CEI’s Real Estate Services Division, through our on-call acquisition and relocation contract, was tasked with multiple relocation projects, some relatively straight forward and some highly complex. CEI assisted the state in acquiring property and relocating tenants and owners in support of the new South Mountain Freeway, I-10 West to I-10 South, a new 22-mile freeway (interstate connection) project.

CEI’s Right of Way (ROW) Agents provided business relocation services for two sections of the project. The scope included 13 landlord business relocations, 15 commercial warehouse tenant relocations, and relocation of the Country Cowboy Arena. The warehouse tenant relocations were all complex business relocations and included movement of a battery distribution warehouse and the Arizona Bottled Water company, an automated bottled water manufacturing and distributing facility.

CEI’s ROW Agents also provided residential relocation services for two sections of this project. The original scope included 27 residential relocations, comprised of 15 owner-occupants and 12 tenants. The CEI Team performed so well on the original scope of work that ADOT recalled several residential relocation files from another consulting firm and assigned them to CEI.

There were several challenging residential relocations associated with the South Mountain project; the most challenging relocations involved a family of 13 members that lived in a 6-bedroom home situated on a 3.5-acre ranch. On the ranch, the family raised 100 goats and 100 chickens. The family also owned 20+ non-operating tractors, trailers and trucks that were stored on the property. Finding a suitable property that would pass a decent, safe and sanitary inspection as required by federal regulations was extremely difficult. It required finding a home that had 9 bedrooms as well as ample land for the family to continue their goat and chicken ranch. In the end, we were able to find a 7-bedroom home on over 3 acres. The property also had a small 1-bedroom guest house and two trailer homes on it.