The popular chain restaurant Chipotle Mexican Grill is expected to build and open as many as 270 new locations by mid-2024. The Newport Beach, California-based company has long embraced an aggressive expansion model, seeing its locations jump in numbers from around 500 in 2006 in number to just under 3,200 as of the end of last year. Now the company has a vigorous store building pipeline extending into the summer of next year. Chipotle, which was launched in the summer of 1993, is also embracing a new kind of design model emphasizing energy efficiency with such features as rooftop solar panels, heat pump water heaters, and improved kitchen exhaust hoods. According to a press release issued by Chipotle, new restaurants will utilize “100% renewable energy from wind power and solar through the purchase of certified renewable energy credits.” The sites for what the company calls its Responsible Restaurants will also include electric vehicle charging stations. According to plans, at least 100 new energy efficient locations are expected to be completed sometime in 2024. Two of the new energy efficient stores have opened in Virginia and Florida, with a third slated for completion in Castle Rock, Colorado sometime this summer. Last year Chipotle recorded revenue in excess of $8.6 billion, up from $3.2 billion a decade ago. By Garry Boulard
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The Phoenix-based Nikola Corporation is in the process of planning out construction of what is being called a hydrogen production hub. The manufacturer of fuel cell electric vehicles as well as heavy-duty commercial battery electric vehicles, Nikola, which was founded in Salt Lake City nearly a decade ago, first became a presence in metro Phoenix when it purchased nearly 400 acres of land in Coolidge, just to the southeast of Arizona’s biggest city. Earlier this year, the company announced that it was moving its battery manufacturing operations from a location in Cypress, California to Coolidge, in order to house its truck assembly, fuel cell power module assembly, and battery module and pack production all in one location. Now the company is engaged in a process to build new hydrogen facilities on nearly 1,000 acres on the south side of Buckeye, 90 miles to the northwest of the Coolidge site. The Buckeye facility will be devoted to the production of supply materials for the company’s hydrogen fuel cell fleet of semitrucks. Plans for the hydrogen hub, which will go up just to the west of Arizona State Route 85, have now been submitted to the City of Buckeye. By Garry Boulard A nearly 140-year-old school providing education for the hard of hearing as well as the deaf is on target to receive some $875,000 for campus-wide facility projects. Located near the Railyard District at 1060 Cerrillos Road in Santa Fe, the New Mexico School for the Deaf is the only land-grant school for the deaf in the country and sits on a 30-acre tree-lined campus. That campus is dotted with any number of historic residence and dining halls designed in the distinctive Santa Fe Pueblo architecture style. Several weeks ago, members of the New Mexico State Legislature approved a capital outlay of $875,000, which is coming out of the state’s general fund, for site improvements at the school. That appropriation has now won the approval of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. As officially designated, the $875,000 is to be spent between now and 2027, and must be used to “plan, design, renovate, and construct site improvements” at the school. Moreover, those improvements must be concerned with “safe campus access and emergency evacuation and egress.” The New Mexico School for the Deaf has an enrollment of around 150 students from kindergarten to 12th grade. Its campus includes residential cottages, a workout center, gyms, and football field. By Garry Boulard Despite public opinion polls showing the highest approval of labor unions nationally in nearly 60 years, a record 83% of construction workers do not belong to a union, according to a new analysis. Even more, notes the Associated Builders and Contractors study, roughly 90% of construction workers in 26 states are not union members. “Data continues to suggest that the vast majority of construction industry professionals freely choose not to join a union,” remarked Ben Brubeck, vice president for regulatory, labor, and state affairs ABC, in a statement. But the rate of construction worker unionization varies greatly from state to state, according to the ABC study, with roughly 30% of the workforce belonging to a union in Minnesota and Illinois, while the number dropped to around 25% in the Northern industrial states of Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. States in the West, including Arizona and New Mexico, saw some of the lowest construction worker union representation between 5% and 10%, while the statistics were well under 5% for Colorado, Texas, and Utah. Nationally, union membership is now at 10.1%, down from 10.3% in 2021, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report issued in January. That 10.1% is the lowest recorded figure in more than four decades. Organized labor has seen its greatest recent advances in the public sector arena, representing 33.1% of all workers, while membership in private sector jobs is now at a small 6%. These figures come in the wake of a Gallup opinion survey late last summer showing that 71% of respondents said they approved of labor unions. That figure is substantially up from the 48% who said the same thing in 2009. In fact, the 71% is the highest response rate on the question recorded by Gallup since 1965, when it also stood at 71%. By Garry Boulard An architecturally classic structure built in 1889 in downtown Fort Collins is on the market with an asking price of $5.8 million. Located at 115-121 East Mountain Avenue, the two-story Kissock Building measures just shy of 18,000 square feet and saw renovation work in 1985. Designated as a Class B building, the structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is currently the home to an upscale clothing store and jewelry shop, among other tenants. In years past, the Kissock Building has housed a local chapter of the Independent Order of Oddfellows, a bank, an American Veterans club, and both a furniture and typewriter store. The property is being listed by the Commercial Real Estate Brokers, LLC, which has offices in Fort Collins. By Garry Boulard Just over 50 sound stages are planned for construction on a 320-acre site in southern Arizona. The project belongs to the Desert Studios company, which has said that it plans to invest up to $900 million to build the development in the city of Buckeye. The project, officially called the Desert Studios Complex, has largely been made possible as the result of a $125 million tax credit for film production passed last year by the Arizona State Legislature and signed into law by then-Governor Douglas Ducey. As designed, that tax credit is supposed to be equal to anywhere from 15% to 20% of a movie studio’s production expenses. The new law also stipulates that to qualify for the tax credit, production companies must be operating out of a sound stage measuring no less than 10,000 square feet. Desert Studios officials say the new sound stages will come in at around 40,000 square feet and will have the capability of being divided into two separate facilities of 20,000 square feet each depending upon the needs of a particular production. Additional facilities at the Buckeye site will include a catering and craft services building, as well as structures devoted to post-production and editing and equipment rental. The first phase construction of the studios project may launch in the latter part of this year. By Garry Boulard After Unprecedented Pandemic Era Boom, Remodeling Businesses Returning to Traditional Growth4/18/2023 The remodeling industry is enjoying a marginally good spring, according to a new industry survey, holding onto gains secured last year. A remodeling market index released by the National Association of Home Builders provides an overall survey reading of 70 for current conditions, up from the 69 reported in late 2022. Any figure over 50 indicates that remodelers view the state of their markets as good rather than poor. What is officially called the NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index showed strength when remodelers were asked to evaluate future project leads, jumping from 62 last fall to 64 today. Those remodelers, said Alan Archuleta, NAHB Remodelers Chair, are “generally optimistic about the home improvement market, although some are noting the negative effects of material shortages and higher interest rates.” Continued Archuleta in a statement: “Customers are still undertaking larger projects but are mostly paying cash rather than financing them.” A particular area of industry strength: what is known as the aging-in-place segment seeing Baby Boomers embracing bathroom projects like curb-less showers and grab bars. The remodeling industry in general has experienced a bit of a wild ride in recent years, with the market index measuring a somewhat dormant 47 in the first quarter of 2020, before exploding to the mid and upper-80s during the Covid pandemic when millions of Americans were staying home and spearheading remodeling projects. The index peaked at 87 during the final two quarters of 2021, before settling into the mid-70s range last summer. The future indicators index has proven equally erratic, jumping from 37 in early 2020 to 83 in the summer of 2021. Last year’s numbers in this category ranged from 62 to 78. By Garry Boulard Up to 450 new homes may be built just to the northeast of Colorado Springs on an undeveloped, open rural site comprising some 142 acres. The project, which belongs to the Colorado Springs-based Classic Communities company, will see homes going up on 2.5-acre lots on a site just to the southwest of the intersection of Poco Road and Vollmer Road, around 15 miles to the northeast of downtown Colorado Springs. The proposal has now won the backing of the El Paso County Planning Commission after that body two months ago rejected the project for not integrating nature elements into the layout of some of its lots. The project has sparked the opposition of nearby residents who have maintained that it is too large for the area and will significantly increase traffic. According to county documents, the project has been described as an “urban character mixed residential development interspersed throughout the property,” that would include both a neighborhood commercial center as well as a more than 3-acre centrally located neighborhood park. The project is partly designed to respond to a historic growth in El Paso County, which has gone from 517,000 people two decades ago, to more than 750,000 today. According to a report compiled by the Colorado Department of Transportation, the county’s number are expected to exceed 801,000 by the end of this decade. By Garry Boulard Construction could begin later this year on a modern welcome center that will be a part of the vast Spaceport America properties 20 miles to the southeast of Truth or Consequences. The anticipated three-story building, measuring around 30,000 square feet, will house an auditorium, conference rooms, and offices, among other features. What is being called the Spaceport Technology and Reception Center will be tasked with serving visitors, while also providing workspace for Spaceport America staff. According to public documents, the new facility will also have a lounge and viewing areas on its 2nd and 3rd floors, while providing “modern, comfortable work and meeting spaces” for staff. Sitting on some 18,000 acres, Spaceport America, the first purpose-built commercial spaceport in the world, was officially opened in the fall of 2011, with an initial visitors’ center opened nearly four years later. According to reports, the existing visitors’ center has been confronted with several structural issues, including a leaky roof. Spaceport America officials are also said to not be happy with the location of the current center, situated as it is behind the large aviation operations area. According to Spaceport America documents, a design-build project delivery method will be used to build the new reception center. Because previous structures at the spaceport have been designed to blend in with and pay homage to the “aesthetic harmony” of the surrounding desert terrain, it is expected that the new center will exhibit “exterior finishes that resemble the local landscape while creating a distinctive architecture that captures the bold and innovative spirit of Spaceport America.” An exact schedule for when work on the new facility will begin has not yet been announced. By Garry Boulard As most Americans have already filed their income tax papers with the Internal Revenue Service, while a plurality has asked for an extension, a new survey is showing how disparate tax rates are at the state level. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, state income taxes vary widely not only across the country but within specific regions of the country. In the West, for example, New Mexico leads the way with a 5.9% marginal tax rate, while next-door Colorado is marginally lower at 4.4%, and Arizona is the lowest of all at 2.5%. The nation’s mega states also show wildly differing policies. California currently has the highest tax rate at 13.3%, followed by New York’s 10.9%. Both Texas and Florida have a 0% tax rate, or no income taxes at all. Five other states also boast a 0% tax rate: Tennessee, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nevada, and Alaska. The higher tax rate states tended to be bunched into the same region in the Northeast, with New Jersey at 10.7% and Massachusetts only slightly lower at 9%. Vermont’s rate is currently set at 8.7%, with Maine at 7.1%. The Northeast also scored higher in the category of per capita property taxes, with Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New York, New Hampshire, and New Jersey ranging between $2,600 and $3,400. In the category of sales taxes, the South has some of the country’s highest rates, with Louisiana and Tennessee at 9.5%, followed by Arkansas and Mississippi at 9.4% and 9.2% respectively. In the West, California and Arizona were among the highest at 8.8% and 8.3% respectively. Both New Mexico and Colorado were marginally lower, both having a 7.7% rate. Four states - New Hampshire, Delaware, Montana, and Oregon - have no sales taxes at all. While state income taxes don’t appear to summon up the same dread as taxes owed to the IRS, a separate survey just released by the Gallup polling service shows a strong 43% of respondents classified as “very dissatisfied” with the amount of federal taxes they pay, compared to a combined 26% who say they are either very or somewhat satisfied. The “very dissatisfied” response at 43% is at the highest level recorded in the last two decades. Last year the number of people in this category stood at 37%, and only as recently as 2019 the figure was even lower at 25%. By Garry Boulard |
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