A proposal to build a new community center on the southeast side of Albuquerque that will replace an existing nearby community center has cleared an important hurdle. The new Singing Arrow Community Center will go up at a 16-acre site on the northeast corner of the Singing Arrow Park. As proposed, the new structure, which is expected to cost around $5 million to build, will measure around 15,000 square feet. City officials say the existing community center on the west side of the park is no longer large enough, at just over 12,000 square feet, to accommodate the variety of programs it houses. Those programs include youth-oriented arts and crafts, homework assistance, and after school meal offerings. Recommended for approval by the staff of the city planning department, the new center, according to Environmental Planning Commission documents, will “provide additional services for more residents,” with those residents engaging in “outdoor education, recreation, and cultural activities related to the community center, the park, and the adjacent open space.” As designed by the Albuquerque-based architecture and planning firm Consensus Planning, the new center will be 25 feet tall at its highest point, with the rest of the building coming in at around 21 feet in height. The exterior of the structure will be finished in stucco with a stone veneer. Even though the project has now won the approval of the Environmental Planning Commission, some neighborhood opposition to the new center, in the form of worries about increased traffic, noise, and the possibility of vagrants congregating at the facility, has spurred opposition from nearby residents. That opposition could be heard in an upcoming Albuquerque City Council meeting reviewing the project. The $5 million construction cost for the new center is coming out of previously approved general obligation bonds. By Garry Boulard
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A proposal by a Chicago-based development company to build a new and tall office and residential structure in Denver’s downtown Arapahoe Square has taken a significant step forward. Akara Partners, which has built a similar structure in the Windy City, purchased for $5.5 million the 0.64-acre site where it wants to build what is being called Kenect Denver. The project, designed by the architectural firms of Perkins + Will, and Shears Adkins Rockmore, both of Denver, will see the construction of a retro modernistic 22-story building with a glass exterior. As planned, that building will house two levels of underground parking, and retail on its ground floor, with the second to fifth floors set aside for co-working space. The remaining upper floors of the structure at 2136 Lawrence Street will be given over to residential space. Documents earlier submitted to the City of Denver by Akara stated that Kenect Denver will be integrated into the surrounding community in terms of its “design and function.” Those same documents say the structure’s design calls for a “gradually scaled and simple composition of integrated forms that respond to urban/environmental orientations and the public realm.” Akara’s Kenect structures, which are also planned for Cleveland, Nashville, and Phoenix, feature integrated smart technology allowing residents to communicate with each other, the building’s management, and even outside vendors. By Garry Boulard The State of Arizona is moving in the direction of repurchasing the buildings that house its legislature and executive tower. In a surprise announcement as part of his State of the State address, Governor Doug Ducey announced that a move is underway to purchase the structures that nearly a decade ago were sold to a private investor. The sale, during the depths of the Great Recession in 2010, was spearheaded by then-Governor Jan Brewer and designed to bring in crucially needed revenue during a time when the state was looking at a $3.2 billion budget shortfall. Once that transaction was completed, Arizona leased the buildings with the hope of eventually repurchasing the structures when its financial house was back in order. That transaction garnered national attention and a spot on Comedy Central’s Daily Show making fun of the arrangement. Now, said Ducey, speaking in the House of Representatives chamber in the State Capitol, “Somebody call the Daily Show—we even own this building again.” Arizona is able to make the repurchase move because its total debt has fallen below the $800 million mark, prompting lenders to say they no longer need the structures as collateral. The state is also buying back the building that houses the Arizona Supreme Court, as well as the state fairgrounds property in Phoenix. The deal, which is expected to save the state up to $109 million in debt payments over the course of the next decade, won’t be finalized until the beginning of the Fiscal Year 2020 budget this summer. The move comes in the wake of a report issued by the Arizona Department of Administration detailing more than $400 million in government building upgrade needs. That report, FY 2020 Arizona Department of Administration Building System Capital Improvement Plan, notes that many of the state government’s major building components have “exceeded their useful lives or succumbed to the effects of deferred maintenance.” The report continues: “There are widespread deficiencies in fire and life safety systems, roofs, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, control systems, parking lots, and interior finishes.” The report adds that such deficiencies are due to “a chronic lack of funding for basic routine and capital maintenance.” By Garry Boulard A new Santa Fe High School central administration building has been approved for construction as part of a larger project designed to make the school’s campus more secure. Members of the Santa Fe Board of Education have unanimously signed on to allocating just over $10 million for the new structure. That building will replace an existing administration facility now set for demolition. School officials say their goal is to create a tighter campus, with the new building located deeper into the interior of the school’s complex space. The administration project is part of a larger district-wide effort to improve security at all of the Santa Fe public school facilities. In October the New Mexico State Legislature announced that it was allocating some $46 million over the next four years for similar school facility security projects across the state. Located at 2100 Yucca Street, the Santa Fe High School has an enrollment of around 1,500 students. While past students have enjoyed the open feel of the school’s nearly 100-acre campus, school officials say it is just that openness and the largeness of the campus that makes it more vulnerable to an outsider intrusion. Other aspects of the security enhancement project will eventually see the school’s current cafeteria space moved closer to the campus courtyard. The campus is centered by a u-shaped series of buildings, some of which are interconnected, surrounding the open courtyard. Work on the new administration building is expected to begin later this spring, with a fall 2020 completion date. The larger high school compound was opened in early 1966 as a complex with 48 classrooms and the current administrative building. By Garry Boulard Members of the Flagstaff Planning and Zoning Commission are reviewing a project calling for the construction of a 65-foot tall cell tower on the northeast side of the city. The tower, which will be operated by Verizon Wireless, will have a stealth ponderosa design to fit in with surrounding woods, and will go up at 3600 North Fourth Street behind the Trinity Heights Methodist Church. Verizon officials say the tower, which has already secured the recommendation of the planning and zoning commission’s staff, is needed to provide better service to a growing part of Flagstaff. But residents who live in the nearby Shadow Mountain neighborhood say the tower is too large for the area and have raised concerns, given its close proximity to what is known as Mount Elden Environmental Study Area. That area is a section of land set aside more than 40 years ago by the U.S. Forest Service as a natural preserve for study. Project opponents have suggested that the tower would be better suited for a more commercial site. In their January meeting, commission members put off making a decision on the project, noting that, as required by law, a public meeting specifically related to the tower has yet to be held. That meeting is now scheduled for February 13. By Garry Boulard An ongoing need for more affordable housing is challenging both developers and builders across the country to come up with innovation solutions, notes a new report just released by the Urban Land Institute. But local building and zoning codes may be proving more of a hindrance than a help in making such housing available, notes the ULI’s Emerging Trends in Real Estate report. While developers may be able to respond to the housing crisis, says the report, there needs to be an across-the-board “updating of building codes, and greater predictability in the process of approvals and the provision of infrastructure.” “Local governments, in particular, can reduce the delivery times of new housing, thus bringing down costs,” the report continues. The report additionally contends that the building code industry is not keeping up with the times: “As more integrated building components can be factory produced, the balkanized set of local building codes presents an obstacle to deploying such innovations, limiting their ability to reduce onsite costs.” Surveying more than 750 real estate professionals, the report presents an overall positive business outlook for 2019, with more than 75 percent of those professionals predicting good to excellent business, and only 20 percent saying fair. With more than 40,000 members, the Washington-based Urban Land Institute is devoted to such issues as smart growth, workforce housing, and sustainability. By Garry Boulard A section of El Paso that is already the home to more than 150,000 people, out of a total city population of 683,000, is in need of a number of new public facilities. According to City of El Paso officials, the city’s east side, which has seen its population more than double in the last two decades, requires the service of at least two more police stations, three more libraries, and eight more fire stations. In response, El Paso has now posted an online survey asking for public input on what will be an East Side Master Plan that will not only look at the construction of those facilities, but the possibility of new senior citizen centers and parks as well. A press release from the city says a master plan for the area is particularly needed to provide “tools and key policies to manage growth and development throughout the city.” Such a plan, the release continues, will “help ensure that East El Paso is developed in an orderly, efficient, and cost-effective manner.” Public input on the plan will be accepted until February 10. The East Side Master Plan is being put together as officials with the nearby Medical Center of the Americas is updating its own campus master plan. Introduced earlier this month to members of the El Paso City Council, the MCA plan is grappling with a daily campus population that has increased from 3,000 nearly two decades ago to more than 9,500 today. During those years, the MCA campus, according to the council presentation, has been transformed from a “largely resident and light commercial/industrial neighborhood to a dense academic and medical campus.” Because of that growth, the “utility and transportation infrastructure needs for the campus have changed significantly.” The intent of the updated campus master plan is to create a framework for “coordinating the anchor’s distinct development goals while responding to the needs of the nearby community and adjacent neighborhoods.” By Garry Boulard work expected to increase in nearly all construction segments for 2019, predicts architects' group1/18/2019 Overall spending on construction projects is expected to increase this year by at least 4.4 percent, the Washington-based American Institute of Architects is reporting. The group’s Consensus Construction Forecast Panel sees an increase in both industrial and institutional segments for 2019, with spending in almost all categories rising by anywhere from 1.9 percent to 6.8 percent. The only segment projected to see a decline for the new year is in religious institution construction, which the panel thought would be off by 2.6 percent. Three of the largest increases will come in public safety construction at 6.8 percent, education construction at 5.5 percent, and in new office space, at 5.1 percent. Retail construction, meanwhile, is expected to show a 1.9 percent increase, with healthcare facilities work up by 4.0 percent Despite these strong numbers, the panel is predicting decreases in all of these sectors for calendar year 2020, with one of the biggest drops taking place in the office sector, dropping to a 1.2 percent growth rate, and amusement recreation projects falling from an increase of 4.4 percent this year to just 0.6 percent in 2020. In a statement Kermit Baker, the chief economist for the AIA, said, “Though the economy has been performing very well recently, trends in business confidence scores are red flags that suggest a slowdown is likely for 2020.” He adds: “These signals may be temporary responses to negative short term conditions, but historically they have preceded a more widespread downturn.” By Garry Boulard After months of often rancorous public meetings, members of the Phoenix City Council are on the verge of deciding whether to approve a proposal calling for up to $235 million in upgrades and renovations to the Talking Stick Resort Arena. That arena is the home to the Phoenix Suns basketball team, the ownership of which has threatened to leave the arena and perhaps Phoenix itself, if a series of upgrades aren’t made to the 26 year-old facility. The City of Phoenix has now released a breakdown of the projected costs, showing that roughly $99.5 million will go for the maintenance of the arena’s electrical, plumbing, and communications systems. Just over $26 million will target the replacement of equipment, furniture, and fixtures in the arena, as well as upgrades to both the food service areas and more than two dozen concession stands. More than $17 million will go for exterior improvements, with nearly $15 million to be spent on improvements to the lower and upper deck seating, as well as the building of new hallways and entrances to the seating sections. If the package is approved, the Suns have promised to build an off-site training facility, a project that could cost the team anywhere from $25 to $50 million. A recent poll commissioned by the Greater Phoenix Chamber showed 49 percent of respondents approving the arena renovation proposal, with 25 percent in opposition. By Garry Boulard new governor of new mexico urges expanded economic development and infrastructure intiatives1/18/2019 In a sweeping address primarily focusing on expanding educational opportunities, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has also called for a greater use of the state’s Severance Tax Permanent Fund, as well as increased funding for economic development. Lujan Grisham, who was elected as New Mexico’s 32nd governor in November, spoke to members of the New Mexico Legislature at the beginning of their 60-day winter session. The new governor, in unveiling her executive budget proposals for fiscal year 2020, returned to a theme she had emphasized in her successful campaign: making greater use of the Severance Tax Permanent Fund. Currently, 5 percent of the $23 billion fund is used for economic growth. Lujan Grisham would like to increase that figure to 6 percent, noting that that would send $50 million “straight into homegrown mom and pop businesses, enlivening our communities.” Although earlier attempts to draw a greater percentage from the fund for development purposes have passed the House, members of the Senate have routinely defeated those measures. The Governor additionally hailed the efforts of the state’s Local Economic Development Act, calling it “a great example of how public-private partnerships can elevate communities in this state—not just cities and towns, but groups of people with an idea, committed entrepreneurs, who just need a little help to get going.” “LEDA works,” Lujan Grisham declared, in asking lawmakers to double the LEDA budget to $75 million. “Let’s show our New Mexico businesswomen and men that we mean business.” In expanding on her LEDA proposal, the Governor added: “Let’s show this country that New Mexico is more than one industry, and let’s show our communities that we know local businesses provide good jobs to local residents and have a cascading positive effect on their street corner, neighborhood, and region.” Lujan Grisham also addressed the ongoing need for infrastructure construction and upgrades, calling on legislators to “act with a sense of urgency the situation demands.” “Too many of our bridges are rated structurally deficient,” she noted. “Too many of our roads are in bad shape, endangering drivers, even cyclists and pedestrians. Lujan Grisham’s infrastructure recommendations come in the wake of a 2018 report issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers awarding New Mexico a D grade for the condition of its roads, bridges, and dam infrastructure, and noting that the condition of the state’s infrastructure “impedes New Mexico’s ability to compete in an increasingly global marketplace.” By Garry Boulard |
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