Work may begin soon on a comprehensive renovation of the famous Kress Building in downtown El Paso. Long treasured by preservationists for its Art Deco design, the El Paso Kress Building, located at the intersection of Mills Avenue and Oregon Street, was opened in the spring of 1938, serving as a multi-story department store for the next nearly half century. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the building at the time its opening was hailed by the El Paso Herald-Post for its “Spanish-Moorish architecture in the modern manner, with gold minarets on its tower and tile and terra cotta polychrome trimming.” In late 2018 businessman Paul Foster put in a winning bid of $2.2 million to purchase the property after it had fallen into a state of disrepair. Now Foster has announced plans to renovate and upgrade the property, a project that is expected to cost upwards of $18.4 million and more. The project may also include the construction of a tunnel underneath Oregon Street that would connect the Kress building with the Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park at 106 W. Mills Avenue, which is also owned by Foster. The former Plaza Hotel was opened by famed hotelier Conrad Hilton in 1929 and renovated at a cost of $78 million by Foster two years ago. As planned, work on the Kress Building will also see the creation of some 45,000 square feet of restaurant, retail, and commercial space. By Garry Boulard
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Despite the travails of the pandemic economy, virtually every state of the union is expected to meet its revenue forecast for the rest of fiscal year 2022, according to a comprehensive new study. Published by the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures, the FY 2022 State Budget Update also shows that exactly half of the states are expected to exceed their forecasted revenues, meaning that in some cases the states in question have decided to revise their estimates upward. Noting that at the start of the pandemic states such as New Mexico that rely on oil and gas taxes were “projecting significant negative revenue impacts,” the study says that, in fact, the Land of Enchantment and other oil-dependent states have seen a rebound in its fortunes primarily due to oil and gas severance taxes. The NCSL study additionally contends that revenue surpluses at the state level have also been fueled, at least in part, by increased federal aid to state governments, particularly through the American Rescue Plan. Meanwhile, personal income tax collections are reported to be on target in Arizona, among five other states. General sales tax collections are also “expected to exceed estimates in over half of states,” a trend clearly driven by a pandemic-inspired increase in consumer spending. Corporate income taxes, meanwhile, have “historically been a volatile revenue source for states because they are highly susceptible to changes in the broader economy and the business cycle.” Even so, revenues from corporate income tax collections appear to be above previous estimates in at least 20 states, and on target in five more. “As with personal income tax and general sales tax estimates, revenue projections from corporate income tax collections have been revised upwards in nearly half of states since the beginning of the fiscal year.” On an optimistic note, the study concludes by suggesting that the stronger than expected revenues across the country will “shape the conversations and policy decisions in many state capitols this session, and budget surpluses have many states considering temporary or permanent tax reductions.” A separate report compiled by the Urban Institute of Washington details the impact that American Rescue Plan spending has had on the individual states, with Arizona receiving $4.2 billion in direct aid; Colorado getting $3.8 billion; and New Mexico $1.8 billion. The American Rescue Plan was passed by Congress in the spring of 2021 and is designed to help state, local, and Tribal governments weather the economic devastation caused by the Covid 19 outbreak. By Garry Boulard A nearly 120-year-old classically designed building in Denver is being listed for sale, with a $2.6 million price tag reflecting a continuing increase is the price of downtown property. The 7,000 square-foot structure is located at 1529 Champa Street and currently houses the Cheba Hut subway sandwich store on its ground level. The second story is comprised of a unique business called Escape Room Denver, an interactive adult-sized maze amusement venue. Built in 1907, the brick structure is categorized as a Class C building and sits on a well under half-acre site on a block populated primarily with restaurants of varying sizes. The building has formerly been the home to a coffee shop and computer café, and in its early decades provided space for the Coupon Western School of Estimating. Listed for sale with the Denver offices of CBRE, the building’s asking price reflects a larger Denver trend with the average commercial property sale in 2021 coming in at just over $2.4 million, compared to $1.3 million for the rest of Colorado. By Garry Boulard After years of discussion, the City of Las Cruces may be on the verge of building a new facility designed to support electric buses. Along with dozens of other cities in 18 states, Las Cruces is receiving $6.4 million in funds through the American Rescue Plan, as announced by the federal Department of Transportation. That funding is a part of a significantly larger $2.2 billion in grants announced by Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who said the funding is particularly designed to help communities “across the country keep transit workers on the job and keep their trains and buses running.” For the most part, American Rescue Plan funding coming into Las Cruces will be dedicated to boosting drivers’ salaries in the city’s RoadRUNNER transit system. But a portion of the money is expected to go to the construction of an electric bus transit station. Last fall members of the Las Cruces City Council approved a plan to purchase for $4.1 million five electric powered transit buses from the Los Angeles-based BYD Coach and Bus Company. By Garry Boulard Construction employment continues to lag in 21 states, despite an ongoing post-pandemic economic recovery, notes a new study just released by the Associated General Contractors of America. While an opposite glimpse of the numbers shows that employment levels in 29 states have improved since the month before the Covid-19 outbreak, the dormant numbers in the other states indicate that the recovery may not be as widespread as economists have hoped. “Employment has risen in most of the nation over the past year,” noted Ken Simonson, chief economist with the AGC, in a statement, “but contractors are having an increasingly hard time finding all the workers they need as unemployment hits record lows in more states.” According to the AGC report, the West has seen the greatest construction employment, with Montana leading the way with an 11.4% gain over February of 2020. Idaho and Utah were next in lines, with gains of 10.0% and 9.1% respectively. Other states in the top ten growth states were located in various regions of the country and include Mississippi, Maine, Indiana, and Tennessee. Arizona saw a job increase of 2.5%, with Colorado up by 2%. Texas was listed near the bottom with a 3.8% job loss, while New Mexico recorded a decline of 5.8% since the month before Covid-19. The states with the largest job losses were New York and North Dakota, both down by 7.8%. Overall, despite the varying differences between the states, the demand for skilled construction workers continues unabated, notes Simonson, who remarked: “The scramble for workers is likely to drive wages and overtime costs even higher at the same time rising materials prices are cutting into already tight margins.” By Garry Boulard In a city and state with one of the fastest-growing senior populations in the country, a luxury assisted living facility is being offered for sale for $2 million. Located at 11000 Tanque Verde Road on the east side of Tucson, the facility is made up of a single main home with two separate casitas and a total of ten bedrooms. Built in 2007, the facility sits on an intricately landscaped 1-acre piece of desert property and is dedicated to the long-term care of residents suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Offered by Century 21 Toma Partners of Peoria, the facility measures just under 4,500 square feet and includes rear patio space, interior living rooms with fireplaces, and a spacious dining room and kitchen space. The facility is part of a larger national market seeing an increase in senior living facilities as the giant Baby Boom generation enters retirement. According to the National Center for Seniors Housing Care, some 8% of this market segment is afflicted with cognitive issues, while a significantly large 60% has some type of mobility limitations. According to the Census Bureau, Arizona, at 18%, has one of the country’s largest 65 years of age or older populations, some 2% higher than the national average. It is also places 15 among all the states for the number of its residents living with Alzheimer’s. By Garry Boulard A thriving pharmaceutical and biotech support industry support company with an already-operating manufacturing facility in Albuquerque has announced plans to substantially expand that facility. Based in New York, Curia, formerly known as Albany Molecular Research, has just signed off on a deal with the federal government that will result in the stepped-up production of its injectable medicines. In so doing, the company will build new facility space in the Duke City at 4401 Alexander Boulevard SE designed to provide enhanced ultra-cold storage and automated visual inspection technology. In a statement, John Ratliff, Curia chief executive officer, said the company’s contract with the U.S. government will not only provide Curia with the opportunity to contribute to the nation’s pandemic response plans, but “also enables us to meet the need to deliver life-changing life science to patients into the future.” Funding per the agreement is coming through the government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, which is a part of the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as several other federal agencies. Headquartered in Albany, New York, the company was founded in 1991 and has additional manufacturing plants in Europe and Asia. By Garry Boulard Construction Projects May Accelerate Owing to Increase in California Port Traffic, Says Analysts3/15/2022 Cargo is at last beginning to move more swiftly through the big Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach after months of congestion and, in some cases, no movement at all. Containers, reports the Wall Street Journal, have been “moving more quickly through the ports and on to inland destinations recently.” The two largest ports in the U.S. combined have handled up to 40% of all shipping containers in the country, processing lumber and wood products, as well as steel and aluminum material needed by the domestic construction industry. But throughout most of 2021 the ports were plagued with traffic jams, prompting unprecedented backups and delays in the movement of materials. By the first week of this year, the line of ships waiting to be served was more than one hundred. But according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California the backup in recent weeks has lessened. The Port of Los Angeles is now recording a 3.6% increase in traffic for the first month of this year, marking the first year-over-year monthly increase since September. In a statement, Gene Seroka, executive director of the Los Angeles port, remarked that the good numbers for January “reflects the great efforts of our longshore workers, truckers and terminal operators as we continue to focus on additional operational efficiencies in the months ahead.” Dockworkers and terminal operators at the Long Beach port, meanwhile, saw an increase in traffic of 3.2% in February, over the same period of time last year. As of last week, reports the Long Beach Business Journal, the “backlog was down to 50 vessels, only three of which were within 40 miles of the coast.” Despite the ports’ latest hopeful figures, the Wall Street Journal, among other sources, says that many of the underlying supply chain issues that caused backlogs last year remain unresolved: “Warehouses still don’t have enough workers or space to process and store boxes,” while trucking companies remain short of drivers to pull containers. By Garry Boulard A more than 100-year-old building to the northwest of downtown Denver that has served as a popular eatery, among other businesses, is being listed for sale. Located at 3801 Jason Street, the building is a compact structure at 1,168 square feet, located in a mixed industrial residential neighborhood several blocks away from Interstate 25. Originally built in 1906, the one-story structure in what is known as the Sunnyside neighborhood of Denver underwent a renovation and updating in 2010. Listed as a Class C property, the building has housed the Sunnyside Café, and is now the home to the Standing Akimo herbal medicine dispensary. A solid cement structure with an outdoor rear patio space, the asking price for the structure is just under $2 million and is being listed with Re/Max Commercial of Denver. Property in the Sunnyside neighborhood, reflecting general real estate trends throughout Denver, has greatly increased in recent years. According to the site Redfin, the median Sunnyside home price has jumped from around $500,000 in early 2020 to just south of $700,000 today. By Garry Boulard Work is expected to begin later this year in southern Arizona on the construction of a new beverage production facility that will belong to the more than 150-year-old Nestle company. The facility will go up on a 150-acre site in the city of Glendale and is expected to cost around $675 million to build. According to reports, the anticipated 630,000 square foot plant will house Nestle’s popular Coffee-Mature creamers line. The plant will also produce Starbucks-branded creamers. In 2018 Nestle and Starbucks formed what was called a “global coffee alliance” allowing the older company to launch a variety of coffee products under the Starbucks brand. With revenues in excess of $84 billion in 2020, Nestles, launched in 1866 in Cham, Switzerland, has 14 production facilities across the country. The new Glendale facility, according to Nestle officials, will allow for greater access to markets across the West. As planned, the facility will house a water recycling process. The company has additionally said that it plans to use 100% renewable energy at the plant by the year 2025. It is expected that work on the facility, on a site allowing for future expansion, will be completed sometime in 2024. To date, Nestle owns more than 2,000 brands internationally, just over two dozen of which are coffee products. Noting the company’s extraordinary longevity, the London Observer has remarked that Nestles originally had a product that everyone wanted: “The world’s first formula baby milk, made from dried milk and sugar and sold without frills as Farine Lactee Henri Nestle.” By Garry Boulard |
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