife World Zoo and Luke Air Force Base along the Loop 303, a burgeoning industrial corridor with tens of millions of square feet in warehouse space along the freeway.

• A second phase could include a new hotel, pool, spa, convention space, and more retail and dining options, but a timeline and cost has yet to be determined for this portion of the project.

• The casino is expected to bring 5,500 construction jobs and 950 permanent jobs, which could increase to 1,300 once the second phase is built. The first phase is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024.

• A Nevada developer has started construction on what will be one of the largest industrial parks in the state. Nevada-based Dermody Properties kicked off construction on what will be a historic industrial hub for the small West Valley city of El Mirage about 30 minutes northwest of downtown Phoenix.

• The LogistiCenter at Copperwing, valued at $1.5 billion, will feature more than 10 million square feet of speculative space and be developed across 1,000 acres over the next decade.

• As one of the largest industrial centers in the state, the project will also be a game-changing development for El Mirage, which historically only had land to offer potential employers.

• The massive site is also located near the recently improved Northern Parkway, an important connection in the West Valley, Loops 101 and 303 and Luke Air Force Base. Construction on the first phase is expected to be completed by June of 2024.

• The project will be called Surprise Pointe Commerce Center and will be able to accommodate one or four tenants. It will be located in a growing industrial area of the northwest Valley near Grand Avenue, or U.S. 60.

• “Because of the location’s access to both Interstate 10, and Loop 303, combined with a friendly community that welcomes businesses, we are confident that Surprise Pointe Commerce Center will attract tenants from e-commerce, manufacturing, and suppliers to the growing semiconductor industry," said Marc Berg, vice president and regional director for Rockefeller Group's West region, in a statement.

• Surprise Pointe will feature 36-foot clear heights, 83 dock doors, a 185-foot truck yard, 103 truck trailer parking stalls, 466 auto parking stalls and custom-designed office space. The company purchased 25 acres in Surprise for $12 million in April. It’s located near the southwest corner of Dysart and Thunderbird roads.

• The area has become attractive to semiconductor suppliers supporting the $40 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. complex in north Phoenix and speculative industrial development.

• The lineup of eateries will also include Lou Malnati's Pizzeria, Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers, Barrio Queen, Firebirds Wood Fired Grill and O.H.S.O. brewery.

• “Surprise is officially the most western location Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant has opened to date. We are excited to invite west side locals to enjoy the wine and dining experience we are known for,” CEO Tim McEnery said in a statement.

• The companies are working on developing about 150 acres around the new Goodyear civic center with a mix of uses and densities including apartments, hotels, office, restaurants and entertainment concepts. It was once slated for a regional mall but plans changed because of market conditions.

• Mike Ebert, the managing partner for Red, told the Business Journal that Globe Corp., which has been working on the project with the city for years, approached Red about the opportunity.

• "We were impressed with the success of the existing Harkins [Theatres] and restaurants in the area," he said in an email. "We immediately knew this would be a game-changing project for the city and something we had to be a part of."

• Valtus Capital Group, a Las Vegas investment banking firm, has created a real estate private equity group to build rental units across the Southwestern United States.

• Plans call for starting in Arizona, where the company intends to build more than 1,000 units in Buckeye and Casa Grande — to the tune of $400 million.

• "We just launched Capro two weeks ago," said Viney Singal, the founder of Valtus Capital as well as Capro Capital, the spin-off real estate fund. "Not all private equity firms have to be based in New York or Los Angeles. There is plenty of great business to do in these markets."

• Last summer, Valtus Capital bought 30 acres of vacant land in Buckeye and 40 acres in Casa Grande, said Singal. "We paid approximately $12.5 million for the 30 acres in Buckeye and approximately $5 million for the 40 acres in Casa Grande," he said.

• Each parcel in Buckeye and Casa Grande will include about 250 traditional garden-style apartments and about 250 build-to-rent detached single-story homes. Some of the homes in the BTR portion will have two stories, he said.

• TSMC is seeking up to $15 billion in tax credits and grants from the federal government to support its Arizona semiconductor plants amid concerns about subsidy criteria, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

• The TSMC factory is massive and will feature state-of-the-art technology when it begins commercial operation in 2024. It sits on more than 1,000 acres just west of Interstate 17 along West Dove Valley Road 

• TSMC expects to receive $7 billion to $8 billion in tax credits under the CHIPS Act, in addition to $6 billion to $7 billion in grants for its Arizona plants, according to the WSJ.

• TSMC is investing more than $40 billion in building two fabs marking one of the largest foreign direct investments in the state and U.S. history. It plans to employ more than 4,500 workers at its Arizona campus where it will produce 3-and-4 nanometer chips, the Phoenix Business Journal previously reported.

• TSMC has expressed concern about CHIPS Act subsidy criteria, including rules that would require the company to share some profits with the U.S. government if returns exceed projections. The company is concerned that economics of its Arizona project may not pencil out if profits are capped by the government, according to the WSJ.

• At one time, the Wigwam was seen by many as a resort on the far edges of the Phoenix area, but as development in the Valley has grown, especially on the west side, the Wigwam has a chance to play a bigger role in Phoenix’s hospitality scene.

• The multimillion-dollar renovation will include a complete interior refresh of its casitas, suites and two presidential suites.

• “We're very fortunate that we have this strong demand for meetings, events and we have a lot of leisure guests, including from the local community,” Katy Powers, the Wigwam’s managing director and general manager, told the Business Journal. “This renovation is really going to modernize the rooms and elevate the look and feel of this historic property.”

• The historic Wigwam resort is undergoing a $20 million renovation that will update all of its guest rooms. The renovation is expected to be finished in the fall of 2023.

• The Wigwam was built in 1918 by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. as a gathering place and then became a resort in 1929. It sits on 440 acres and has 331 rooms. The property has three swimming pools, nine tennis courts, three golf courses, 25 meeting spaces, a spa and four restaurants.

• Construction has already started and is expected to be finished in the fall of this year. The Wigwam is owned by Phoenix-based JDM Partners, which was founded and still run by Jerry Colangelo. Powers said JDM has a significant interest in keeping the property relevant and competitive in the marketplace.

• Powers said the improvements to the Wigwam are expected to increase demand and occupancy to the resort and which will allow the property to raise rates and increase its revenue.