In a move to help construction firms stay abreast of new greenhouse gas emission standards, the Associated General Contractors of America has just released a comprehensive survey of instructions. In a statement, Jeff Shoaf, AGC chief executive officer, say the documents will help firms “understand the basics of tracking carbon emissions, including who is responsible for those emissions, how to track them and what are the best ways to cut them.” The AGC Playbook on Decarbonization and Carbon Reporting in the Construction Industry is particularly designed to ensure that builders play a proactive role in putting together carbon-reduction measures with their individual projects. Noting that buildings in the U.S. consume nearly 40% of the nation’s energy, a source that powers lighting, heating and cooling, and both appliances and electronics, the document reports that “as more owners and developers are required to report on carbon data, contractors are increasingly seeing some form of sustainability program requirements or carbon tracking stipulations within Requests for Proposals.” Builders can put together such data at two levels: project-level reporting “can help a company assess the performance of its construction projects, such as building energy-efficient buildings, installing renewable energy systems, or using low-carbon materials.” Corporate-level reporting, meanwhile, “can help a company track and manage greenhouse gas emissions from its own operations across its project portfolio, such as total fuel consumption, electricity use, water generation, or employee travel.” The document spells out a four-step process that all builders can follow to make clear who should be responsible for different carbon emissions standards associated within a given construction project. It additionally spells out the carbon emissions related to such materials as asphalt, concrete, flat glass, and steel. “This is the first document of its kind written by contractors, for contractors, to help them assess the impacts of the projects they are hired to build,” remarked Shoaf. The AGC leader added: “Our goal is to make sure our members have clear, actionable, and replicable resources to understand their responsibilities, measure their impacts of their projects, and operate as efficiently as possible.” By Garry Boulard
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A coalition of business and industry groups in Colorado have decided to go to court in opposition to a series of new rules addressing green building issues. In their suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado in Denver, the Colorado Apartment Association, Apartment Association of Metro Denver, the Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association, and the state chapter of NAIOP—the commercial real estate development association, said that the new rules are proving unnecessarily onerous. Specifically mentioning that those rules, as promulgated by both the State of Colorado and City of Denver, have addressed themselves to the performance of heating and cooling systems in structures, the litigants are also asserting that the costs of compliance will inevitably be handed down to tenants. “They’re attacking a small emission problem with a very expensive fix,” Andrew Hamrick, senior vice president for both apartment associations, said of the new rules to the Denver Post. At the heart of the new rules is a push to do away with natural gas use in large office and commercial buildings, as well as apartment complexes. This means that building owners, in order to comply with the rules, will be required to do away with all natural gas heating systems. Three years ago, the Denver City Council gave its approval to the Energize Denver plan, which called for reducing by 100% all greenhouse gas emissions for large buildings in the city within the next two decades. The Colorado State Legislature additionally passed a measure requiring buildings measuring more than 50,000 square feet to see a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2030. According to reports, up to 8,000 large building owners across Colorado could be compelled to spend more than $3.1 billion in order to comply with the new rules. A report published earlier this year by the Colorado Springs Gazette said that over the course of the next three decades, owners will be compelled to spend upwards of $2.6 billion on retrofitting projects, along with $61 million in labor and related costs. The heart of the lawsuit filed by the groups is simple: they are asking the court to discard both the state and city regulations on the matter. By Garry Boulard The results of a feasibility study are expected to be announced this summer regarding the construction of a second bridge that would cross the Bridgewater Channel in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The first bridge is both famous and historic: the former London Bridge that was completed in 1831 and crossed the River Thames in Great Britain. A project that won international attention in 1968 saw entrepreneur Robert McCulloch purchasing, dismantling, and moving the granite structure block by block for $2.4 million, after work on a new steel and concrete bridge in London was underway. McCulloch, one of the founders and elders of Lake Havasu City, thought reassembling the bridge and putting it back together in an Arizona location of less than 4,000 residents would be of great publicity value. And he was right: the inaugural ceremonies for the bridge, once it was operative in Lake Havasu City in the fall of 1971, was covered on network news programs as well as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and London Times, among dozens of other publications. It is generally regarded to this day as the second most popular tourist attraction in Arizona, next to the Grand Canyon. In the decades since that 1971 inaugural, the bridge as the only way on and off Lake Havasu's island, has begun to feel congested, according to city officials. Earlier this year, Lake Havasu City Mayor Cal Sheehy said a second bridge could prove especially timely for a city that now has around 60,000 residents. Construction of a new bridge is expected to take up to three years to complete. The project has already secured $35 million in state funds. By Garry Boulard A strong increase in college and university enrollments from last year is helping to sustain historic student housing growth rates for the coming year, according to a new industry report. The Student Housing National Report, as published by the Santa Barbara, California-based Yardi Matrix real estate solutions company, is showing current pre-leasing rates at nearly 68%, an exceptionally vibrant performance. That figure, according to the report, is 2.4% higher than where things stood a year ago, and a significant 10% from figures compiled between 2019 and 2022. “Strong pre-leasing is an indication of solid demand from growing enrollment and suggests the market is easily absorbing any new beds for fall 2024.” The industry has clearly rebounded from the brief dip recorded in the spring of 2020 during the Covid 19 outbreak. At that time, occupancy was down by some 3%, according to figures compiled by the National Apartment Association. But the figures improved by the spring of 2021, with an overall 1% increase, even as roughly two thirds of the nation’s universities were offering online and/or hybrid teaching. Looking at pre-leasing data for more than 1,500 properties at nearly 200 schools, the Yardi Matrix report notes that of that pool, “46 had pre-leasing over 75%, and eight were better than 90% pre-leased in March.” Only thirty markets were behind where they were a year ago at this time. Student housing rents, meanwhile, reached an average of $895 per bed last month, 6% up from March of 2023. The growth rate picked up considerably most recently when students returned from spring break. “Rent growth in student housing is being driven by surging demand, particularly at the schools with the strongest recent enrollment growth,” continues the report, which is predicting decided increase of 46,285 new beds for all of 2024. That number is sharply up from the 37,756 new beds seen in 2023. In a report published two months ago, the New York Times noted that new student housing projects are bigger than ever. “Some are home to more than 1,500 students," said the paper, “and they are being built on prime parcels as close to the campus as possible as developers seek to better manage their bottom line.” By Garry Boulard An undeveloped two-acre narrow stretch of land in downtown Fort Collins may soon be the site of a new 175-unit apartment complex. The Irving, Texas-based Realty Capital Residential has announced it has now submitted paperwork to the City of Fort Collins to build the River District project. Besides the 175 apartments, the complex will also include 2,300 square feet of commercial space made up of restaurants and stores, for an overall project dominated by two 5-story separate buildings. According to city records, the project will include studio, and one- and two-bedroom units. Designed by Davis Partnership Architects of Denver, the project will also have at least two clubhouses, and leasing and management office space. The official address for what is being designated as an infill development is 360 Linden Street in a part of the city populated with restaurants, taverns, and offices. A document sent to the City by the Fort Collins-based Ripley Design landscape engineering firm notes that development of the site will create a link to the nearby Cache La Poudre River with a “pedestrian-oriented street front and lively spaces.” Realty Capital Residential was launched in 1987 and has since developed more than 200 residential projects both in Colorado and Texas. In the last decade, the company’s footprint in the Centennial State has grown with the development of workforce housing in the Roaring Fork Valley between Glenwood Springs and Aspen. By Garry Boulard Plans are swiftly moving for the construction of a new courthouse to serve the 12th Judicial District in Otero County. The project in Alamogordo may ultimately cost as much as $30 million to complete and will go up off the Charlie T. Lee Memorial Relief Route, just to the north of the Mesa Verde Ranch Road. The anticipated 45,000-square-foot building will house four courtrooms and two hearing rooms, with additional space set for security operations and administrative offices. The current 12th District courthouse is located at 100 N. New York Avenue and is regarded as not being up to current needs, with a lack of space, and no sprinkler system. Additional reported problems have included holding cell issues and both heating and cooling systems deficiencies. The courthouse was completed in early 1956 and formally inaugurated in June of that year. Controversy regarding the condition of the building has been ongoing for nearly a decade but reached a boiling point in 2018 when the 12th Judicial Court began legal proceedings against Otero County, arguing that the county was failing to provide adequate facilities as required by state law. That lawsuit partly resulted in the hiring of a consultant tasked with conducting a feasibility study on how much it would cost to upgrade the facility. The decision to build an entirely new facility won the approval of the Otero County Commission more than a year ago, resulting in the Las Cruces-based ASA Architects being brought in to design the structure. By Garry Boulard Commercial Real Estate Foreclosures Seeing Dramatic Increases Coast to Coast, Says New Report4/22/2024 Commercial real estate foreclosures were up by 117% nationally last month over March of 2023, resulting in hundreds of empty office and store spaces. According to the ATTOM Data Warehouse report, the foreclosures are the result of ongoing higher interest rates and smaller on-site staffs due to the continuing popularity of remote work. That 117% increase is up from the 97% reported by ATTOM earlier this year, comparing January of 2024 with January of 2023. Altogether, there were a reported 625 commercial and office real estate foreclosures in March, with California leading the way with 187. That Golden State figure makes sense given that California is the largest state in the country. But even so, the figure represents a dramatic 405% increase over March of 2023. “California began experiencing a notable rise in commercial foreclosures in November 2023,” the ATTOM report notes, “surpassing 100 cases and continuing to escalate thereafter.” The numbers were also substantially up in Florida, New York, and Texas. Among those mega states, Texas has seen a 129% jump from March of last year to March of this year, followed by Florida at 107%, and New York, with a 65% jump. While the 625 figure is formidable, it is still less than the 889 foreclosures recorded by ATTOM in October of 2014, when commercial real estate occupancy was still feeling the lingering effects of the Great Recession. The trend line sloped gently downward from late 2014 to the spring of 2020, just as the Covid 19 pandemic broke, with a total number of foreclosures at only 141. Based in Irvine, California, ATTOM Data Solutions specialize in property data services. By Garry Boulard A classic 1960s high-rise apartment building with 170 residential units to the south of downtown Denver is about to undergo a major renovation as affordable housing. Located at 1550 S. Federal Boulevard, the Columbine Towers was built in 1964 and has long served a senior residential population. Now the Denver-based Ulysses Development Group has purchased the 14-story structure for $34 million, announcing plans to substantially renovate and upgrade it. In a statement, Connor Larr, a partner with Ulysses, remarked that the "impact the community will feel when our rehabilitation of this property is complete will be significant. It will give seniors and those with disabilities a safe, quality, and affordable place to call home at a time when housing is at a premium." The project, which Ulysses is taking on in a partnership with the Housing and Urban Development Department, is expected to see upward of $9 million in improvements which will include the installation of new elevators, energy efficiency work, and accessibility conversions. The elevator work is particularly important: in the summer of 2022, the building's elevators were out of commission for roughly a week, forcing elderly residents to use the stairs, and resulting in at least one injury. Members of the Denver City Council have approved a $10 million loan to fund the rehabilitation work. By Garry Boulard State funding has been secured for a project in Las Cruces that will see the building of a new affordable housing project spearheaded by a well-known local nonprofit. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has given her signature to a nearly $6 million capital outlay approved earlier this year by New Mexico lawmakers to help build a supportive housing complex that will house some 50 units. The official address of what is being called Amador Crossing is 1101 W. Amador, within the boundaries of the existing Mesilla Valley Community of Hope Campus. The MVCH began operations in early 1998, building a $1.6 million facility in the 900 block of W. Amador and dedicating itself to the mission of providing a host of services to the homeless. In 2011 it garnered media attention when it opened a facility called Camp Hope, a designated tent community on land it owned, for up to 50 people or so. Five years later, the group built a $65,000 shower and bathroom facility on the same site. The Camp Hope effort was subsequently lauded in a report published by the National League of Cities, noting that the site “crucially allows those experiencing homelessness to live with dignity while in transition to more permanent and stable housing.” The City of Las Cruces has been historically supportive of the efforts of the MVCH, approving a $4 million purchase for nearly 5 acres of land once owned by the Brewer Oil Company to be used for the nonprofit’s purpose. According to city information, the new MVCH facility will accommodate what are described as “chronically homeless residents,” in a space designed to assist residents to “heal, stabilize, and grow.” The project is currently in the planning and design stage. By Garry Boulard After a splurge of activity during the months of the Covid 19 lockdown and afterwards, home improvement and repair work is expected to see a decline lasting throughout the rest of this year and into 2025. In a new report just issued by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University it is noted that overall project work and spending is slated to drop by around 7% by the late summer of this year. That figure stands in contrast to the unprecedented double-digit gains between 2020 and 2021, culminating in a historic increase of 17.3% in the third quarter of 2022. In a statement, Abbe Will, associate project director of the Remodeling Futures Program, which is a part of the Harvard Center, remarked: “At $451 billion, spending on homeowner improvements and repairs over the coming year is anticipated to be slightly lower than the $463 billion over the last year.” In fact, the dollar high for the remodeling industry was reached early in 2023 when the figure stood at $490 billion. The Harvard Center uses a model called the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity which is designed to provide a short term outlook on repair spending and home improvement projects nationally. The model looks at home repair and improvement expenditures over a span of four quarters. Using that model illustrates the dramatic increase in home improvement spending over time, from around $123 million in early 2004 to $148 million a decade later. The model also shows the devastating impact the Great Recession had on spending that had precipitately dropped to $108 million by early 2012. Although this year’s numbers are down, ongoing opportunities for remodeling and updating projects continue to exist in different pockets of the country. In a press release issued from the Harvard Center, Carlos Martin, project director with the Remodeling Futures Program, observed: “The nation’s aging homes continue to need investment in critical replacements, home performance deficiencies, as well as modernization.” By Garry Boulard |
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