Some 94 acres in Santa Fe near the intersection of Governor Mile Road and Richards Avenue could be the site of a new and vast housing development, about 6 miles southwest of downtown Santa Fe. Santa Fe developer Jeff Branch has said that he wants to build 385 affordable to mid-price homes on land that is currently vacant. Branch is the chief executive officer of the Santa Fe-based commercial real estate firm Columbus Capital, which has spurred the development of the San Isidro Plaza in Santa Fe and the Los Altos Ranch Market in Glendale, Arizona, among many other projects. The homes are expected to range in price between $200,000 and nearly $400,000. Most of the structures will be two stories, measuring anywhere from 1,275 to 3,000 square feet. Roughly 90 of the homes will be designated as affordable housing. The proposal more specifically calls for the creation of 385 single family lots on just over 94 acres, with 9.6 acres to be used for the possible construction of assisted living facilities. The plans for what is being called Vista del Sierra have already been the subject of one public input meeting. The developer is submitting papers to the Santa Fe Planning Commission asking for the lot division at the site. That body is expected to take up the matter in early June. If all goes well in the approval process, work on the new homes could be built next spring. By Garry Boulard
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Members of the El Paso City Council are expected to revisit new and more strict regulations regarding cell tower heights in the wake of recommendations from another city body calling for more relaxed regulations. Members of the El Paso City Planning Commission, responding to input from cellular industry representatives, have suggested that new rules governing both the height of a proposed cell tower as well as its distance from the nearest residential area should be reconsidered. In January, city council members approved regulations capping cell tower projects in both residential and light commercial areas at 35 feet. Towers built in heavy commercial and manufacturing areas were allowed heights up to 60 feet. The rule changes also mandated that new towers must be camouflaged in an attempt to make them more visually appealing. The new rules have sparked the opposition of cellphone companies who have particularly argued that limiting towers to 35 feet will also limit the speed and amount of coverage the tower can provide. Planning commission members have suggested that cell towers 60 feet in height should be allowed under certain conditions in residential and light commercial areas. It is not known when the City Council will once again take up the cell tower regulations. By Garry Boulard Concerns about the spread of COVID-19, otherwise known as the coronavirus, may prompt some developers and builders to hold off on major new projects for the time being. That is the opinion of Steve Lesser, a construction attorney with the Florida firm of Becker & Poliakoff, who recently remarked that for the present, “full speed ahead with a planned construction project does not make business sense.’ In an interview with the publication Construction Dive, Lesser said contractors should, at least temporarily, “take a breath, slow down, and know that every day may bring more information, and the more information we have the better we can predict what to do.” As it now stands, some 70 percent of contractors in a survey conducted by the publication said the most negative fallout so far from the virus was the anxiety it was causing workers. Only 23 percent of the respondents pointed to a shortage of materials as their most pressing concern. That materials question is particularly important because of the large role China plays exporting steel, aluminum, and concrete to other countries. Some 20 percent of construction materials in the U.S. are currently imported from China. Other imported Chinese materials include floor tiles, tempered glass, doors, wood flooring, and fencing. The country’s prominence as a construction materials exporter is not expected to decline anytime soon, according to the Engineering News-Record, which recently remarked, “We don’t believe by this time in 2021, other countries will have wrestled its advantage away as a low-price supplier.” By Garry Boulard A fire in the fall of 2017 nearly destroyed the City Hall of Bisbee, Arizona, leaving nothing but a shell of the structure in its wake. In the more than two years since, city officials have been discussing plans to demolish what’s left of the century-old, rectangular-shaped administration building. In February, the city issued a Request for Proposals asking for ideas on how much it would cost to level and remove the three-story structure at 118 Arizona Street. At the same time, plans have been informally aired regarding the construction of a new City Hall, which it is thought will take around $2 million to build. Although it has also been proposed that the burned-out City Hall should be restored because it is a historic building, city leaders, noting that the structure is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places, have suggested that such a move may prove too cost-prohibitive. Built by the Calumet and Arizona Mining Company in 1906, the structure has served as the Bisbee City Hall since 1974. Bisbee’s city administrative offices are currently located in a building that once served as the city’s juvenile detention center at 915 S. Tovreaville Road. A decision regarding both the demolition of the old City Hall and the construction of an entirely new building could be made by summer. By Garry Boulard Work could begin sometime this summer on the construction of a new apartment complex with units geared especially for low-wage earners as well as seniors. The project will go up on the southeast side of downtown Colorado Springs and will see the construction of 280 units on currently vacant land near the intersection of East Fountain Boulevard and South Nevada Avenue. The site was previously donated to the city with the stipulation that it be developed for the public’s benefit. What is being called Draper Commons, to be developed by the Colorado Springs-based BCR Management, will feature both one and two-bedroom apartments as well as studio units. To spur the project’s development, the Colorado Springs City Council has approved up to $21 million in multifamily private activity bonds. Such bonds are used specifically to support projects that have a pubic benefit, such as hospitals, water treatment facilities, and affordable housing. City officials have said that the new complex will help reduce what is estimated to be a 15,000-unit shortfall in affordable housing in Colorado Springs. That shortfall is partly animated by an average monthly rent in the city that is now nearly $1,140, with the median list price for a home in Colorado Springs surpassing the $316,000 mark. By Garry Boulard Up to 42,000 new jobs in the construction industry nationally were created in February, according to the latest monthly report coming out of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That 42,000 gain was higher than the new jobs posted in the professional and technical services segment, which saw an increase of 32,000 last month. But the construction employment expansion was significantly smaller than the 57,000 new jobs seen in the healthcare and social assistance categories. According to the bureau’s Employment Situation Summary total nonfarm payroll employment was up by 273,000 in February. The 42,000 February construction job gain comes on the heels of a strong January increase which saw more than 49,000 new jobs in the industry. According to the report, the industry specifically saw more than 26,000 new specialty trade contractor jobs, along with another 10,000 in residential building. Even though the February construction job gains were less than those of January, the BLS report noted that for all of 2019, the average monthly industry gains came out to around 13,000. The report also showed that between February of 2019 and February of this year average construction wages had increased by around 90 cents per hour to a record $31.35. By Garry Boulard Over $25 million in capital outlay funds have been approved for more than sixty senior recreation center construction and renovations projects in New Mexico. The projects were originally approved by members of the New Mexico State Legislature during their recent winter session, which wrapped up business on February 20. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has since vetoed just over thirty senior facility projects proposed by the New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department. Among the funding that the Governor axed is $350,000 for the Albuquerque Los Volcanes Senior Center; $40,000 for kitchen improvements to the Barelas Senior Center, also in Albuquerque; and $40,000 for the construction of a garage and storage facility at the Chichiltah Chapter Senior Center in McKinley County. Funding not vetoed includes $370,000 for the construction of the Isleta Pueblo Elder Center in the Isleta Pueblo; $274,000 for the renovation of the Eagle Nest Center in Colfax County; and $4.7 million to build the Hillcrest Senior Center in the Hillcrest Park area of Clovis. Also surviving the Governor’s pen: $2.4 million for facility work at the Mary Esther Gonzalez Senior Center in Santa Fe. Altogether, Lujan Grisham vetoed $150 million in general fund spending that had been approved by lawmakers for public works projects and roads, with $10 million specifically cut from capital outlay projects passed under House Bill 349. At the same time more than $132 million in state agency capital projects was approved, along with $84 million for local public safety projects, $82 million for water and wastewater projects, and $25 million for higher education institution facility projects. In noting the possible economic impact of the coronavirus, as well as volatility in the global oil markets, the Governor remarked: “We want to make sure we have enough money in reserves.” By Garry Boulard Plans to build a crossing over the Arroyo de los Chamisos in southwest Santa Fe are expected to be in draft form sometime later this spring. For well over a decade, city officials have wanted to build the crossing, which would connect Rodeo Road with Cerrillos Road, as a means of more easily moving vehicular traffic in the vicinity. According to a report released by the city late last year, Arroyo De Los Chamisos Crossing, the new crossing will “improve regional mobility and relieve congestion on existing streets located in the area.” The report additionally noted that most of the land in the area where the crossing would be built is either made up of residential neighborhoods or vacant land. “As residential development continues in this area and existing land becomes developed, transportation needs will continue to increase for all modes of travel and will be better served with this crossing connection,” the report continues. Besides the option of building no crossing at all, several routes due north of the Santa Fe Rodeo Grounds are currently under consideration. Once one of the crossing options is decided upon, the city is expected to undertake a more detailed study before making a final recommendation to the Santa Fe City Council. By Garry Boulard Although presidential election years traditionally cause a small amount of investment upheaval and a large amount of uncertainty, construction leaders overwhelmingly are expecting continued growth to the end of the year and into 2021. Those responses, as recorded in the 2020 Construction Industry Forecast and published by Wells Fargo and Company, show an overall industry optimism quotient of 99, significantly above the survey’s baseline quotient of 75. Even so, the 2020 responses are down from last year’s 122 optimism quotient. The quotient average for the last three years is 126. At the same time the survey reveals that 54 percent of respondents expect to see the industry expand in the next two years, up from 51 percent who said the same thing last year. Measuring the responses of 305 construction industry officials in 47 states, the survey also points the way to continued steady nonresidential growth well into 2021. As for the election, some 90 percent of respondents indicated that the presidential contest will have either a great deal or somewhat of an impact on the industry. A majority of the respondents also said they are planning to buy the same amount or even more equipment for the duration of the year over what they purchased in 2019, even though at the same time the equipment dealers themselves were less optimistic about their market than they were a year ago. “As it stands now, spending remains strong and builders are optimistic,” James Heron, construction group manager for Wells Fargo Equipment Finance, said in a statement. Just over 40 percent of the construction leaders responding to the survey were based in the South, 26 percent located in the West. The remaining 32 percent were based either in the Midwest or Northeast. By Garry Boulard In a city with an always-growing college enrollment, the demand for new student housing is almost always ongoing. Now two developers in Fort Collins have proposed building just over 60 apartment units on a 1.2-acre site two blocks to the south of the Colorado State University campus. The apartments, as envisioned by developers Robin and Christian Bechelet, will feature one three-story building containing up to 50 apartments. A single house on the site built in 1903 and classified as a historic structure will be repurposed with two apartments, along with another house built in 1933 that will additionally be renovated to include two units. The two structures in the 700 block of W. Prospect Road and the larger site itself are owned by the Colorado State University Research Foundation. According to reports, the developers are planning to enter into a long-range lease with the foundation for the property. The project has already been the subject of one public input meeting. A construction schedule to build the new housing has not yet been announced. The Fort Collins campus of CSU has seen its student population grow in the last two years from 32,200 to more than 34,100 today. By Garry Boulard |
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