A project that has been the subject of a series of both neighborhood meetings and public hearings for some four years has finally received a green light from the Phoenix City Council. What is being called the Residences at the Phoenix Country Club will see the $85 million construction of a nine-story development that will include a 110-foot tall tower. The project will also include a two-level structure featuring a swimming pool and amenity deck and retail space on the first floor of the complex. To go up at the corner of Seventh Street and Thomas Road on a site owned by the Phoenix Country Club, the project is being developed by the Scottsdale-based Sunbelt Holdings. A real estate management and investment firm with commercial, retail, office, and residential properties primarily in Arizona and California, Sunbelt agreed to decrease by some 54 feet the originally proposed height of the tower. The complex will go up on property owned by the Phoenix Country Club, one of the oldest and most popular golf clubs in the country. By Garry Boulard
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The Treasury Department has issued a statement providing what is called a “safe harbor” for some loans provided under the Paycheck Protection Program. In a new guidance, the Department has declared that any small business that “received PPP loans with an original principal amount of less than $2 million will be deemed to have made the required certification concerning the necessity of the loan request in good faith.” Earlier, the Department required that businesses trying to obtain funding through the PPP must first certify to the Small Business Administration that they needed that funding because of the economic upheaval caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. Now the Department is declaring that not requiring some small businesses to pay back loans under the amount of $2 million is appropriate because “borrowers with loans below this threshold are generally less likely to have had access to adequate sources of liquidity in the current economic environment than borrowers that obtained larger loans.” The Treasury Department announcement continues: “This safe harbor will also promote economic certainty as PPP borrowers with more limited resources endeavor to retain and rehire employees.” Businesses that have so far received loans of more than $2 million will still be required to repay. The new guidance is additionally seen as providing some air for the SBA’s staff, which can now focus its reviews on larger loans, “where the compliance effort may yield higher returns.” A number of professional groups had called upon the Treasury Department in recent days to clarify its PPP rules. In a statement, the American Institute of CPAs remarked: “The last thing we need is for deserving businesses to lay off employees and close their doors because ever-changing rules and the threat of civil penalties scared them away from the PPP.” By Garry Boulard Wrapping up months of city staff work on the subject, members of the El Paso City Council have given their approval to amendments governing the construction of new cell towers. Earlier this year, the council voted to cap such structures at no more than 60 feet in height, but also agreed to let the city’s Plan Commission study the issue with the possibility of modifying the new regulations in the future. Two months later the Plan Commission, looking at what is officially called the city’s personal wireless service facility regulations, recommended not only exceptions to the 60-foot rule, but also working guidelines to “assure a degree of predictability and consistency in the review process.” The commission also adopted a provision calling for the builders of new towers to camouflage them in an effort to better blend in with surrounding neighborhoods. Now, on a 5 to 4 vote, the City Council has agreed to maintain the 60-foot height maximum largely for residential areas, while also leaving the door open for heights of up to 75 and 90 feet in commercial, manufacturing, and industrial districts by special permit. The construction of new cell phone towers, which includes concrete slabs, fencing, backup generators, and security systems, remains a big business in El Paso as well as pretty much every place else in the country. According to the publication Airwave Advisors, such structures can cost up to $250,000 and more to build. By Garry Boulard The City of Denver has issued a Request for Qualifications for the eventual construction of a new downtown police station. That station will serve the Denver Police Department’s Sixth District and will see the renovation of a building at 1331 Cherokee Street that has served as the department’s Pre-Arraignment Detention Facility. The building is located within the larger Safety Headquarters Campus, which also includes a police administrative building as well as the Denver Police Museum. The RFQ is specifically looking for architectural and engineering design services to renovate the structure. The current station for the Sixth District is located roughly 1 mile to the east at 1566 N. Washington Street. That structure was built in the 1970s and, according to city documents, is “not sufficient for efficient use as a police station.” Funding for the design and renovation of the new Sixth District station will come out of the $937 million Elevate Denver general obligation bonds approved by city voters in 2017. Of that $937 million figure, $77 million has been targeted for public safety facility and infrastructure projects. The submission deadline for the RFQ is June 5. By Garry Boulard A New York-based global management consulting firm is suggesting that the recent slow-down, and in some cases abrupt halt, of business prompted by the COVID-19 outbreak could be a good thing for the construction industry. In its How Construction Can Emerge Stronger After Coronavirus, the McKinsey & Company report notes that many construction firms emerged from the Great Recession stronger because they “typically moved fast and hard on productivity, including cost reduction.” Those firms also reallocated resources and swiftly made major decisions regarding both acquisitions as well as divestitures. Many of those same companies also diversified their workload, and invested heavily in digital technologies. Those technologies include Building Information Modeling, with the report noting that today’s current industry downtime might provide the best opportunity to train staff on how to use such high-tech devices. “Organizations must think through the moves they can make today to come out ahead later,” the report says. More specifically, the report suggests that construction firms soberly appraise their current general business and workforce outlook, while looking in particular at near-term cash management challenges. Companies should also create a detailed plan for a return to a more normal business environment once the COVID-19 situation evolves, while also imaging the “next normal,” which includes what a new industry and market shift may look like. Finally, the report suggests that firms should be “clear about how regulatory and competitive environments in the industry may shift.” Based on data provided by the McKinsey Global Institute, the report notes that while most of the nation’s economic activity could be back on track sometime early next year, the buoyancy of 2019 may not be revisited for another three years. By Garry Boulard A project that has been much anticipated in New Mexico’s capital city is expected to soon see work. The state’s Department of Cultural Affairs, along with the New Mexico Museum of Art, want to both repurpose an existing space, as well as build an addition to that space. The Vladem Contemporary Museum will be the result of an adaptive reuse of a 22,700 square foot warehouse space that is more than 80 years old. The site of the former Halpin State Archives Building at the southwest corner of Guadalupe Street and Montezuma Avenue will also see the construction of 12,400 square feet of new space, resulting in a combined gallery of just under 35,200 square feet. The $12.5 million project will preserve the existing structure’s interior steel columns, while also exposing its brick walls. Landscaping at the north entry plaza will include Aspen trees and native plants, with native and drought-tolerant plants along the complex’s east façade. Architectural designs produced by the Albuquerque-based DNCA and Studio GP architecture firms are expected to soon be completed. With a possible completion date of late this year or early 2021, the Vladem Contemporary Museum will house the Museum of Art’s extensive modern art and photography collection. The new facility will also include educational space allowing for classes, artmaking, and other hands-on activities, as well as an artist’s studio. By Garry Boulard A Request for Proposals has been issued by the County of El Paso for an upgrading project in the nearly 50 year-old Student Memorial Park. The county wants to see a reconstruction of the park’s playground area. The project will include the demolition of existing concrete sidewalks, curbs, and gutters, as well as the removal of old playground padding and equipment. New construction at the site will see the building of a rock wall with cap, new sidewalks, curbs, and gutters, as well as a concrete wheelchair ramp. Also included in the project: the building of new picnic tables, benches, and the installation of both new playground equipment as well as placement of geotextile fabric and rock mulch. Located at 9425 Vicksburg Drive, across the street from the city’s Irvin High School, the Student Memorial Park is named in honor of area students who helped raise funds for its original construction in the early 1970s. The RFP submission deadline is May 27. By Garry Boulard As states across the country are increasingly allowing for the reopening of both public and private construction sites, a premium is being put on safety precautions. In Pennsylvania, Governor Tom Wolf, in announcing the reopening of previously stalled projects, has sent out an announcement saying that “All construction projects must maintain proper social distancing and provide hand washing and sanitizing stations for workers, as well as cleaning and sanitizing protocols for high risk transmission areas.” Notes the industry publication Smart Cities Dive: “Many of the major safety changes on construction sites will add to the time it takes to complete projects.” The publication continues that, while the implemented use of such things as personal protective equipment will prove essential to keeping workers healthy, such measures as staggering work shifts “will slow down progress, and the days of fast-tracking a project may be over.” Andy Beshear, the Governor of Kentucky, has now announced a return to construction work in the Bluegrass State, with the requirement that workers should be phased back in at various sites, and once returned to work, must wear appropriate face coverings. In New York, which is now seeing the reopening of some 5,200 construction sites in just the Big Apple alone, control rooms are being established to monitor a region’s virus contamination rate. “As fast as you can reopen, reopen,” remarked New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in a press conference. “Just watch the dials.” Additional construction project reopening stipulations in the states are requiring that all workers must have their temperatures taken before they enter a site, with workers maintaining six-foot distances from each other. The initial construction site re-openings are coming on the heels of a new report issued by the Washington-based Associated General Contractors of America showing that roughly 975,000 construction jobs were lost nationally in April due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Those numbers comprise almost 13 percent of the industry’s total employment and, according to the AGC, represent the worst recorded decline in the nation’s history. By Garry Boulard In a move to stimulate development and construction in economically challenged sections of the city, members of the Durango City Council have given their unanimous approval to the creation of an urban renewal authority. The authority is officially called the Durango Renewal Partnership and will be tasked with such goals as creating more affordable housing, updating deteriorating structures, and facilitating infill development. The effort will additionally look at areas of the city with a dearth of utility infrastructure, as well as faulty street and lot layouts. The renewal partnership is being designed in accordance with the Colorado Urban Renewal Law, which, to date, has been adopted by more than 60 cities and towns across the state. With a population of around 19,000, up from 14,000 just two decades ago, and steady growth in both the private and public sectors, Durango could launch a renewal partnership only if it contained at least four of the eleven blight conditions defined by state law. Earlier this year the city contracted out with the consulting firm Short Elliot Hendrickson, which is based in St. Paul, Minnesota, but has offices in Durango, to determine its renewal partnership qualifications. After the firm subsequently reported that Durango would meet the blight threshold, the city council moved to establish the renewal partnership. That partnership will now have the authority to borrow funds and issue loans and grants for various projects. According to city documents, the Durango Renewal Partnership will also focus on “housing development that allows students, seniors, and lower and middle-class residents to live in Durango.” By Garry Boulard The final structure to be a part of the big SkySong project in Scottsdale could see construction in the near future. Members of the Scottsdale City Council have approved a proposal calling for 1.5 acres off of McDowell Road to be sold to an entity called University Realty. University Realty is the revenue-generating arm of Arizona State University, which, in turn, operates the massive SkySong complex. As planned, that 1.5 acres will be the site of a new structure that could measure as much as 120,000 square feet and would be the tenth building making up the SkySong complex. Officials say the new building will house either a hotel or additional office and retail space. The 42-acre SkySong, otherwise known as the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center, was launched in 2008 and now includes around 1.2 million square feet of mixed-use office, retail, restaurant, and hotel space. It is expected that over time the City of Scottsdale may realize as much as $3.6 million in lease payments for the 1.5-acre site. In a statement, Don Couvillion, a University Realty vice president, described the council action as a “win-win for the project, the City of Scottsdale, and for Arizona State University.” SkySong sits at the site of the former Los Arcos Mall, which was demolished after more than a decade of decline in 2002. By Garry Boulard |
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