GCON strengthens culture of care with hire of EHS leader Leary Jones

Forty-year industry veteran joins firm as Vice President Environment, Health and Safety

PHOENIX, (May 6, 2026) – After a nationwide search, Phoenix-based GCON Inc. has hired Leary Jones as Vice President, Environment, Health and Safety, a 40-year industry veteran tasked with scaling the company’s award-winning safety culture across its growing nationwide operations.

Across his career, Jones has managed billions of dollars of commercial construction work and teams spanning the West, Southwest, and Mexico. At GCON, he will lead EHS strategy, ensuring the continued delivery of exceptional projects while prioritizing the well-being of GCON’s people and the communities it serves. This includes creating environments that reinforce thoughtful behavior, a deep understanding of job responsibilities, and a confidence that empowers work performance and teamwork.

Since launching in Phoenix in 2003, GCON has grown to more than 200 employees operating in 28 states. It specializes in critical high-tech environments and is actively growing on all of its product fronts, including aviation, healthcare, education, office, and industrial.

This growth is advanced by the company’s late-2025 acquisition by Webcor LP, a full-service commercial builder headquartered in San Francisco.

“Our employees are central to GCON’s growth and success,” says GCON Founder and CEO Mike Godbehere. “Leary has spent his career developing innovative safety programs and mitigating risk by prioritizing physical, psychological and mental safety. We appreciate his proven approach and look forward to working with him to even further strengthen our culture of care and operational excellence.”

Prior to GCON, Jones served in director positions for multiple notable U.S. construction firms, including BNBuilders, Balfour Beatty Construction U.S., and Turner Construction Company. He has served as a manager and mentor from pre-construction to project completion, successfully lowering workers’ compensation and general liability claims, improving company Experience Modification Rates (EMRs), and utilizing leading and lagging indicators to lower lost time (LTIR) and injury rates (RIR).

“From the moment someone joins GCON, whether in the field, the office, or a support role, we will introduce our safety culture as the foundation of who we are,” Jones said. “It’s not a checklist. It’s ongoing care that we revisit throughout onboarding and across the employee journey through regular check-ins and conversations. When people feel protected physically, psychologically and mentally, they thrive and so does the company.”

Jones holds designation as a Construction Health and Safety Technician by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals and is an active member of the Associated General Contractors of America.

Salvation Army Secures Green Valley Service Center Location with $1.275M Purchase

Green Valley, AZ (May 5, 2026) — The Salvation Army purchased a six-tenant office/retail building at 555 N. La Cañada Drive in Green Valley from Kidwell Family LLC for $1.275 million. The acquisition gives The Salvation Army ownership of a Green Valley property where it already operates its Green Valley Service Center. The organization’s local service center is at 555 N. La Cañada Drive, Suite 101/101A, and provides community assistance, spiritual and emotional support, and related programs for Green Valley and Sahuarita residents. The building was fully leased at the time of sale. The Salvation Army plans to remain in its space while leasing the remainder of the building.

The transaction closed on April 22, 2026.

Built in 1975, the 6,264-square-foot building sits on approximately 1.12 acres in the Canoa Land Grant subdivision. The sale equates to approximately $203.54 per building square foot and $26.24 per land square foot. The property is classified as office use and is zoned CB-1, Local Business Zone, with RH, Rural Homestead Zone, also noted in the parcel information.

The buyer, The Salvation Army, is based in Rancho Palos Verde, California. Mr. James M. Knaggs, President, was listed as the buyer contact. The seller, Kidwell Family LLC of Pasco, Washington, was represented by Mr. Tom Kidwell.

Christy Walker with RE/MAX Signature was the property’s listing agent, and Kevin Helland with Avison Young (Phoenix) represented the buyer. For more information, Walker can be reached at 520.614.1001 and Helland is at 480.994.8155.

Source: RED Comp # 12440.

Teen Challenge Expansion Signals Continued Effort to Revitalize Tucson’s Miracle Mile Corridor

TUCSON, AZ (May 5, 2026) — A newly opened residential recovery facility along North Oracle Road at 136 W Miracle Mile, Tucson, AZ 85705, is adding momentum to ongoing efforts to reposition one of Tucson’s most historically challenged commercial corridors.

Teen Challenge of Arizona held a ribbon-cutting on May 1 for its new Tucson Men’s Center, located along the Miracle Mile stretch of Oracle Road. The project converts a former motel property into a structured, faith-based residential program designed to serve men recovering from substance abuse and other life-controlling issues.

The opening represents more than a program expansion. It reflects a broader, incremental shift underway along Miracle Mile—an area long associated with aging motels, transient uses, and underinvestment, but increasingly targeted for reinvestment, adaptive reuse, and public-private coordination.

The Teen Challenge facility is part of a wider trend of repurposing older hospitality assets into housing, treatment, and service-oriented uses. In this case, the property has been repositioned to provide long-term residential recovery, typically spanning 12 months or more, with an emphasis on life skills, employment readiness, and community reintegration.

Local stakeholders have identified the Miracle Mile corridor as a key infill opportunity given its proximity to downtown, access to major transportation routes, and existing building stock suitable for adaptive reuse. Over the past several years, the corridor has seen a mix of public safety initiatives, code enforcement efforts, and targeted redevelopment activity aimed at stabilizing the area.

While not a traditional commercial real estate project in the retail or industrial sense, the Teen Challenge development plays a role in the corridor’s evolving ecosystem. By converting a formerly distressed property into a managed residential program, the project contributes to reduced vacancy, improved site control, and a more consistent use pattern—factors often cited as prerequisites for broader private investment.

The Miracle Mile area remains in transition. Challenges related to aging infrastructure, land-use compatibility, and long-term investment viability continue to shape its trajectory. However, projects like Teen Challenge’s Tucson center illustrate how non-traditional users—particularly those focused on housing and recovery—are becoming part of the corridor’s repositioning strategy.

As Tucson continues to evaluate infill redevelopment and adaptive reuse opportunities, the Oracle Road/Miracle Mile corridor stands as a case study in how incremental change, rather than large-scale redevelopment, is shaping the next phase of urban investment.