According to the most recent statistics compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau, public construction investment declined by 0.6 percent during the last month of 2018. But even though that number was in the negative, the overall trend for the entire year of 2018 was on the upside with a 6.6 percent increase. That increase stands in contrast to the close of 2017, which actually saw a 3.2 percent decline in public construction spending. According to the Census Bureau report, highway and street construction was down by 0.9 percent in December 2018, but for the entire year saw a healthy 4.4 percent increase. Educational construction projects, too, were down by 1.5 percent for the last month of 2018, with the trend for the entire year showing a 3.8 percent increase. The third largest segment, transportation spending, which includes airport, passenger rail, and port projects, was off by 1.5 percent in December, but posted a gain of 15 percent for the entire year. The report, Value of Construction Put in Place at a Glance, pegs the country’s overall construction value at $1.2 billion for December, down from November’s $1.3 billion. Despite those numbers, notes the report, both public and private construction spending has been consistently on the increase side since early 2012, with the trend line for private construction spending doubling since 2012. By Garry Boulard
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Music lovers in Denver have long hoped to see the construction of a new theater to house the popular Colorado Symphony. The 40 year-old Boettcher Concert Hall, located at 1000 14th Street in downtown Denver, has served as the symphony’s home for the last three decades. But symphony fans have often complained about the building’s uneven acoustics, while city officials have noted that the building has been plagued with heating and cooling issues. Now, a Memorandum of Understanding has been agreed to between the Colorado Symphony and the City of Denver that could be the first step in the construction of an entirely new performance venue. The Memorandum of Understanding not only establishes a framework for the interested parties to actively find ways to build a new theater, it also makes available nearly $17 million in funding for the project. That money will come from the Better Denver bond program that was approved by Denver voters in 2007. The document additionally stipulates that the funds to build a new theater must be used by the fall of 2023. Symphony officials are now engaged in a process to find development partners for the project while also securing additional funds from other sources. The hall may be built inside the existing Denver Performing Arts Complex grounds or at another location within Denver’s city limits. A rendering for an earlier proposal to build a $117 million new theater showed a handsome two-story structure, with a large front glass-walled lobby. In a statement, Jerome Kern, chief executive officer of the Colorado Symphony, said the Memorandum of Understanding with Denver “allows us to partner on an outcome that is beneficial to both.” Kern added: “We look forward to continuing our positive growth and bringing transformative music to this community for years to come.” The Colorado Symphony, the successor to the Denver Symphony Orchestra, was founded in 1989. By Garry Boulard Work could begin later this year on a 70,000 square-foot facility in Surprise, Arizona that will serve as a residential space for the Texas Rangers baseball team. Members of the Surprise Planning and Zoning Commission have given their approval to the site plan for the project, which will go up on Bullard Avenue across the way from the Surprise Recreation Campus. That commission approval was followed by a plat approval for the 70-acre site project from the Surprise City Council. Of the 70 acres, according to city documents, nearly four will go for the complex and a right-of-way, with the rest to remain vacant. The Rangers, who practice in Surprise in the spring, have until now housed their team and staff in two area hotels. The new housing facility is seen as a cost-savings endeavor and will include suites with kitchenettes and a common living area. The project will be three stories tall, with a training lab measuring 13,000 square feet built adjacent to the new complex. Space will also be provided for team classroom sessions. The new complex will additionally include street-level parking garage space. By Garry Boulard Both the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security are in line for significant construction funding if a proposal being sent to Congress by President Trump gains traction. The White House has announced that it is asking Congress for $8.6 billion for the two departments in its fiscal 2020 budget, all of which will go for the construction of sections of a U.S./Mexico border wall. Of that amount, the vast majority, $5 billion, will go to the Homeland Security Department, while the remaining $3.6 billion is slated for the Department of Defense’s military construction budget. This latest administration request is part of an overall $4 trillion federal budget package that, while upping funding for the controversial wall project, will slash money for environmental protection, healthcare programs, welfare assistance, and other federal initiatives. This latest administration wall funding proposal comes on the heels of a request late last year for just over $5.7 billion to build sections of the border wall. A deadlock over that proposal led to a month-long government shutdown, although Congress eventually approved spending nearly $1.4 billion to fund the construction of around 55 miles of barrier at the Texas/Mexico border. If the $8.6 billion ultimately wins Congressional approval, it would be used for just over 700 miles of barrier work at the border. According to sources, the vast majority of that work will see new construction, with some barrier segments being refurbished. By Garry Boulard Talks are underway regarding the possibility of building a more than 50-mile pipeline that would transport water from Durango, Colorado to northwest New Mexico. Members of the Farmington-based San Juan Water Commission have been looking at the pros and cons of what would be a multi-million million project, the purpose of which would offer a guaranteed source of water for a number of New Mexico communities during times of drought. Estimates of the project’s likely cost have ranged from $83 million to $173 million. The water would specifically come from Lake Nighthorse in Durango, and, according to advocates, would offer a safer system of delivery than is currently provided with Animas River water that travels through deficient septic systems. Lake Nighthorse, which is managed by the Bureau of Reclamation, currently stores water for the Navajo Nation, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and the Southern Ute Tribe. By agreement, the San Juan Water Commission has rights to nearly 21,000 acre-feet of water in the lake. If built, the pipeline would also deliver water to utility companies in the New Mexico communities of Bloomfield, Lee Acres, and West Hammond. A development study for the project that was completed three years ago said that even if the pipeline is finally approved it would take years to build, due to both its size and the challenge of acquiring right of way for its construction. It is not known when the commission will make a final decision on the project. Created in 1986, the commission is tasked with protecting the water resources of the cities of Aztec, Bloomfield, and Farmington, along with San Juan County, among other entities. By Garry Boulard A bill allowing for state government agencies to pursue both road building and broadband infrastructure projects with private parties has won the approval of the New Mexico State House of Representatives. Lawmakers say the existence of such partnerships may be exactly what the state needs as it confronts a backlog of road and broadband infrastructure work. In particular, House Bill 286 could help cities and counties with smaller populations in the state to finance needed road and infrastructure work. As envisioned, the legislation would allow for the creation of partnerships under the approval and guidance of the New Mexico Finance Authority. An analysis of the bill prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee noted that it brings with it a $40 million public-private partnership fund. The legislation would additionally set up a public private partnership board tasked with evaluating proposed projects. That same analysis notes that while such partnerships can be complicated, passage of the legislation would provide “governmental entities and private developers with a clear transparent set of guidelines, under which these partnerships can operate to ensure the public’s interests are served.” The bill passed the House on a 64 to 0 vote and is now up for consideration in the Senate. To date, at least 35 states have on the books enabling legislation allowing for the formation of such partnerships to build needed transportation and communications infrastructure. One of the attractions of such partnerships, according to a 2016 Syracuse University study, is that there is a “significantly higher likelihood of meeting cost and schedule objectives” compared with strictly government projects. The legislature is scheduled to wrap up its work on March 16. By Garry Boulard With more than 15,200 stores in operation throughout the U.S. and Canada, the Dollar Tree company has just announced plans to open up another 350 outlets between now and the end of this year. The Chesapeake, Virginia-based company also wants to build and open another two hundred Family Dollar locations in that same time period. Also included in the company’s plans is the goal of renovating up 1,000 existing Family Dollar properties. Plans for the new Dollar Trees and Family Dollars come at the same time that the company has announced its intention to close 390 underperforming Family Dollar stores in various regions of the country. The Dollar Tree and Family Dollar chains joined forces four years ago when Dollar Tree bought the Family Dollar stores for $8.5 billion. Analysts say that the despite the promising acquisition, both the Dollar Tree and Family Dollar have been hit with stronger-than-expected competition from other national discount chains such as 99 Cents Only and Dollar General. The Trump Administration’s upped retail tariffs have also proven a challenge for both Dollar Tree and Family Dollar due to the stores importing nearly half of their goods from China. The average Dollar Tree stores generally range in size between 7,500 and 9,500 square feet. The footprint for the typical Family Dollar store has traditionally been smaller at anywhere between 6,000 and 8,000 square feet. Where the new Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores will be built is expected to be announced later this spring. By Garry Boulard Public comments are being received on a massive highway project in Arizona that will see the building of a connection between busy Interstate 10 and the equally busy Interstate 19 in metropolitan Tucson. The Sonoran Corridor, categorized by the federal Department of Transportation as a high-priority project, has been years in the talking and planning stages. A study conducted by the Arizona Department of Transportation looking at the environmental and economic impact of three potential routes for the corridor is currently underway, the results of which are expected to be revealed next year. Those three routes were pared down from an initial list of ten possible options compiled last year by the department. Central to the study is the certainty that the corridor will be 2,000 feet wide, no matter which route is finally decided on. According to a report issued by the ADOT last year, the new corridor is needed simply due to demographics: in the next 25 years the regional population of metro Tucson is expected to increase from just over 1 million to nearly 1.5 million. The increase, said the ADOT report, means that traffic congestion “is expected to worsen by 2045 and be a detriment to the existing environment within the study area.” As planned, the corridor when built will encompass a 50-square mile area surrounding the Tucson International Airport. A final timeline for the construction of the corridor could be announced next year. By Garry Boulard More than forty townhouses could see construction in Los Alamos on some 4.5 acres of land on the north side of the town. The townhouses, to be built in the 3900 and 4000 block of Arkansas Avenue in a part of the town populated with mostly one- and two-story homes, will all be four stories in height. Member of the Los Alamos Planning and Zoning Commission have given a green light to the project, which is now on its way to the Los Alamos County Council for final approval. Site for the project is known locally as the Black Hole, a one-story 17,000 square foot surplus shop that once sold recycled and used equipment from the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The Black Hole soon became a gathering place and community center for opponents of nuclear proliferation. Although the shop will be demolished to make way for the project, the developer has agreed to put up a placard commemorating the history of the Black Hole. Before the site was known as the Black Hole, it was for several years the home to a Piggly Wiggly grocery store. The townhouse development is being jointly undertaken by the T2 Development and the urban design firm Consensus Planning, both based in Albuquerque. G. Donald Dudley Architect LTD, also of Albuquerque, is the project’s architect. By Garry Boulard The costs for a wide array of construction materials were up in February, presenting a continued challenge to the industry nationally. According a report just released by the Procurement Executives Group and IHS Markit, the price increases took place in eight of twelve materials subcomponents. Despite such increases, the report continues, “prices for alloy steel pipe remained the same, while prices for fabricated structural steel and carbon steel pipe fell.” The real cost increases were found in such items as turbines and pumps. The report is pulled together based on information received from engineering and construction procurement executives across the country. February’s construction costs increase marks an ongoing upward trend first recorded in the fall of 2016. In a statement, Thomas McCartin, a senior economist with the London-based IHS Markit, noted that while “steel costs are coming down right now, price hikes from the summer and fall are now filtering down to turbines and pumps.” McCartin added that “higher input costs, with increasing demand from the energy industry, are putting upwards pressure on these materials.” By Garry Boulard |
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