Depending upon the fate of a capital outlay request approved by the New Mexico State Legislature, a historic theater in eastern New Mexico may be in line for significant renovation funding.

As one of the proposals for capital outlay funding for all of Quay County, some $250,000 will be allotted for work at the long-standing Princess Theater. Located at 110 E. Main Street in Tucumcari, the theater was built in 1917 when vaudeville shows were what packed them in.

Just a few years later, the theater began to show motion pictures, undergoing a renovation in 1938 with distinct Streamline Moderne architectural design elements.

The theatre was closed, seemingly for good, in the fall of 1962 after a fire broke out on its roof. In the decades since, because the building is owned by the City of Tucumcari, city officials have been trying to find a new use for the structure.
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Earlier reports have indicated that it could cost as much as $1.1 million to thoroughly renovate the Princess. Some of that funding might possibly be secured through the USDA Rural Development program, as well as a New Mexico MainStreet grant.

​By Garry Boulard

Apartment demand in recent months has slowed, with rents in some parts of the country declining, according to new information compiled by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

But in looking at trends since 2022, a senior research associate at the Harvard center noted that many lower-income renters across the country “still struggle to pay the rent.”

The latest statistics play off the center’s comprehensive America’s Rental Housing 2022 study, which noted that rental demand was booming, while also remarking that the “need for a permanent, fully funded housing safety net is more urgent than ever.”

According to statistics compiled by researcher Whitney Airgood-Obrycki, asking rents last year climbed by around 11.3%, with growth of more than 6% seen in the most modestly priced markets. That 6% average for the entire year, however, had declined to 4.3% at the end of 2022.

A perhaps surprising increase in apartment vacancy rates, notes Airgood-Obrycki, was “in part a function of robust multifamily construction coming online.” Altogether, just over 370,000 multifamily units were completed as of December, with another very large 936,000 units under construction.

“The number of units under construction should provide a significant number of completions in coming years,” said Airgood-Obrycki, “but cooling markets conditions will likely lead to a slowdown in starts.”
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Also contributing to what is expected to be a growing national apartment stock: the passage last fall of nearly $2 billion in local affordable housing bonds nationally. Local elections also saw approval of many ballot measures calling for an increase in fees and taxes “to generate revenues for affordable housing programs.”

By Garry Boulard

The largest retailer of automobiles in the country is planning to expand its presence in southern Arizona.

With headquarters in Richmond, Virginia, the company CarMax wants to build both a new store location as well as a production facility in the metro Phoenix area.

Plans are centering on El Mirage, some 18 miles to the northeast of Phoenix, where the company earlier this month purchased around 56 acres to be used for construction of a nearly 83,000 square foot automotive wholesale auction and production center.

The site is located at the intersection of Olive Avenue and Dysart Road, and will add to a regional CarMax presence that includes stores in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tolleson, and Tucson.

Founded in 1993, CarMax currently has around 300 locations nationally, in outlets that typically measure around 59,000 square feet. Each of its locations usually has an ongoing inventory of anywhere from 300 to 400 vehicles.
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The Arizona expansion plans come in the wake of a last quarter 2022 report that showed the company’s sales were off by 28% from the same time period a year earlier. Despite that decline, an earnings statement released by CarMax in December indicated that the company had purchased around 224,000 vehicles in the third quarter of 2022.

​By Garry Boulard

Plans are now underway for the construction of a massive hospital campus in north Scottsdale that is expected to cost at least $400 million to build.

The project will belong to the Banner Health healthcare system, which has headquarters in Phoenix, and will see construction built on just under 50 acres of land.

That land is located at the intersection of Loop 101 and Hayden Road and will see construction of a multi-story hospital and medical office building, with work beginning either later this year or early in 2024.

What is being called the Banner Scottsdale Medical Center will house more than 100 patient beds, as well as 20 observation beds.

In a statement, Scott Norlund, chef strategy and growth officer for Banner, observed that “Scottsdale is a natural growth area for Banner, and we are committed to ensuring our patients and health plan members have care close to where they work or live when they want and need it.”
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The larger Banner Health Network encompasses 15 hospitals in metro Phoenix, as well as eight health centers. The non-profit was launched in 1999 as part of a marriage between the Samaritan Health System and the Lutheran Health Systems.

​By Garry Boulard

After two years of oftentimes explosive growth, rent rates nationally for self-storage space have stabilized, according to a new report by industry analysis service Yardi Matrix.

During the first month of this year, the average rate decreased by 2.8% over December. From year to year, the decrease was for the same amount.

Rates for 10 foot by 10 foot climate-controlled units dropped by 4.1%, with the rates for units that were not climate-controlled off by a smaller 2.3%. Both forms of units have been on a soft decrease for the last half year.

Regionally, the Nashville market came in first in terms of rate growth, with a 2.9% jump for climate-controlled units; while the Raleigh-Durham metro area saw a 3.1% jump in non-climate controlled units.

Smaller increases were recorded cross-country, from Boston to San Jose, California.

New construction, meanwhile, continues to accelerate, with just over 6,400 self-storage facilities currently in “various stages of development.” Those properties make up 3.7% of the total national inventory.

New York today has the largest inventory of self-storage facilities, with Orlando and Philadelphia rounding out the “top three largest new supply pipelines under construction.”

New self-storage construction projects are popping up everywhere, with a 100,000 facility by the Safe & Secure Self-Storage company going up this month in Coral Springs, Florida; while the U-Haul company is putting up a 17,000 square foot combined warehouse and self-storage building in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
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Los Angeles-based LaTerra Development LLC is currently building five new projects in metro Los Angeles, as well as a new facility in Irving, Texas.

​By Garry Boulard

A two-story structure that was built more than a century ago in downtown Raton, New Mexico, is now being listed for sale.

Located at 140 S. 2nd Street, the DiLisio Building dates to World War I, and is classified as a Class B structure.

The building was built by Italian immigrant and local businessman Joseph DiLisio and for seven decades housed a department store in his name, before becoming the home of the International State Bank.

In the 1958 book Four Centuries of Italian American History, DiLisio, who in his youth was also a musician and shoemaker, is described as “one of the most prominent Italians in the whole state of New Mexico,” as well as the “prototype of the American self-made man.”

Listed with the National Register of Historic Places, the structure, designed in what is known as the Decorative Brick Commercial style, features multiple stained glass transom windows, a working elevator, skylights, and the original hardwood floors.

Entrance to the building at the southeast corner is framed by three Doric columns. The second floor features abundant office space, while a vault once used for the bank still exists in the basement.

Asking price for the structure, which is topped with a wire sign spelling out “DiLisio’s,” is $550,000. The property is being listed by the realty firm of Home Associates, Incorporated of Raton.

​By Garry Boulard

Design work for the building of a new College of Engineering structure on the campus of New Mexico State University may launch later this spring.

Last fall voters across the state approved three general obligation bonds totaling nearly $260 million for the construction of senior centers, libraries, and a variety of facilities on the campuses of New Mexico’s colleges and universities.

General Obligation Bond 3, which was approved with more than 60% of the vote, provided almost $216 million for public and tribal colleges and universities work. Of that amount, exactly $22.5 million was slated for the building of a new engineering facility on NMSU’s main campus in Las Cruces.

The idea behind the engineering project, according to a NMSU press release issued last fall, is to “expand student-centric and experiential hands-on learning.” More specifically, the new building will “foster research opportunities through multi-disciplinary lab space for student projects and faculty collaboration.”

A portion of the $22.5 million will also be used to demolish the Thomas and Brown Hall, which is located at 1305 Frenger Street.

According to a NMSU spokesperson, the general obligation bonds have not yet been sold. But once that process is completed, design work on College of Engineering is expected to get underway.

The voter-approved Bond 3 is also providing $13.5 million for the renovation of the Health and Social Services Building at NMSU, as well as the O’Donnell Hall, located at 1220 Stewart Street in the middle of the campus.
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Another $2 million is dedicated to the modernization and expansion of the school’s Nursing Skills and Simulation Center.

​By Garry Boulard

A move is underway to push for speeding up of the permitting process for federal energy infrastructure projects.

Speaking before an event sponsored by the Washington Post, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm remarked that an accelerated permitting can be done without negatively impacting the National Environmental Policy Act, “and the other permitting rules that protect the environment.”

Granholm further explained that the goal of the permitting reform effort is to reduce delays and legal conflicts stemming from federal construction project policies.

“We do not want bureaucracy and the bureaucratic red tape underbrush to slow the need for us to secure energy,” the Energy Secretary continued, noting a determination to “make sure that the projects that are existing are retrofitted and buttoned down, especially if they’re fossil infrastructure, so that we don’t have methane leaks.”

A bill is currently under review in the House of Representatives calling for permitting reform, although that legislation has to date not received the official backing of the Biden Administration.
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Either way, said Granholm, “There needs to be much quicker permitting of all kinds of energy infrastructure, but particularly energy infrastructure that will lead us with alacrity to the goals of net zero by 2050.”

​By Garry Boulard

A big box two-story retail structure just to the east of downtown Chandler, Arizona is now on the market with an asking price of $7.6 million.

Located at 845 N. 54th Street in the Chandler Pavilions’ regional shopping center, the building is in a rapidly growing section of a rapidly growing city, an area dotted with a multitude of retail and restaurant operations opened in the last two decades.

The just under 33,500 square foot structure was for several years the home to the popular children’s amusement center Bounce-A-Rama, which closed its doors in 2021. Before that, it served as an outlet for the United Electronics retail chain.

Built in 1980, the structure, which is currently vacant, is listed as a Class A building and underwent a renovation in 2002.
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The property is being listed with the Scottsdale offices of Orion Investment Real Estate.

By Garry Boulard

Just weeks after the site for a proposed multi-purpose arena was rejected, members of the El Paso City Council have voted to commit additional funds to the search for a new location.

In the fall of 2016, the council gave its approval to build the officially named Multi-Purpose Cultural and Performing Arts Center near Duranguito. That decision prompted a series of lawsuits on the part of community activists and preservationists opposing any move to demolish that historic section of the city.

In January a majority of the council voted to abandon the site, noting in particular not just the long-standing opposition to the project but the millions of dollars in legal fees associated with putting the arena in Duranguito.

Now the council has tasked the San Francisco-based architectural and planning firm Gensler with reviewing other sites for the project, allotting $25,000 for the effort. The firm has to date received up to $767,000 from El Paso for a draft feasibility study pertaining only to the Duranguito site.

Now, although Gensler may survey a handful of new sites, it is understood that the firm will ultimately recommend just one location.

In a report submitted to the city earlier this year, Gensler listed the pros and cons associated with a 12,000-seat arena that would cost $386 million to build; an 8,000-seat indoor and outdoor facility with a $113 million price tag; and an 8,000-seat arena, also with indoor and outdoor seating, at a cost of $183 million.
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Despite the Duranguito controversy, a recent online poll conducted by the City of El Paso indicated that 61% of respondents supported the general idea of building a new arena in the city.  

By Garry Boulard